Muqtada the Conqueror Gains Ground in Iraqi Poll
In recent elections, Muqtada al-Sadr’s popularity was confirmed, but the infighting in Iraq is just starting
20 Years After the Unconditional Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon, What has been Achieved? 3/3
Every major Middle Eastern aggressive event has triggered the creation of a counterpower to stand against the aggressor. It comes, therefore, as no surprise that after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah announced its birth and became a deterrent force stronger than many armies in the Middle East. When Israel and the US decided to deflate…
After Lebanon 2006, Syria 2011 and Iraq 2014, the “Arab NATO” and a Sunni-Shia War to Revive
All wars initiated or supported by the US establishment – from the occupation of Iraq in 2003, the second Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006, the regime-change in Syria in 2011 and the occupation of a third of Iraq in 2014 – have failed in their goal of stoking the fire of sectarian war between Sunni…
The Dueling Ayatollahs – Khamenei, Sistani, and the Fight for the Soul of Shiite Islam
The protests that rocked Iran earlier this year barely affected how most countries engage with the world’s only Shiite theocracy. But in neighboring Iraq, they have forced a much deeper debate that goes to the heart of the country’s political future — and that of the whole region. With protesters’ demands ranging from lower egg prices…
How Regional Rivalries Threaten to Fuel the Fire in Syria and Iran
Turkish allegations of Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian support for the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) threatens to turn Turkey’s military offensive against Syrian Kurds aligned with the PKK into a regional imbroglio. The threat is magnified by Iranian assertions that low-intensity warfare is heating up in areas of the Islamic republic populated by ethnic minorities, including the Kurds in the…
Israel’s Sunni-Shia Divide and Conquer Strategy
Sun Tzu had the Art of War. Von Clausewitz had On War. Britain used divide and conquer to maintain control of its colonies. Now Israel has transformed the strategy into a fine art in its manipulation of its Arab neighbors. Earlier this week, Israel’s intelligence minister, Israel Katz, who has already announced his intention run…