The government of Nouri al-Maliki has positioned itself as a firm supporter of Bashar al-Assad, notably out of fear that his defeat would empower similar Sunni opposition forces in Iraq. But Iraq’s Sunni actors and Kurds are using the crisis in Syria to assert their own ambitions.
The Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been key to shaping the Syrian uprising. However, while their desire to dislodge Syria from the Iranian orbit has been central to their efforts, this does not account for the full complexity of their interests.
The opportunity to find a two-state solution to the Palestine/Israel question is in danger of being squandered, and that the world will turn its back on the Israelis and Palestinians
People used to ask whether democracies had the makeup for war. But when it comes to Syria, it seems that it is diplomacy rather than warfare that is most difficult for Western onlookers to digest.
The eruption of protest in Istanbul and other Turkish cities expresses vigorous opposition to the political direction of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This is a big, even historic, moment in Turkey.
A rare moment of opportunity has emerged to renew diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syria conflict. The priority now must be de-escalating the level of violence and the reducing the threat of regional spill-over
As the prospects of a two-state outcome on Israel/Palestine fade, Europeans need to apply tougher love to both parties before it is too late.
An understanding of the importance of the Gulf States is vital for explaining how the wider Middle East functions, thanks to their wealth, their energy resources, their geostrategic position, and their straddling of many of the MENA region's major faultlines.
The collapse of Lebanon’s government has thrust the country into a deepening political crisis. The war in Syria and recent actions by Hezbollah also suggest that internal conflict may return to Lebanon.
Obama said all the right things in Jerusalem, but what next? The visit has offered nothing new on the programmatic side, no plan for going forward.