In December 2004, King Abdullah of Jordan inaugurated the modern sectarian era by warning the US and Arab allies of a “Shia crescent“, a relentless Iranian crusade to subvert and dominate the Middle East. That prophecy was fulfilled, with the resultant Sunni-Arab coalition helping fuel a new wave of tensions and conflict with Iran. Yet…
President Putin’s surprise announcement that Russia is ready to maintain gas transit through Ukraine has left people wondering whether both sides’ pipeline jostling over the past couple of years was ultimately all for naught if the pre-Maidan status quo ultimately returns. President Putin took the world off guard by announcing that Russia is “ready to preserve…
How do you organise a successful genocide – in Turkish Armenia a century ago, in Nazi-occupied Europe in the 1940s, or in the Middle East today? A remarkable investigation by a young Harvard scholar – focusing on the slaughter of Armenians in a single Turkish Ottoman city 103 years ago – suggests the answer is simple:…
Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the 13th meeting of Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing. During the meeting, President Xi stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation between SCO members in the fight against the “three evil forces” of extremism, separatism and terrorism. As one of the international security bodies…
For the first time since the Hybrid War of Terror on Syria started, the country finally appears to be nearing a “political settlement” to the conflict. The Meaning Of True Friendship Syria might very well see the conclusion of a formal peace deal by the end of the year, and it’s all because of President…
Frequent misconceptions surround the Russian role in the Middle East, and particularly its role in Syria. Many Syrians claim to see Russia attacking Israel or delivering to the Syrian government all its advanced weapons, technology and modern jets so these can be used against Israel’s continuous violation of its air space and invasion of its…
