Oct 20 2016
The US and Russia have evidently agreed a trade-off, prompting Turkey and the Gulf states to abandon their former protégés to their fate. By Abdel Bari Atwan I confess that when it comes to the politics and conflicts of the Middle East, I am a firm believer in conspiracy theories. This is not […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iraq •
Oct 14 2016
As the tables turn against Saudi Arabia in the conflict, the Americans risk being increasingly dragged in, and the Russians could follow By Abdel Bari Atwan One year and a half after the start of the Saudi-led ‘Decisive Storm’ aerial bombing campaign, the tables are turning in Yemen. The intended targets of the assault – […]
By mahaburbar1 • Yemen •
Oct 10 2016
The US is said to be mulling military options in Syria amid deadlock at the Security Council, but that would mean lighting the fuse for World War III By Abdel Bari Atwan The UN Security Council meeting on Syria called at the weekend was bound to end in mutual recrimination between the US and Russia. […]
By mahaburbar1 • Russia •
Oct 3 2016
The Syrian opposition is upset that the US won’t intervene militarily. But the hawks are stirring, and things could change if Hillary becomes president. By Abdel Bari Atwan A climate of despair coupled with intense anger prevails in Syrian opposition circles these days, specifically among the array of political figures and would-be leaders who have […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria, United States of America •
Oct 2 2016
It was demeaning for Abbas to attend Peres’ funeral, and disgraceful for Obama to liken him to Mandela By Abdel Bari Atwan The tributes paid to former Israeli president Shimon Peres by politicians and pundits in the West, lauding him as a peacemaker and humanitarian in utter disregard of his actual record, can at the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Israel, Palestine •
Sep 27 2016
It hasn’t taken long for Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s much-hyped ‘strategic partnership’ to unravel, largely because of Syria. By Abdel Bari Atwan The lavish welcome that was laid on for Saudi Arabia’s King Salman during his state visit to Egypt in April was meant to mark the start of a new era in relations. Both […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 21 2016
The hawks in the Pentagon have sabotaged the Syrian cease-fire deal. Rather than coming to terms with Russia, the US seems intent on bogging it down. By Abdel Bari Atwan The unravelling of the Syrian cease-fire agreement reached in Geneva ten days ago by US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria •
Sep 21 2016
If the US and its allies are serious about addressing refugee crises, they could start by putting an end to the military interventions that trigger them By Abdel Bari Atwan Many fine words were said and crocodile tears shed at the ‘Refugee Summit’ held on Monday on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria •
Sep 16 2016
The report of the UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee confirms that opponents of the Nato intervention in Libya were right. But is anyone learning the lessons? By Abdel Bari Atwan Bernard-Henri Lévy became irate when asked by an interviewer recently why the 2011 Nato intervention in Libya failed to bring security or stability […]
By mahaburbar1 • Libya •
Sep 16 2016
Riyadh is desperate to block US legislation under which it could be sued for 9/11. The price may include cosying up to Israel. By Abdel Bari Atwan The unanimous passage by both houses of the US Congress of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) has set alarm bells ringing in Riyadh, and probably […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 13 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan It has always been considered inappropriate to ‘politicize’ the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim of whatever persuasion or denomination is meant to perform once in their lifetime if they can afford it. Neither the host-state Saudi Arabia nor the countries that send it their pilgrims — […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Sep 13 2016
Many surprises could be sprung in the weeks to come and it is hard to foretell the results, but one can be sure that it is Abbas who has the most to lose By Abdel Bari Atwan, Special to Gulf News Palestine has slipped low on the official Arab agenda since the Arab Spring of […]
By mahaburbar1 • Palestine •
Sep 11 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan All of a sudden and with no preliminaries, the world was informed that there exists an ‘Arab Quartet’ on Palestine, and that it has a plan. This group – consisting of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE — proposes reviving and taking forward the Palestinian cause by brokering two reconciliations. […]
By mahaburbar1 • Palestine •
Sep 9 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan When the American talk-show host and libertarian candidate for the US presidency, Gary Johnson, was asked what he would do about Aleppo if he made it to the White House, he replied: “What is Aleppo?” Johnson was widely panned for his response. Yet it is doubtful that many Obama administration officials […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria •
Sep 2 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan The fate of President Bashar al-Asad is no longer the central issue in the Syrian crisis, at least not for the foreseeable future. Turkey’s direct military intervention in north-eastern Syria and its occupation of the border town of Jarablush as taken centre-stage. It has changed the rules of […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria, Turkey •
Sep 2 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan There can be no doubt that the Islamic State (IS) group was dealt a major blow by the assassination of Abu-Mohammad al-Adnani, its official spokesman who proclaimed the establishment of its ‘Caliphate’ in June 2014. Both as a propagandist and military commander with two decades’ experience of ‘jihad’, he was […]
By mahaburbar1 • al-Qaeda, ISlamic State, Islamic State, Jihad, Syria •
Aug 31 2016
By Abdel Bari Atwan Syria’s Kurds appear to be in the process of making a mistake of monumental proportions. Central government offices in the north-eastern provincial capital of al-Hasaka are reported to have been evacuated after being overrun by Kurdish forces – specifically, units of the Asayish militia affiliated to the People’s Protection Force (YPG), […]
By mahaburbar1 • Islamic State, Turkey •
Aug 30 2016
Abdel Bari Atwan The piece of news carried by the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper today (Thursday) was no surprise to us. Through this news, Mr. Ismail Hakki Pekin, a former Turkish diplomat and the vice chairman of the Patriotic Party, confirmed that he carried out five visits to Damascus where he met with prominent Syrian officials […]
By mahaburbar1 • Islamic State, Syria, Turkey •
Aug 26 2016
Abdel Bari Atwan The Four-Party ‘Roadmap’ for Yemen will get nowhere unless Riyadh alters its attitude towards Yemen and the Yemenis, The roadmap for peace in Yemen proposed by the four-party committee that includes the U.S., the UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE is primarily meant to save Riyadh and […]
By mahaburbar1 • Yemen •
Oct 31 2016
Turkey’s Risky Venture
Further escalation on the cards as Damascus and Kurds join forces to thwart Ankara’s attempt to create a buffer zone in northern Syria By Abdel Bari Atwan If media reports are confirmed that Syrian warplanes and army troops backed by Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDP) have been engaged in joint operations against […]
By mahaburbar1 • Turkey •