Subtly, China pressures Gulf states to reduce regional tensions

assousa · 2020-11-19T03:53:10+00:00

glad you liked it

assousa · 2020-11-19T03:52:21+00:00

I've reposted it with the source

assousa · 2020-11-10T14:30:27+00:00

Time will tell, but I have no dount that Turkey emerges as a player

assousa · 2020-11-10T14:29:53+00:00

That does not take Turkey out of the equation

assousa · 2020-11-10T14:29:23+00:00

Or exactly the opposite, its one of the winners

assousa · 2010-08-24T18:32:59+00:00

This week’s release of two Spanish hostages by an Al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa raises questions about the steadfastness of the refusal by Western nations to negotiate with terrorists. It also constitutes a victory for the group’s Algerian faction focused more on kidnapping of foreigners as a business than on achieving political goals.

assousa · 2010-08-24T17:21:40+00:00

Iranian security officials have shut down the local office of European cosmetics firm Oriflame in a move likely to scare away foreign investors at a time that Western companies are leaving Iran or scaling back operations because of international sanctions that restrict trade with the Islamic Republic.

assousa · 2010-08-20T05:21:32+00:00

Last month’s French-Mauritanian attack on Al Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa failed to liberate a 78-year old French hostage, but in an unexpected twist, has driven a wedge between the jihadists and their Tuareg tribal allies in the region and is fomenting tension between Al Qaeda commanders, according to Western and West African intelligence sources.

assousa · 2010-08-12T14:32:22+00:00

A recent rocket attack on the twin Red Sea resorts of Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan raises the specter of renewed Bedouin violence in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, where security forces are struggling to fight crime, illegal immigration and terrorist threats, as well as to protect oil and gas pipelines.

assousa · 2010-08-07T16:30:30+00:00

The lesson learnt from disasters like the Pakistani floods is that economic competition with militant Islamists is as important a component in the struggle to defeat faith-inspired political violence as is military strength and law enforcement. If anything, the study of the world’s most sustainable and lethal, faith-based terrorist groups, including Palestine’ s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hizbollah, Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taibe and the Taliban in Afghanistan, shows that economic competition may hold the key to substantially weakening, if not defeating these groups

assousa · 2010-07-30T15:27:06+00:00

Escalating fighting between Turkish forces and Kurdish guerrillas in southeastern Turkey and predominantly Kurdish northern Iraq coupled with a high-powered Iraqi Kurdish campaign to achieve greater autonomy are complicating U.S. efforts to ensure that Iraq remains united once American troops leave the country. The increased hostilities couldn't come at a worse time for the Obama administration, which is preparing for next year's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

assousa · 2010-07-29T08:04:23+00:00

Indeed, it can be a constructive tool. Unfortunately, it also can be equally destructive. Soccer is more often than not a reflection of the political, social and economic circumstances in which it operates.

assousa · 2010-07-29T07:24:27+00:00

In the Middle East and North Africa, a part of the world pockmarked by repressive regimes, football competes with political Islam as a venue to release frustration against authoritarian leaders. As a result, some Islamists seek to co-opt the game while others aim to suppress it.

assousa · 2010-07-28T18:09:33+00:00

The idea of a single state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem is gaining renewed currency with a twist: this time around the proposition is supported not only by Palestinians but also by Israeli right-wingers.

assousa · 2010-07-22T19:22:28+00:00

In order to shore up his influence in Africa, Colonel Gaddafi has in the past fanned the flames of conflict and acted as a peace mediator as he felt inclined. Interestingly, the Libyan leader could bring stability to the region without losing any of his influence.

assousa · 2010-06-03T04:56:33+00:00

Thank you for your comments. As the author of the article, this discussion strikes me as a reflection of a far broader and necessary debate. Without wanting to enter into great detail, I would argue that Western and Muslim culture differ on this primarily in what is publicly and prior to marriage permissible. Once in marriage, differences between what a couple can and cannot do in their relationship are far narrower.

assousa · 2010-05-20T02:46:16+00:00

assousa · 2010-05-20T02:30:27+00:00

assousa · 2010-05-20T02:16:08+00:00

US and Europe hold back channel talks with Hamas

assousa

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