Faced with growing internal tension – from Islamist radicals as well as liberal reformers – the ruling family is determined to defend its interests by whatever means necessary. This is reflected by a new assertiveness on the world stage – seen most vividly in the surprise decision to reject a seat on the UN Security […]
When Saudi Arabia’s veteran foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, made no annual address to the United Nations General Assembly last week for the first time ever, his unspoken message could hardly have been louder. Read Here – Reuters
A new and unprecedented report prepared by a team of Chinese and American strategic thinkers concludes that the two countries are not adequately addressing critical global challenges of the 21st century. Read Here – The Atlantic Council
Saudi Arabia appears resolute: It wants Bashar al-Assad out of Damascus. The Saudis view the fighting in Syria with the same intensity that they did the civil war in Yemen that raged in the 1960s — as a conflict with wide and serious repercussions that will shape the political trajectory of the Middle East for […]
Russia and the United States put aside bitter differences over Syria to strike a deal on Saturday that by removing President Bashar al-Assad‘s chemical arsenal may avert U.S. military action against him. Read Here – Reuters The agreement between the U.S. and Russia to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons hands President Barack Obama a diplomatic achievement without U.S. armed forces […]
Turkish-Iranian posturing on Syria, with Ankara arguing for more than limited strikes against the regime and Tehran saying that whoever strikes President Bashar al-Assad must bear the consequences, serves as a harbinger for the birth of a new Middle East order. Read Here – CNN
In his address on Tuesday , Obama argued that a failure to do something about Syria‘s chemical weapons would embolden Iran. That argument is superficially compelling and politically appealing. It also happens to be wrong. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Has Iran’s position on Syria begun to change? This is a crucial question, as Iran’s tone toward military action against Syria has altered from being threatening throughout years of supporting Bashar al-Assad, to becoming much milder. It appears as though the issues around the chemical weapons instigated this change; the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, strongly […]
In refusing to consider the views of its peers at the G-20 and the U.N. Security Council, the Obama administration has arrogantly pressed on with its weak case for military intervention Read Here – The Hindu
The United Nations Security Council took an unprecedented step this summer. Pushed principally by the United Kingdom, the council passed its first resolution addressing what it calls “sexual violence in conflict.” That’s a euphemism for an all-too-common problem in many parts of the world: Using rape as a weapon of wartime intimidation. In the human-rights world, it’s called […]
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