Category Archives: US Foreign Policy in Middle East

Academia’s Twitter War with State Department over women’s status in Iraq’s tribal society!

At the State Department a recent award program was held to single out women of courage from ten different countries. One of them was Aliyah Khalaf Saleh of Iraq who in June 2014, hid cadets of the Military Academy at … Continue reading

Posted in Cross-Culture, Iraq, Terrorism, Uncategorized, US Foreign Policy, US Foreign Policy in Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Destruction of the Turkish Army

Since the abortive coup attempt in Turkey there have been truckloads of political pontifications  concerning the future course of the Sultan Erdogan’s “new Turkey.” Most  of the Western leadership and the Arab Gulf states have announced their support for the … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Military, Islamism, Middle East Politics, Military, muslim brotherhood, Shia, Turkey, US Foreign Policy, US Foreign Policy in Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Islamism and Islam – Update

  Below is a  paste of an extract from an article in the Wall Street Journal ( 12 Dec 20015) written by Maajid Nawaz, a liberal Muslim, originally from Pakistan now living in the U.K.   “Islam is a religion, … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Military, Arabs, Cross-Culture, Islam, Middle East Politics, Shia, Terrorism, Uncategorized, US Foreign Policy in Middle East, Western media | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How the Western Media Reinforces Islamist Propaganda

This is a short blog entry. I am focussing on the recent attacks by insurgents or gangs on the Egyptian government checkpoints in the Sinai. Immediately there were  a spate of articles from the pundits and gurus  pontificating that these … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Military, Arabs, Egypt, Islam, Middle East Politics, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy in Middle East, Western media | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Persian Gulf 1970 and today May 2015

Forty five years ago ( 1970) I wrote my masters thesis at the American University of Beirut on the implications of the British withdrawal from the Gulf. The British bled white after WWII led the British government in 1968  to … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Military, Iraq, Middle East Politics, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy in Middle East | 1 Comment

Another “How to Defeat ISIL.”

Almost every pundit, whether he has ever set a foot in Arabia or not has weighed in on how to defeat ISIL. Most skirt one central fact. So my bottom line up front; the ISIL has to be defeated decisively on … Continue reading

Posted in Iraq, Islam, Middle East Politics, Terrorism, Uncategorized, US Foreign Policy in Middle East | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Where does Iraq and the “Islamic State” go now?

    With a very propagandistic announcement by “the Islamic State of the Levant” that its occupied areas of Syria and Iraq would now be called the “Islamic State” and with a call for all Muslims to declare fealty to … Continue reading

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Iraq: Still there, Still in Crisis, Fragmenting?

The elections are over. It was a larger turnout of voters than many anticipated and the present prime minister,  Nouri Al-Maliki drew the most votes, but not enough to form a government.  Now the horse trading will begin. It seems … Continue reading

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Obama ‘s Middle East Policy. Does He Have One? Does anyone care? I Have not been doing my blog lately. Partially because of disgust with the leadership, or more accurately the total lack of leadership, starting and centering in the … Continue reading

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Can Oil Companies in Iraq Avoid Incidents like Schlumberger’s?

Dozens of angry Shia Muslim workers stormed the Schlumberger Ltd camp in Basra, Iraq last week after a British employee took down a flag that was placed on the company’s car to commemorate the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, Prophet … Continue reading

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