ASLAN MEDIA COLUMN: THE CONNECTION
There's a lot of information out there. We connect the dots and give you the bigger picture.
This column is no longer active.
Reconsidering Hamas
- Published on Wednesday, 08 June 2011 00:54
- Category: The Connection
After more than a week of not-so-subtle tension between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S.-Israel relationship appears to be at an all time low. Still, there is one issue about which both leaders adamantly agree: there can be no negotiations with Hamas.
Both the U.S. and Israel have designated Hamas a terrorist organization and both have a long-standing official policy against negotiating with its leaders (though in practice, Israel regularly consults with Hamas when it comes to security, aid, and water allocations for Gaza).
Ahmadinejad's Agitations: Rocky Relations in Iran
- Published on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 16:30
- Category: The Connection
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned to his job as president of Iran last week after having spent eleven days at home, refusing to go to his offices in protest against the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Ahmadinejad was upset after Khamenei publicly overturned the president’s decision to fire Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi.
Al-Jazeera in the Crosshairs: Balanced Reporting or Sectarian Bias?
- Published on Monday, 30 May 2011 20:00
- Category: The Connection
In early March, the leadership at Al Jazeera, the most popular Arab language satellite news station, sat down with National Public Radio to discuss the difficulties of independent, investigative journalism in the Middle East, in light of the Doha based organization’s successful coverage of the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
Taking Off the Blinders: Changing our Perspective on MidEast Events
- Published on Tuesday, 03 May 2011 16:42
- Category: The Connection
This week on April 27th, an agreement was reached between Fatah and Hamas, two important leadership groups in the Palestinian Territories who are typically at odds with one another, to form a unity government is preparation for what many believe will be a UN vote to recognize a Palestinian State in September. Across the board, media coverage of the agreement has centered on what effect it will have on US interests in the region, which, ironically, has done more harm than good to those very interests.
After years of verbal jousting, Fatah and Hamas negotiated a deal to re-unite and hold parliamentary and presidential elections in the upcoming year. The peace treaty, brokered by Egypt’s new leadership, brought a splintered government back together. A new temporary government, which will include members of both Hamas and Fatah, will lead a transition period until elections are held.
Obama's Stand on Bahrain
- Published on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 14:27
- Category: The Connection
In the aftermath of President Obama’s speech at the State Department outlining his Administration’s Middle East policy, much of the media has fixated on the his “surprising” call to Israelis and Palestinians to return to the pre-1967 borders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the Oval Office on Friday, May 20th, angrily refuted the President’s statement during his AIPAC speech on Monday night. Several Republican congressional members, as well as potential presidential candidates, have said that the President is “throwing Israel under the bus.”
The Ally and the Enemy: Egypt and Iran in the Spotlight
- Published on Thursday, 28 April 2011 09:52
- Category: The Connection
This week, reports of an Iranian ambassador being appointed to Egypt raised an eyebrow or two. After weeks of goodwill statements from both countries, the appointment was seen as further confirmation of a budding relationship between the once-hostile states.