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Archive for the tag “Iraq”

07 Jun 2017

The Arab World Has Never Recovered From The Loss Of 1967

It may be difficult for the Arabs of today to seriously reflect on the meaning of the defeat they suffered 50 years ago, given their current calamitous predicament. A half-century ago in the free sanctuary of Beirut, Arabs engaged in introspection and self-criticism, seeking to answer the central questions of their political life: What went wrong, and how did we reach this nadir? That unique moment of guarded hope and promise lasted but a few years.

Read Here – Foreign Policy

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05 Jun 2017

If Trump Wants A Fight In The Middle East, Iran Will Give Him One

The ability to influence events outside its borders through proxy groups is both the central factor of Iran’s alienation and its most vital strategic asset. Solving that paradox would require a shift in the Islamic Republic’s overarching political and ideological agenda.

Read Here – Foreign Policy

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26 May 2017

Can US-Sunni Alliance Lure Baghdad Away From Tehran?

The United States sees Iraq as a vital location in need of a clear US policy, especially with the presence there of US military bases and about 8,500 US soldiers, as well as the US impact on the country’s overall situation. The most recent quest in this direction was the Arab Islamic American Summit held May 21 in Riyadh, attended by US President Donald Trump and Iraqi President Fuad Masum.

Read Here – Al-Monitor

 

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22 May 2017

Saudi Arabia Turns To Trump For investments

Just a few years back, the business relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was pretty simple: the Americans bought oil, and the Saudis spent much of what they earned on equipment to keep the crude flowing and on planes, tanks and missiles to protect their borders.

Read Here – Dawn

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27 Apr 2017

The Arab World’s American Savior Complex

America has learned few lessons from repeated failures and dire consequences of its interventions, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Latin America, but those in the region who look to the United States for salvation have short memories, too.

Read Here – Foreign Policy

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12 Apr 2017

You Can’t Understand ISIS If You Don’t Know The History Of Wahhabism In Saudi Arabia

It is not hard to understand how the founding of the Islamic State by ISIS in contemporary Iraq might resonate amongst those who recall this history. Indeed, the ethos of 18th century Wahhabism did not just wither in Nejd, but it roared back into life when the Ottoman Empire collapsed amongst the chaos of World War I.

Read Here – Huffington Post

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01 Mar 2017

Should The U.S. Maintain Its Alliance With Saudi Arabia?

It is not that the U.S. shouldn’t walk away from Saudi Arabia because it is a major oil producer and a partner in the fight against terrorism, or because the bilateral relationship has benefited Washington. The larger issue is that if Saudi Arabia is left to its own devices, it will sow more chaos in the Middle East. That is something no one needs.

Read Here – Salon

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26 Feb 2017

Killing Kim Jong Nam With VX Nerve Agent Crossed A ‘Red Line’

In 1995, Japan’s Aum Shinrikyo cult turned the nerve agent on a small number of its members, whom leaders believed to be police informants. On a larger scale, VX was one of the chemical weapons deployed in the Iran-Iraq war. The Kim Jong Nam case, though, would be the first VX assassination on record, and the first time chemical weapons were used to that end since a ricin pellet—fired from an umbrella gun—took Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov’s life in 1978.

Read Here – Wired

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10 Feb 2017

Trump And The New Map Of The Middle East

There is little doubt that the Middle East towards which President Trump must now shape his policy is vastly different and more complex than the region Obama faced in 2009. Yet, at the end of the day, says Michael Singh, Managing Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “the real story in the Middle East is not how much things have changed, but… how little.”

Read Here – The Cipher Brief

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17 Jan 2017

The U.S. Military Loves The Obama Doctrine. Can It Survive Trump?

What comes next in Iraq is on everyone’s mind. Trump will inherit Iraq, its internal ethnic divides and external pressures between Iran and Saudi Arabia. He will inherit a complex, deliberate way of war solidified over eight years by Obama, yet born of the experiences of U.S. generals — including several who will now serve at the highest levels.

Read Here – Defense One

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