Archive for the ‘Iran’ Category
It may get much bloodier and uglier before Nasrallah’s demise, but this article points to the cost he will eventually pay for subsuming Lebanon’s national interests to those of the Iranian regime’s aggressive policies.
Has the prime minister overplayed his hand?
Published under Iran, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations Mar 05, 2015
the true purpose of Netanyuhu’s speech to congress
Published under Iran, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations Mar 04, 2015
This article (shared below in full) talks about a Saudi man who takes holidays to go fight the Shiites in Syria. It is a compelling read.
I initially pondered if a silver lining of the Syrian war was that the extremists on both sides would deplete each other – with Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and Assad’s army fighting off Al Qaeda surrogates and affiliates and neutralizing and weakening each other.
But the inescapable lesson from this horrible conflict is that hatred and inhumanity breed more hatred and inhumanity, which can come back to haunt humanity in unpredictable ways. In the end it makes all of us worse off.
Just like a whole generation of jihadists was groomed in the Afghanistan war to incite terrorist attacks across the West and also all over the Middle East, thousands of Muslims are being attracted towards a glamorized battle to defend their brethren in this war in Syria. It is hardening so many souls to the path of intolerance and violence towards those different from them. It cannot end well.
I wish the international community, including the US, had been much more forceful in preventing Assad’s atrocities early on, when a large majority of Syrians were standing up against his dictatorial abuses in a non-violent, moderate, and mostly non-sectarian way. That was the time for an international coalition to take surgical military steps to dethrone Assad and swiftly enable a process for new elections. This was such a tragic missed opportunity which will haunt our world for decades to come.
The Saudis, who are determined to oust President Bashar al-Assad and his patron, Iran, fear the rise of Al Qaeda’s affiliates in Syria but face fighting a proxy war using zealot militia fighters over whom they have almost no control.
Iranian journalist, Amir Taheri offers his thoughts and suspicions of President Hassan Rouhani. Only time will tell how the new Iranian President will fare. Read Taheri’s full piece after the jump.
The absurd alliance of Argentina and Iran to jointly investigate a 1994 terrorist attack against the Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center circumvents justice channels by allowing Iranians to absolve themselves of any blame from the prosecutor’s chair. Andres Oppenheimer further explores the complexities in his Miami Herald piece after the jump.
Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Julianna Storch
Chemi Shalev Gets to the Bottom of It: Politically Inspired Swift Boating
Published under Iran, Israel, Middle East, United States Dec 31, 2012As Chemi Shalev points out in this article, Chuck Hagel’s positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict are right on target, even if his positions on Iran and Hezbollah may rightly concern those (including me) who see the Iranian regime as ideologically & fanatically committed to develop nuclear weapons that MUST be stopped. But the whole wave of attacks against Hagel, as Shalev demonstrates, are more biased and politically motivated against Obama by right-wing Republicans and apocalyptic Jews, as this article from the New Yorker persuasively points out.
“Can Hezbollah Survive the Fall of Assad?”
Published under Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Syria Sep 05, 2012Hanin Ghaddar sets the scene for more change to come in the Middle East in his New York Time‘s piece. With Assad’s position growing ever precarious in Syria, Ghaddar asks if Hezbollah militants in Lebanon will be able to survive.
Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Julianna Storch