In The News

As Conflict Grows in Middle East, US-Saudi Gulf Widens

Fahad Nazer June 24, 2014
The 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Arab Spring events have reconfigured the Middle East in fundamental ways. Civil war in Syria spills into Iraq, extremism spreads in northern Africa, and brakes are applied to fledgling democracy in Egypt. The United States and Saudi Arabia, longtime allies, are divided over how to handle unfolding disaster, argues Fahad Nazer: Saudi Arabia, preferring stability...

MERS Outbreak Could Spread With Annual Pilgrimage: Officials

Maggie Fox June 23, 2014
Outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, may not be a global emergency, but the annual mass pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, known as the Hajj could allow the virus to spread. The syndrome first appeared in 2012. The disease has since caused 500 fatalities and spread to 16 nations. Research from the World Health Organization suggests that camels are carriers, with no evidence of human-...

The Rise of ISIS and the Fall of Al Qaeda

Barak Mendelsohn June 19, 2014
A string of quick military successes for ISIS in Iraq has legitimized the group as a new leader of the jihadi movement. The group controls Tikrit, Mosul and many other smaller towns in Iraq and Syria – and nears Baghdad. The success “could be a harbinger of a tectonic shift within the jihadi movement,” suggests Barak Mendelsohn in Foreign Affairs. By comparison, Al Qaeda’s influence is diminished...

China Says It Will Help Iraq

Rita Brown June 18, 2014
Iraq is OPEC’s second largest producer, and political ineptitude, sectarian violence and impending civil war threaten future oil production and global oil prices. Disruptions in Libyan production have already added to supply problems, and many had hoped Iraqi producers to step up pace. The United States led a coalition to invade Iraq in 2003 and depose dictator Saddam Hussein, and withdrew by the...

Call for Inclusiveness May Not Work for Middle East's Sectarian Divide

Dilip Hiro June 18, 2014
ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, began as an Al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq and is described as more fanatical than the parent group. With up to 5000 troops, ISIS controls an area of Syria and now storms through northern Iraq exploiting power vacuums and frustrations over minority rights. The group imposes a rigid Sunni interpretation...

ISIS: The Greatest Terror Threat Since Osama bin Laden

Jamsheed Choksy and Carol E.B. Choksy June 17, 2014
The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, otherwise known as ISIS, is storming through Iraq. The Iraqi army as so failed to stop or contain the Sunni militants, and ISIS retrieves equipment abandoned by the Iraqis. The group is well funded, initially with aid from Qatar and Saudi Arabia for Syria rebels. “The Obama administration claims it will stand alongside the elected government in Baghdad,...

Guilty by association: Israel, Iran and North Korea

Yossi Mekelberg June 13, 2014
With negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program underway in Vienna, Israel’s prime minister denounced Iran while traveling in Japan. Benjamin Netanyahu labeled Iran as an international threat comparable to North Korea. An interim agreement expires July 20th Netanyahu worries about a rushed resolution. Netanyahu may hope to influence negotiations by drawing interest from countries beyond the Middle...