Mideast News & Politics

Sanctions, Not Bombs, the Best Course of Action on Iran

A bomb exploded in Iran’s Fordo nuclear power plant, at least that’s what several domestic and international news sources reported earlier this week. The blogosphere was suddenly alive with rumors that Israel had unilaterally launched a preemptive strike on one of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Now, it appears the rumors were just that: rumors. The Iranian government denied the explosion, and various other independent sources debunked the spurious attack. Fact or fiction, however, the event beckons serious questioning of the efficacy of such a strike — should it ever actually occur.

Israel’s continued threat to preemptively strike Iran’s nuclear facilities is based on the assumption that Iran’s plutonium enrichment is not solely for domestic energy. Most agree with that assumption. Israel has continually demonstrated it fidelity to the promise to act upon that threat. The most memorable of them was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cartoonish bomb illustration at the United Nations.

Welcome to America, Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera will soon be opening its newest branch in the United States, Al Jazeera America. The company confirmed its future stake in the United States media industry when it purchased Al Gore’s seldom watched “Current TV” channel. The new network is projected to contain roughly 50% domestic coverage and the rest will be devoted to the network’s award winning international news coverage.

The $100 million dollar transaction has provided a field day for America’s conservative news pundits. Not the least of which being anti-Muslim hate group leader Pamela Geller, the sponsor of the bigoted New York subway ad campaign targeted at Muslims.

France’s Intervention in Mali Is Not the Next Afghanistan

When French president Francois Hollande launched Operation Serval, an unexpected bombing campaign to dislodge Islamist militants in Mali’s north, it led many onlookers to deem the conflict the next “Afghanistan.” Geographically and politically the Malian conflict is indeed eerily redolent of the Afghan struggle. Mali’s north is desolate, ungovernable and composed largely of notoriously inhospitable hinterlands. In this environment, Ansar Dine arrogated power easily after a destabilizing coup in mid 2012. These points certainly mirror the early 1990s Afghanistan.

Drone Follies: “We Can’t Kill Our Way Out of This Mess”

President Obama’s condemnation of the horrors of the Sandy Hook shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, in December of 2012 have provoked comparisons with his attitude towards the children killed by unmanned aerial vehicles (“U.A.V.’s,” also known as drones). In his eloquent Op-Ed for The Guardian, George Monbiot writes that:

“It must follow that what applies to the children murdered there by a deranged young man also applies to the children murdered in Pakistan by a sombre American president…If the victims of Mr. Obama’s drone strikes are mentioned by the state at all, they are discussed in terms which suggest that they are less than human.”

Sadly, Monbiot is right.

Is Taliban Propaganda Stronger than US Drone Bombs?

In his book The Forever War, Dexter Filkin describes a deep humming – like a massive fly – followed by a lethal explosion. The sounds are constant reminders of the United States’ controversial drone war.

In the past year drone strikes have flooded the headlines: "US Drone Strike Kills Senior Pakistan Tribal Leader", "US Says Drone Killed Al Qaeda Commander" and "Drone strikes claim lives in Pakistan," are just a sampling of some of the news stories. The death toll of Barack Obama’s contentious covert war rises steadily.

Superficially, the drone strikes signal a temporary “victory” over Taliban strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It may also be keeping al-Qaeda linked militants at bay in Yemen or Somalia. Yet, militant insurgencies and underground “terrorist” cells are not like uniformed soldiers — a corrosive ideology cannot be rooted out with bombs.

Beyond the Headlines: Educating Educators About the Middle East

Today, more Americans are studying the Arab world than ever before. Enrollment in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies classes in US universities has skyrocketed in recent years. Even K-12 teachers are showing an interest in learning more about the Middle East, which should come as no surprise given the never-ending stream of sensational news coming from the region. Although 9/11 and the recent Arab uprisings have played a role in this surge in interest among teachers, so too has the need to understand their Arab and Muslim students.

Israel’s “Beguiling Blonde” Soldiers Mask Realities of Gender Equality

The image of Israel’s female soldier is one that is often defined by strength, fervor, bravery and even sexiness. The country’s military is praised frequently for its unparalleled egalitarian treatment of its sexes. Maxim Magazine, a softer version of America’s Playboy magazine, sought to profit from this imagery. The magazine published a series featuring female Israeli soldiers in their bikinis, most with provocative captions like this:

This beguiling blonde clearly remembers her favorite part of serving her country: “I met my husband. His commander kept trying to set us up.” Lucky for him, Natalie followed orders.

With Fear and Hope, Afghans Prepare For Uncertain Future

Afghanistan is tense. In the capital of Kabul, daily life goes on as usual: cars clog the streets, shopkeepers sell dried fruits and rugs in the markets and children wander the roads, some begging, others doing odd jobs to make some money. Life is punctuated by bombings and gunfire as militants try to kill government officials. But beyond that, there's a growing concern about the future of the country. Change is coming, and it's the biggest change for the country after more than a decade of a Western-led war. Western troops are leaving at the end of 2014. Afghanistan's government will take the responsibility of protecting its citizens from militants. Afghans know the handover is coming, but in a way, it hasn't hit them yet. When 2014 ends, it won't just be Afghan soldiers taking over for foreign troops – it's the civilians who are going to have to step up to rebuild their country.

From Afghanistan to Mali: Jihad Finds a New Home

“Jihad” as a physical struggle has long been a topic associated with the Middle East. The region’s volatility is often attributed to Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah — groups who interpret the concept, which means “struggle” in Arabic — in a severe way. However, with the Arab Spring came a changed region, and a changed face for Middle Eastern Islamism. The Muslim Brotherhood is the shining example: thrust into the mainstream the group was forced to reconcile its revolutionary rhetoric with the realities of running a modern state. Egyptians quickly demonstrated that any “hardline” Islamism would not be tolerated, and thus a relatively secular constitution was born.

The Red Line in Syria Was Crossed Long Ago

Military intervention in Syria is not a desirable outcome for anyone – the Syrians, NATO, or the Greater Middle East. Arguing for military intervention is advocating a highly complex and dangerous military debacle far surpassing the NATO mission in Libya. However, after 21 months of inhumane bloodshed, it is hard to ask how more has not been done to stop it. It is only now that the proverbial “red line” of intervention has been established. That line has been drawn at chemical weapons.