By Emile Nakhleh
The rising specter of terrorism in Syria shows that by clinging to power and refusing to implement meaningful reforms, Arab autocrats in Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere are indirectly contributing to the resurgence of terrorism in their societies. Arab protests started peacefully, but almost in every country regime repression and torture ultimately pushed [...]
News and views relevant to U.S.-Iran relations from Oct. 15 – Oct. 21
EA WorldView: Scott Lucas points out that the only named source that we have to back up David Ignatius’s advancing of the claim that Gholam Shakuri “helped organize militant Shiite protesters in Bahrain” is Bahrain’s Foreign [...]
The details of the alleged Iranian terror plot are getting more interesting and complicated by the day. In addition to experts analyzing its sketchy details, a significant amount has been written about Mansour Arbabsiar’s lifestyle and personality, with a former business partner and friend telling Reuters that “If they’re looking for [...]
Mitchell A. Belfer, an academic based in Prague, certainly wants you to think so. While he is not the first person who has attempted to discredit Bahrain’s protest movement by accusing Iran of instigating it, few have managed to go as far as he has with unsubstantiated claims in a well-known platform like [...]
I’ve been saying for a while now that the Saudi role in suppressing Arab uprisings will have a far larger short- to medium-term negative impact on the region than any of Iran’s many machinations. Read Hossein Askari at the National Interest to get a better picture of why.
The irony is rich. By [...]
How the Tiny Kingdom of Bahrain Strong-Armed the President of the United States
By Nick Turse
Reprinted with the permission of TomDispatch.com.
The men walking down the street looked ordinary enough. Ordinary, at least, for these days of tumult and protest in the Middle East. They wore sneakers and jeans and long-sleeved [...]
The new White House Spokesperson Jay Carney too questions on Thursday about the Middle East. This exchange ensued, regarding whether the U.S. was “taking sides with the people against the government” in Iran:
Q And on Egypt [President Barack Obama] made very clear and Robert Gibbs made very clear that we can’t dictate, we [...]
The State Department seems to have taken to heart a recent criticism that was delivered sharply by a questioner in the daily press briefing. Addressing State’s proactive stance on Iran, which was compared to being publicly behind the curve on Egypt, an unnamed reporter asked, “what about other countries – Bahrain, Yemen, [...]
Five Senators sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday warning the administration not to offer concessions in upcoming talks with Iran over its nuclear program. If Obama takes the advice, experts say, it could sink his engagement efforts with Tehran.
The letter (PDF, with full text below), broken by Foreign [...]
Two days of talks between Iran and the P5+1 — the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany — came to a close on Tuesday in Geneva. It’s no surprise that there was no agreement, given how far apart the sides started off. Incoming report indicate there was progress as both sides made [...]
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