In The News

Syria Opposition Seeks to Unify

Khaled Yacoub Oweis May 27, 2013
The US and Russia are trying to schedule peace talks and end war in Syria, amid “new reports of atrocities, accusations of chemical weapons were used and the rise of al Qaeda–linked fighters among rebels,” writes Khaled Yacoub Oweis for Reuters. Washington threatens to provide more support for the rebels, but also wants to review a list of opposition leaders to ensure that moderates are included...

India-China Love-Hate on the Silver Screen

Coonoor Kripalani May 21, 2013
In April Chinese troops moved inside the temporary line of actual control along the disputed border with India. Indian troops countered by setting up camp nearby in a standoff that ended 20 days later, before the official visit of China’s Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi. For Indian cinema buffs, the recent events along the frozen heights of Ladakh, may seem like life imitating art, or the 1964...

Syria Crisis: Russia “Sends Sophisticated Weapons”

May 20, 2013
Russia has delivered highly advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria, reports the New York Times. The BBC News points out that the news arrived the same day as a UN report said the number of refugees from Syria had passed 1.5 million mark. Following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cautioned against a loss of momentum for holding a peace...

Could Syria Conflict Become Regional War?

Jonathan Marcus May 13, 2013
Conflict raging in Syria – and increasing numbers of weapons entering the nation – could spread to Lebanon and other nearby states, reports Jonathan Marcus for the BBC News, adding that “a crisis that began as a popular upheaval in Syria could degenerate into a bitter regional war.” Sunnis fight against minority rule in Syria, and the Shia-supported Syrian regime resists with help from Hezbollah...

Expanding Civil War: After Syria, Iraq?

Mohammed Ayoob May 7, 2013
Intervention and war are a way of life in the Middle East. With intervention fueling conflict, sectarian tensions reemerge and leaders restrict basic rights and freedoms and even resort to using force to restrain their own citizens. A recent example is the Iraqi government kicking out Arab television networks. Old behavior patterns are igniting unrest, civil war and new types of intervention,...

To Arm or Not to Arm? That Is Obama’s Question

Zvi Bar’el May 7, 2013
Weapons last longer than alliances, and the Obama administration is highly cautious about arming even a small segment of Syria’s rebels. It’s happened time and time again that weapons quickly change hands and are used against the original providers. The chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army is pleading for US assistance while trying to build coalitions among fragmented forces resisting the Assad...

Pyongyang Declares New State of War

Nayan Chanda April 15, 2013
Chinese leader Xi Jinping did not name names when he said that no country "should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain.” Many in the West took the comment as criticism of North Korea. But China’s state media have quoted Chinese academics who retorted that the comment also refers to the United States and Japan, reports Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s...