WASHINGTON (IPS) — A major policy address this week by U.S. President George W. Bush promoting a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has been greeted with considerable skepticism by Middle East specialists here.
Most analysts said Bush's...International
ARBIL (IPS) — Iraq is again haunted by the ghosts of Samarra, with last week's attack on the Shi'a-revered al-Askari mosque raising fears that it could touch off a new wave of sectarian violence in a country already crippled by large-scale violence and political crisis.
In a similar move last year, al Qaeda in Iraq bombed the...
The Sa'ada war in northern Yemen may be coming to a close. The Yemeni government announced on June 15 that a cease-fire had been negotiated through the good offices of the Emir of Qatar. Shi'a rebels agreed to lay down their arms after nearly three years of fighting. Hopes are high that an end to hostilities will allow immediate...International
All my forewarnings have suddenly actualized, all at once: Gaza has descended into total and utter chaos; Abbas has capitulated to Israel and to the United States without a shred of reservation, and the Palestinian democratic experiment, which was until recently an astounding success, has been smashed to bits.
For years I have...
June 24th, 20070
What would it take to persuade Israel to rethink its attitude towards its Arab neighbors — and primarily towards the Palestinians? The Hamas victory in Gaza is surely a clear signal that an Israeli change of direction is urgently needed.
All Israel’s efforts to break the democratically-elected Hamas government have failed. Its...
June 24th, 20070
The breakdown of the domestic political order in Gaza last week reflects the clear failure of the current Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas to achieve its people's national rights to statehood, security and a normal life, and the consequent need for a combination of new leadership blood and better policies.
Since their...
April 5th, 20070
The rapid, almost hasty, developments on the Arab Israeli front, almost immediately following the Saudi sponsored Makkah Agreement on February 2, should be examined in their proper context, as a part and parcel of the regional shifts, exacerbated by the U.S. war in Iraq and the dramatic adjustment in Iran's position vis-à-vis the...
April 5th, 20070BEIRUT — A recent poll in Lebanon suggests deep pessimism about the chances of avoiding another civil war. Plenty of "wise owls" here think civil war is just a matter of time.
No less an oracle than Tarek, the doorman at the Alexandria Hotel in Ashrafiyeh, where the Israeli Military Command had its headquarters during its 1982...
April 4th, 20070
Servers offer Arabic coffee at the Arab summitRIYADH — Arab leaders on Thursday wrapped up a summit where they relaunched a five-year-old blueprint for peace in the Middle East, although Israel has rejected the plan as it stands.
The 22-member Arab League gathering was declared over after Secretary General Amr Moussa read out a...
April 4th, 20070
WASHINGTON (IPS) — With U.S. President George W. Bush reiterating his threat to veto legislation that makes funding for the Iraq war conditional on a deadline for withdrawing at least some U.S. troops, Washington moved rapidly this week toward a major confrontation between the White House and Democrats in Congress.
The latter won...
