Middle East

Iran is trying to become the indispensable power in the region,1 but has not been able to translate its geopolitical assets — from being at crossroads between the Caspian, the Gulf, the Arab world and the subcontinent2 — into political advantages leading to regional hegemony. The Iranian nuclear program unites most countries in the...
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Turkey enjoys a privileged geographical position, at crossroads between South-East Asia, Europe and the Middle East, which she has been able over the past decade to translate into geopolitical advantages1. In regards to her economy, Turkey is the world’s seventeenth largest economy, Europe’s sixth largest economy2, and from 2005 to 2008 she doubled her trade...
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Human Rights violations: A recent report by Yemeni human rights organizations presented to the United Nations Committee Against Torture reveals serious human rights violations by the Yemeni National Security Agency against Yemeni jurists and human rights activists. Moreover, Amnesty International recently reported police brutality and torture of detainees held in connection with politically motivated...
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It appears that bribery and corruption in Afghanistan are much more widespread than I had originally believed. While watching The Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC, a UN report mentioned shed light on the problem plaguing Afghanistan today. According to the UN’s Office of Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan spends US$2.5 BILLION each year on bribery...
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On January 12, the Palestinian-owned daily Al-Quds al-Arabi carried the following lead editorial (original source in Arabic, translated into English by MidEastWire): “The treatment of Muslims in American airports” The United States of America has adopted stricter security measures in its airports and border passageways, following the uncovering of the failed attempt to detonate a civilian...
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Until 1990, Yemen was a divided country between the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). The two states unified in 1990 after decades of conflict. However, as of today, Yemen faces three separate crises: - the newly intensified Huthis rebellion in the north - the increasingly violent secession...
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A fourth part in the Afghanistan series Thirty years ago this Christmas Eve will be the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It’s interesting to think that the United States will succeed where the Soviets failed. Newsweek has an interesting article on avoiding making the same Soviet mistakes. Questions abound: How much...
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As most people know by now, President Obama has decided to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The decision was made in part for political reasons and it is doubtful anyone is truly happy with it; on the right, there are those who do not believe he provided the military with the...
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Summer is nearly officially over (and the weather here in New York shows it). This means the Perspectives on Global Issues blog is back from its sun-drenched hibernation. Our editors have already been churning out their thoughts and analyses on the latest breaking news in the world of international affairs — but just...
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AFP and Reuters reported that Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced on Thursday (10 Sep 2009) that he was stepping down, accusing the Hizbullah-led opposition of blocking weeks of efforts to unlock a political stalemate. “Given that my commitment to forming a government of national unity has run up against difficulties that everyone now knows...
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