Category: Middle East

By Ernest Corea*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON (IDN) – Eleven years after the murderous events that made “nine-eleven” an universally recognized description of a date of tragedy, another 9/11 has seen actions that caused destruction, public commotion and tragic loss of lives.

This year’s disturbances which began in Egypt and Libya took the form of violent demonstrations directed at American diplomatic staff and institutions. The demonstrations have spread across a wide swath of countries – at least a dozen according to some reports – in Africa and Asia.

By Eric Walberg*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

TORONTO (IDN) – The world is living through a veritable slow-motion earthquake. If things go according to plan, the US obsession with Afghanistan and Iraq will soon be one of those ugly historical disfigurements that — at least for most Americans — will disappear into the memory hole.

By Bernhard Schell
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

GENEVA (IDN) – Libya’s new rulers have been warmly welcomed into the fold of the United Nations in the wake of obtaining diplomatic recognition from about 90 countries – even as fighting continues southeast of Tripoli in Sirte, one of the last remaining strongholds of the so-called “King of Kings of Africa”.

By Ramesh Jaura
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERLIN (IDN) – While a frantic search is on for Muammar al-Gaddafi’s whereabouts, the NATO-backed Battle for Libya is far from over. Not only because a scramble for the North African state’s opulent resources has just started, but also because the Benghazi ‘revolutionaries’ are confronted with tough battles on several fronts.

By Baher Kamal and Fareed Mahdy*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

MADRID/CAIRO (IDN) – While the Palestinian Authority (PA) is focussing its energies on achieving full membership for the state of Palestine in the United Nations in September, the U.S. and Israel appear to be leaving no stone unturned to thwart the plan. They are proposing new talks on condition that the Palestinians abandon their legitimate demand for independence.

Knowledgeable sources believe that the Middle East game was over even before it started. In fact, a reasonable dose of good memory and a quick look at the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would suffice to conclude that it had ended exactly 114 years ago.

By Rumel Dahiya* 
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) – In an unprecedented move, top four military commanders in Turkey stepped down from their posts on 29 July 2011. Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner, Land Forces Commander Gen. Erdal Ceylanoğlu, Naval Forces Commander Adm. Eşref Uğur Yiğit and Air Forces Commander Gen. Hasan Aksay asked to be retired with immediate effect.

By Richard Johnson
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Amid persisting mayhem in the region, Bahrain – the small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf – seems to be joining the category of under-reported conflict-ridden countries. So that this does not happen, an international think tank has presented a profound situation analysis and proposed a set of far-reaching measures aimed at ushering in a “slow but steady progress toward political reform” instead of “endemic instability”.

The report calls upon the United States and other Western governments to suspend security assistance, including commercial sales of military and police equipment to Bahrain. Such assistance and sales should be suspended until the Bahrain government “ends its human rights violations and takes genuine steps toward meaningful political dialogue,” says the International Crisis Group.