The situation in the Middle East is changing at an incredible speed. The things unbelievable yesterday, become reality today. Each of the events becomes part of a bigger picture, with the region gradually moving away from abyss to become a better place. On March 1, Iraqi forces were reported to have taken control of the…
Like a scene out of a Hollywood epic movie, Saudi Arabian King Salman journeyed to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, with an entourage of 1000 aides and servants, including ten Cabinet ministers and 25 Saudi princes traveling aboard four Boeing 747s and two Boeing 777s. Indonesian president Joko Widodo termed the visit part…
Official Washington refers to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation as ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and although this regional description is clearly out of date the fact remains that IS is a loose international association of quasi-religious thugs whose likeness to human beings is marginal and whose savagery is almost beyond comprehension. President…
When one thinks of the Pakistan Army, one does not instinctively think of a force that is relevant to conflicts in the Middle East. Yet increasingly – and without actually being involved in any operations – it is the most influential military in the region. Who will lead the Islamic NATO, a new Saudi-led, terrorist-fighting…
Putting together the bits of information already available from various sources provides some indication of what the new US anti-terror strategy is about. The initial draft of the review is now complete. The US Defense Department presented a tentative plan (strategy review) «to rapidly defeat» the Islamic State (IS) terror group to the president’s national…
The art of the deal, when practiced for 2500 years, does lead to the palace of wisdom. I had hardly set foot in Tehran when a diplomat broke the news: “Trump? We’re not worried. He’s a bazaari”. It’s a Persian language term meaning he is from the merchants class or, more literally, a worker from…
