Tag Archives: Syria

June 15, 2014 · 17:13

L’Iran ne sera pas le gendarme du Moyen-Orient

Par William Hanna – 15 juin 2014

Source: Jason DeCrow/AP

Suite à la conquête spectaculaire de nombreuses villes irakiennes par l’Etat Islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), le président iranien n’a pas hésité à déclarer, samedi 14 juin, que son pays « était prêt à apporter tout soutien nécessaire demandé par le gouvernement irakien, dans son combat contre le terrorisme ». Cette déclaration est d’autant plus significative lorsqu’elle est comparée aux hésitations de la politique étrangère américaine et au quasi mutisme européen. L’annonce par le Pentagone de l’envoi d’un porte-avion déjà stationné dans la région du Golfe arabo-persique, à proximité des eaux territoriales irakiennes, renforce l’impression d’un attentisme américain. Continue reading →

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Filed under Français, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Iran, Iraq, ISIL, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Syria

June 14, 2014 · 13:36

ISIL’s Iraq Blitzkrieg: A Window of Opportunity to Act in Syria?

Commentary by Tamer Mallat– 14 June 2014

Source: http://www.noria-research.com/

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL, Da’esh in Arabic) lightning invasion of Iraq is a serious cause for alarm. The speed by which it has taken over major Iraqi cities is revealing of the extent of the training its members have received, the numbers it commands and the resources at its disposal. The blitz also demonstrates just how powerful ISIL really is, and how it has asserted itself as a kingmaker in the Syrian civil war. Facing little or no resistance, the success of its operation appears imminent. And yet, this precipitated invasion may offer the first glimmer of hope for the Syrian conflict – the first of its kind in years since the revolution was hijacked by radicals. Continue reading →

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Filed under Arab Spring, Foreign Policy & IR, Français, Iraq, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as ISIL, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Syria, Syrian Revolution, Tamer Mallat

March 26, 2012 · 13:59

Human Rights and Syria: An Original Position for the Gulf?

Commentary by Riccardo Dugulin – 26 March 2012

Source: informeuropa.it

On February 29, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution condemning the flagrant violations of human rights in Syria. Regardless of the fact that the HRC cannot generate legally binding resolutions, the move of the council must be read as a major step forward in the international push to limit Bashar al-Assad’s ability to further wage war on his own population. Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been instrumental in drafting and garnering support for the resolution. The Syrian crisis represents the first event in Middle Eastern recent history in which local Arab powers, along with Turkey, openly take a position and lead the way in denouncing crimes committed by an Arab government against its own population through a UN resolution. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR, Gulf states, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Human rights, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Syrian Revolution, Turkey, UN Human Rights Council (HRC)

March 1, 2012 · 17:01

Hezbollah: From Lethal Politics to Political Suicide

Commentary by Oussama Hariri – 1 March 2012

This article was first published in Arabic.

Source: mar15.info

In a recent speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, reasserted his party’s support to the Syrian regime. Among his rather far-fetched statements was the blunt denial of what is happening in Homs, describing the city’s massacres merely as exaggerated events. While the people of Homs face a brutal ordeal, Hezbollah is far from changing its political course. Successful policy is based on adapting to changing times and the emergence of new political players. While change has swept across the political scene in the Arab world with new powers rising and others declining, one cannot help but wonder where Hezbollah’s policy, the fierce defense of a doomed regime, will lead it; all this in the context of the changing prospects of regimes across the Arab world. Continue reading →

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Filed under Arab Spring, English, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Oussama Hariri, Syria, أسامة حريري

February 11, 2012 · 19:09

Tangible Support for the Syrian Opposition: An Alternative to a Risky Intervention in Syria

By Riccardo Dugulin – 11 February 2012

Source: (Sezayi Erken/AFP/Getty Images)

The specter of a civil war is looming over the Syria as the rift between the government, along with its supporters, and the anti-Assad demonstrators is beyond repair. The death toll of the regime’s ruthless crackdown on the uprising is enormous, with conservative figures placing the number of deaths at 6500. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Free Syria Army, International intervention Syria, Syria, Syrian opposition, Syrian Revolution

September 2, 2011 · 16:29

Who Lost Lebanon? From Politics of Confrontation to Compromise

Commentary by Takuya Matsuda – 2 September 2011

Rafiq Hariri & Hassan Nasrallah

The year 2011 already seemed likely to flower into a turbulent year for the Middle East, even before the advent of the “Arab Spring” that toppled close to three dictators in the region. Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the national unity government in Lebanon, which kept the country’s chronic sectarian conflicts from resurfacing for the past few years, sparked fears that the Lebanese “time bomb” was finally going to explode. Nobody could have predicted “the Arab Spring”, a series of historical events that have rocked the region’s authoritarian regimes since January. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, May 7 2008, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, STL, Syria, Takuya Matsuda, US Foreign Policy

August 15, 2011 · 11:47

Interview: Michael Young on the “Arab Spring”

Michael Young

Michael Young is one of the leading political analysts in the Middle East and broader Arab world. He is the opinion editor of the The Daily Star (Lebanon) and the author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle. He also tweets @BeirutCalling. In light of recent developments in the region, ArabsThink.com has had the opportunity to interview Michael Young about his take on events. The interview was conducted on the 9^th of August 2011. Continue reading →