Half-truths Prevail in the Middle East

By Julio Godoy
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

BERLIN (IDN) – Late last August, during the conference of the non-aligned countries in Tehran, the Iranian press quoted the Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi saying that the government of Bahrain, given its dismal human rights record, had lost whatever legitimacy it had. Nothing surprising in this quote: The regime of Bahrain has indeed a dismal human rights record, it latest performance being to strip opposition leaders of the Bahraini nationality, after harassing them for many months.

First Arab Watch Report Chides Governments

By Bernhard Schell
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

BEIRUT (IDN) – Though legally bound by their respective constitutions to honour basic economic and social rights, Arab government usually violate such rights in practice, which partly explains the socio-political eruptions in the region, widely known as the Arab Spring. This is the upshot of the first Arab Watch Report by civil society organizations of ten Middle East and North African countries.

The post-Gaddafi Libya is Not Real

By Jen Alic of Oilprice.com*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – People often ask me why the West doesn’t attempt a Libya-style intervention in Syria. After all, things are going so well in Libya. Oil production is up. But oil production is merely a mirage, as is security in Libya, which was doomed from the day one PG (post-Gaddafi) because of the way it was “liberated”.

Last Wednesday (September 12), US envoy to Libya Christopher Stevens was killed along with three other American diplomats in a rocket attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.

Middle East: Vile Provocation No Excuse For Violent Response

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.

UN Rushing to Rebuild Libya

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”.

Libya Treading a New But Heavily Mined Road

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.

Independent Palestine May Prove A Mirage

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.

Turkey Taming Omnipotent Military

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.

Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Back To Top