Creating a great Arab city
Dubai can serve as a model for growth elsewhere DUBAI I always find it exhilarating to visit Dubai, one of the most dynamic and visually spectacular examples...
The breaking of the Rafah wall
February 5th, 20080 It looked like the fall of the Berlin wall. And not only did it look like it. For a moment, the Rafah crossing was the Brandenburg Gate. It is impossible not to feel...Iraq: Police and army getting sidelined
BAQUBA (IPS) New military operations in Diyala province north of Baghdad have exacerbated a growing conflict between U.S.-backed Sunni fighters on the one hand and......
Breaking the siege
January 28th, 20080 Hundreds of thousands cross downed Gaza wallArab street erupts in protests supporting Palestinians Thousands of Palestinians continued to cross into Egypt for a second...The struggle for Lebanon
Syria has vital security issues with regard to Lebanon, and sees its lesser neighbor as an essential \geo-politicalpartner. And Syria's security necessities could help......
Study: Truth first casualty of Iraq war
U.S. President George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war, lying a total of 935 times, a study released this week...Jordan’s shift to democracy slows
AMMAN - The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was supposed to take a big step (this week) toward becoming the democracy that both its people and its rulers say they want it to......
Christian Zionists feel ‘betrayed’ by Road Map
OAKLAND (IPS) President George W. Bush returned home from his trip to the Middle East optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement between the Israelis and...Lebanon vote delayed again
BEIRUT A parliament session scheduled for Monday to elect Lebanon's president has been postponed to February 11, despite Arab mediation to break the deadlock. The......
A bankrupt Mideast policy
The presidency of the United States of America is a position of immense power, even when the office is tarnished and debased, as it has been by its present occupant....Awakened to a new danger in Iraq
Credited with reducing violence, forces have actually sown new conflict BAGHDAD (IPS) The newly formed "Awakening" forces set up by the U.S. military are bringing......
Gaza strike hardens Hamas position
January 19th, 20080 In an interview, key Hamas strategist Mahmoud Zahar discusses how his movement has been preparing for a potentially imminent Israeli assault on Gaza. Gaza City ...Attack on U.S. vehicle in Beirut kills 4
As Bush tours Mideast, was this a message? BEIRUT An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, killing four Lebanese and......
Nationalists stirring in Iraq
Country may have a chance if U.S. gets out of way On January 13, an emerging Sunni-Shi'a nationalist bloc in Iraq signed a groundbreaking agreement aimed...New era of regional cooperation in Mideast
CAIRO (IPS) Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several......
Top ten myths about Iraq 2007
10. Myth: The U.S. public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. Fact: In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, Iraq and...New Year begins unhappily in Iraq
WASHINGTON (IPS) The end of 2007 produced a telltale indication of what the New Year seems likely to bring to Iraq."We the Iraqi members of parliament signing below......
Is Suleiman up to the challenge?
In Lebanon over the last three months, ten parliamentary sessions to elect a new president have been postponed. By tradition the president has to be a Maronite...Yemen mourns speaker of parliament
The speaker of Yemen's parliament, Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar, died on Saturday at the King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a long fight with......
Syrian expatriates return hoping for wealth
Many Syrian-Americans are leaving for Damascus, lured by the opportunities offered by a newly open economy.Damascus For Louay Habbal, sipping his latte in an upmarket...
Politics, distress as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
December 23rd, 20070 It was a typical holiday of Eid al-Adha, the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. Two men in paper overalls placed the struggling sheep in the direction of Mecca......
Donors back Palestinian economy, urge Israeli ease-up on restrictions
WASHINGTON (IPS) International donors pledged billions of dollars this week to shore up peace prospects amid warnings no amount of money can help if Israel keeps the...Depending on paper police for security
'Power in Iraq will soon be turned to tribal leaders' BAGHDAD (IPS) In a country with no security and no jobs, just about anyone can work as a policeman. "To......
