Wajdi Mallat | ArabsThink.com

Tag Archives: Wajdi Mallat

August 5, 2014 · 10:19

Jihad at a Crossroad: Jabhat al Nusra’s Identity Crisis

Commentary by Wajdi Mallat – 5 August 2014

Source: globalpost.com

When the Islamic State blitzed through Iraq and took Mosul and much of western Iraq, it brought global attention to the schism that jihad has undergone over the past year: Al Qaeda was longer at the forefront of extremist Sunni groups. As global media frantically pushed the narrative that ISIS (or ISIL or IS now) was an offshoot of Al Qaeda that was deemed too extremist for Bin Laden’s successor al-Zawahiri, it cited the differing strategy that the Islamic State and Jabhat al Nusra – the al Qaeda group in Syria – would utilize. Continue reading →

Republican Foreign Policy and the Changing Middle East

Commentary by Wajdi Mallat – 19 February 2012

Source: articles.nydailynews.com

The Republican Party has for a long time been known as the more credible party on foreign policy in the United States. While the Republicans are typically against heavy spending on government, they have always been adamant that military spending should not be cut. George W. Bush based a large part of his reelection campaign on his and his party’s strength on foreign policy, especially in the difficult times following the attacks of 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. His campaign frequently attacked Democratic candidate John Kerry for being too soft to be able to lead the country. Whether or not the Republican Party has earned its strong reputation on foreign policy is another issue, yet the impression in the United States makes it clear that it is considered the stronger of the two when it comes to foreign relations. Continue reading →