In The News

Dubai Housing Costs Soar

Matt Smith and Praveen Menon October 3, 2014
Immigrant labor has helped build the skyscrapers and infrastructure in the desert city of Dubai, but home prices have skyrocketed to Manhattan-like levels since 2008, forcing many residents to move out of the city. According to the Mercer cost of living survey, Dubai jumped 23 spots on the most expensive cities list this year, landing at number 67. In the first half of 2014 alone, home prices...

Jihadists Leverage Social Media to Condemn US-Led Airstrikes

Matthew Hillburn October 3, 2014
Islamic State extremists rely on social media, specifically Twitter, to critique US airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. Tweets show graphic images of civilian deaths, exaggerate IS military success and issue threats to civilians of specific nations. Verification of the report or a reason for such deaths is impossible in the war zone. The jihadists also criticize Arab nations participating in the air...

War Against the Islamic State

Talmiz Ahmad October 1, 2014
The differences between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran seem small compared with barbaric plans for the region by Islamic State terrorists. Fast-spreading violence and a growing refugee crisis compel a coordinated response from Iran and Saudi Arabia to defend the region, argues Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region, for the Hindu. He calls for...

Watch Three Mideastern Developments Very Carefully

Rami G. Khouri September 29, 2014
The Middle East is under fire and dealing with the chaos encourages strange bedfellows. Violent rampages of Islamic State terrorists, alarm all and could spur new cooperation. Most players support US-led strikes in Iraq and Syria, coordinated with five Arab states, though many claim the intervention comes too late. Other critics ask how intervention can be applied without instigating more...

Wider Strategy Needed to Deal With Terrorists

Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi September 12, 2014
Declaring war on the self-declared Islamic State is but one step in a long war against terror groups anticipated to emerge from a chaotic Middle East. While some critics in the United States question why their government must participate, this new phase in a war on terror could involve 40 nations and last for years, argues Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, editor with Arab News. Political disagreements...

Longtime Rivals Look to Team Up to Confront ISIS

Tim Arango September 11, 2014
Longtime adversaries – the United States and Iran, Kurds and Turks – are teaming up to defeat the self-declared Islamic State. Iraqis who once insisted on complete US withdrawal from Iraq now plead for swift intervention. Not one nation recognizes IS, also known as ISIS and ISIL, as a state, but the brutal group has a formidable military, attracts extremists from around the globe, and controls...

Obama's Legal Rationale for ISIS Strikes

Spencer Ackerman September 11, 2014
With a new Iraqi government in place, urging the United States to intervene against the Islamic State, and wide public support at home, US President Barack Obama announced plans to wage air strikes into Syrian territory against the terrorist group. He will not wait for congressional approval other than the $500 million in funding, instead rely on the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force “...