Middle East

Photo: Commenting the latest, fourth meeting between President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in October 2018, Abu Dhabi newspaper commented: "Egypt sees in Russia a reliable and consistent ally…" Source: Egypt Today.

Trump Jeopardising Vital U.S. Interests In The Middle East

Viewpoint by Manish Rai

The writer is a columnist for Middle-East and Af-Pak region and Editor ViewsAround, A Geo-Political News Publication. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

NEW DELHI (IDN) – American forces have started withdrawing their equipment from Syria as part of President Donald Trump’s order in December to pull out from Northwest Syria. President Trump announced that they are withdrawing because, in his view, the Islamic State has been defeated.

Though, even the United States closet allies like the United Kingdom didn't share this view. Tobias Ellwood, a Minister in the British Ministry of Defence, said in a tweet that he “strongly” disagrees with Trump’s comment that ISIS had been defeated.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 20 January 2019

Photo: The Marines deploying in Syria reportedly have M777 howitzers, seen here with artillerymen at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. Credit: Wikipedia | U.S. Marines.

Syria Withdrawal Plan Tallies With America's Wish To Bring Soldiers Home

Viewpoint by Ellen R. Wald

The writer is a historian and author of 'Saudi, Inc.' She is the president of Transversal Consulting and also teaches Middle East history and policy at Jacksonville University, USA. Twitter: @EnergzdEconomy. This article first appeared on the Arab News on January 2, 2019.

JACKSONWILLE, USA (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump shook the establishment in Washington by announcing on December 19, 2018 that he would do exactly what he had promised during his campaign. He declared that American military service members would be leaving Syria. As Trump explained: "We have defeated (Daesh) in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency."

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 05 January 2019

Photo: Portraits of King Salman and Prince Mohammed in Jenadriyah. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The U.S. Is Apparently At The Mercy Of Saudi Arabia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman remains at large, the unapologetic murderer (according to the CIA) of the respected dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. Even though President Donald Trump came close to accusing him of the deed, he has pulled back, citing Saudi Arabia’s importance as an oil producer and arms buyer.

The Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, is too preoccupied with Brexit to want to give up an important market. President Emanuel Macron of France is silent after an initial outburst. Now pressed by the demands of the demonstrators, he also wants to keep sources of revenue that come from sales of jets.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Middle East; 01 January 2019

Image: Palestine flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Palestine Looks Forward To An Exceptional Year As G77 Chair

By Ramesh Jaura

NEW YORK (IDN) – 2019 is slated to be an exceptional year for the State of Palestine, not least because it will preside over the Group of 77 (G77) – the largest bloc at the United Nations – comprising 134 developing countries representing some 80 percent of the world population.

Though 71 years since the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 in 1947 an independent and sovereign State of Palestine state has yet to be realised. But according to Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, as chair of the Group of 77 and China, "we will be negotiating on behalf of 135 countries," including his own delegation in the count.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; The Group of 77; 31 December 2018

Photo: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has been in power since a 1989 coup.

Sudan Leader Faces Calls For Removal As Price Of Bread Spikes

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KHARTOUM (IDN) – In the face of a growing movement of Sudanese opposition, protesting rising costs of bread and other essentials, security forces of the government of President Omar al-Bashir moved forcefully on December 25 to end the demonstrations using tear gas, night sticks and live ammunition, according to witnesses.

States of emergency and curfews have been declared in several of the northeast African country's protesting cities. The protesters – organized by a group of professional unions including doctors, lawyers, teachers and students and supported by two of the largest opposition parties – are calling for President Omar al-Bashir to step down.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Middle East; 25 December 2018

Photo: High Atlas Foundation works in rural areas of Morocco to target the most marginalized communities. Credit: High Atlas Foundation.

Participatory Development is a Humane Alternative to Migration

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir and Manon Burbidge

While Yossef Ben-Meir, Ph.D. is a sociologist and President of the High Atlas Foundation, based in Marrakech, Manon Burbidge is a post-graduate studying Human Ecology at Lund University, Sweden and currently interning at the High Atlas Foundation.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – December 2018 is gearing up to be a pivotal month for migration on the world stage, and the epicentre is here, in Marrakech, Morocco, with two high-level fora taking place concerning development and migration.

However, in order for the discussions that take place at such conferences to be impactful on the lives of ordinary people.

: Africa & ME Editor; UN INSIDER; 12 December 2018

Photo: Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Heather Nauert (first on the left) and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (centre) meeting with Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi in Beijing, China on June 14, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Israel Welcomes Nauert as Haley's Successor at the UN

By Bernhard Schell

DUBAI (IDN) – Israel has hailed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he will nominate former Fox news reporter and current State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the U.S. ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations headquarters in New York, according to agencies and The Times of Israel.

Nauert will replace Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who announced in October that she would step down as ambassador at the end of this year.

“Heather Nauert will be nominated,” Trump said on December 7 before leaving the White House on Marine One for an event in Kansas City. “She’s very talented, very smart, very quick, and I think she’s going to be respected by all.”

: Bernhard Schell; THE WORLD; Middle East; 07 December 2018

Photo: King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Source: The Moroccan Times

A Moment of Reckoning for Decentralisation in Morocco

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir is a sociologist and Founder President of the High Atlas Foundation, based in Marrakech, Morocco, working to establish livelihood advancement projects – all of which are identified and managed by local communities, in partnership with the public, private and civil sectors.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Morocco’s parliament is currently deciding the nation’s Decentralisation Charter. Since its working draft is not currently made public, we can only hope that every parliamentarian realises that the human development course of the nation and the relationships between public, civil and private institutions depend upon the creation of a meaningful charter.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 01 December 2018

Photo: Protest against U.S. involvement in the military intervention in Yemen, New York City, 2017. CC BY 2.0

U.S. Senate Vote on Yemen Rebukes Trump and Saudis

Viewpoint by Mark Weisbrot

This article was published by The Guardian on November 30, 2018. Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., and the president of Just Foreign Policy. He is also the author of “Failed: What the ‘Experts’ Got Wrong About the Global Economy” (2015, Oxford University Press). You can subscribe to his columns here.

WASHINGTON (IDN-INPS) – It was a resounding defeat for the White House and Republican Senate leadership: by a 63-37 majority, the Senate voted on November 28 to advance legislation that would give President Trump 30 days to get the US military out of Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war in Yemen, unless he could get congressional authorization for US military intervention. Which he almost certainly could not.

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 30 November 2018

Photo: U.S. Deputy Minister of Energy Pays a Visit to King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE). January 2018. Credit: KACARE

Saudi Arabia's Long-Term Goal of Going Nuclear – With U.S. Backing

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Trump administration’s increasingly cozy relationship with Saudi Arabia has led to widespread speculation that the United States may be assisting the Saudis – directly or indirectly – to achieve their long term goal of acquiring nuclear weapons.

The speculation has been triggered by ongoing secret negotiations between the two countries to help Saudi Arabia gain access to nuclear energy in a proposed deal estimated at over a hefty $80 billion, according to a front-page story in the New York Times November 23.