In The News

Common Currency Caveat

Eckart Woertz December 12, 2007
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was established in 1981 by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, with all agreeing to some common objectives based on their Islamic beliefs in trade, security, agriculture and investment. Plans include uniting around a common market in 2008, which will “move beyond the free movement of goods and services that has been agreed upon in the GCC customs...

Why Iran Didn't Cross the Nuclear Weapon Road

Dilip Hiro December 11, 2007
A US national intelligence estimate – a consensus of 16 intelligence agencies – recently concluded that Iran discontinued its nuclear-weapons program due to “international pressure.” Author and Middle East analyst Dilip Hiro examines the chronology of events and argues that Iran started and ended its nuclear-weapons program for one reason: the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein in neighboring Iraq....

A Queue in the Sand

Stanley Reed December 7, 2007
The Middle East is rich with oil money, ready to invest in all kinds of megadeals, reports BusinessWeek. For example, state-owned Abu Dhabi Investment Authority stepped forward to buy a $7.5 billion stake in Citigroup, a bank ailing from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. Some borrowers purchased homes with loans that offered low rates for only a year or two; as the rates increase, the homeowners...

The Costs of Containing Iran

Vali Nasr December 5, 2007
A US intelligence report published December 3 concludes that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003. The report from 16 US intelligence agencies could slow an aggressive policy on Iran from the Bush administration. The US has failed to build a US-Israeli-Sunni alliance against Tehran – and also fails to recognize that, even if possible, such an alliance would further inflame...

A New Search for Peace in the Middle East

Mark Matthews December 4, 2007
“A snake pit of recrimination and mistrust” is how longtime Middle East diplomatic correspondent Mark Matthews describes Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, but he might as well include many other snakes in that metaphorical pit – the United States, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the European Union and the United Nations, to name a few entities that have a stake in the conflict. As the...

MTV Arabia Beams “Bling” to Gulf

Simeon Kerr November 30, 2007
“Respect and reflect, that has been our mantra from day one,” repeats Bill Roedy, vice-chairman of MTV Networks, as he prepares for the launch of the network’s 60th channel. In partnership with the Dubai-based Arab Media Group, the programming will serve the Gulf region and reach an estimated 190 million young Arabs. Youth in the Middle East are caught between the extreme opulence of cities like...

American Special Forces in Pakistan: Back to the Future?

Paula R. Newberg November 21, 2007
The reaction to the news that the US Defense Department has decided to send Special Forces trainers to Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas has so far been muted. But the irony of the decision and its long-term implication for the Subcontinent is hard to miss. In the eighties, the US administration poured money and weapons in Pakistan to train the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. The...