As American troops were pulling out of Iraq in 2010, the U.S. effort to stabilize the country resembled the task of an exhausted man who had just pushed a huge boulder up a steep hill. Momentum had been painstakingly built up and the crest approached. Was it safe to stop pushing and hope that More »
The month of April marked the tenth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the third provincial election of the post-Saddam era – the country’s first without the presence of U.S. troops – and seven years since a relatively unknown Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the prime minister of Iraq. Nevertheless, after a period of relatively More »
A great debate has been raging over whether the so-called Arab Spring has been good or bad for the women of the region. Some argue that the rise of Islamist governments in places like Egypt and Tunisia has led to a stark reversal of women’s rights. Others believe that the vibrant social and political More »
Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq — Somehow the children who had toys to play with were a more depressing sight than those with none at all. I watched as a girl, about three or four years old, dragged a pathetic block of now-grey polystyrene through the dust by short string, as if taking a pet for More »
“It is time for an uprising of women in the Arab world,” writes Hanin Ghaddar, managing editor of NOW News in Lebanon in the second annual publication to mark International Women’s Day by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program. Last year, Haleh Esfandiari, the program’s director, asked a diverse group of women from business, More »
Just when the Gangnam Style craze began to fizzle, and we thought that the world would be spared another viral dance phenomenon, enter the Harlem Shake. It began as a 2012 heavy bass instrumental music track produced by Baauer, the stage name of American music producer Harry Rodrigues, uploaded to YouTube in August 2012. More »
A new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) – Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies – examines employment issues, the relative lack of dynamic private sectors, broken social contracts, and more in the Arab world. The chapter on education is particularly interesting. The report More »
One hundred years after the Levant embarked on a journey to build modern political societies, our experiment has failed and we are now back to square one. Lebanon collapsed in the 1970s, Iraq disintegrated in the 1990s and 2000s, and Syria is in the process of tearing itself apart. Unlike Egypt, Tunisia, and several More »
Almost ten years after the fall of Saddam Hussein and one year after the withdrawal of American forces, Iraq is still struggling to build political stability and bolster its national security. Differences over federalism, the management of oil and gas resources, and control of the armed forces are strong, and tensions along Kurdish-Arab and More »
Asia specialists will not openly admit it, but they hate the Middle East. To them, the Middle East is the great distraction that keeps people from focusing on what’s really important – their own area in the Western Pacific. The media are primarily to blame, according to this narrative. The media love sudden drama, even More »
The conventional wisdom is that American presidents who win a second term are less bound by domestic electoral considerations that may impose constraints on their foreign policy. But in his second term, President Barack Obama is unlikely to take any bold initiatives in the Middle East. Indeed, he is far more likely not only More »
The week began with the collapse of the cease-fire in Syria and many more reported deaths. The U.S. calls for stronger leadership in the Syrian opposition. With the docking of Iranian military ships in Sudan, analysts scrutinize their relationship. Despite new laws banning demonstrations, protestors take to the streets of Bahrain. A series of More »
As someone who writes and lectures about women and gender in Islam, I am often asked if women had any role in the making of the Islamic tradition. Happily, the answer is always yes. There were in fact many prominent women in the early history of Islam. At the top of the list would have More »
October 11, 2012, marks the United Nation’s first-ever observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. According to the U.N., selected as this year’s theme was “Ending Child Marriage.” Organizers say it was chosen because the practice is seen as a phenomenon that violates millions of girls’ rights, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their More »
On October 1st, 2012, women organizers launched a Facebook page, “The Uprising of Women in the Arab World,” to highlight the discrimination against them which they don’t feel comfortable – or safe – enough to protest in the streets. In just ten days, the page has generated nearly 35,000 “likes” and conversation among more More »
This week in the Middle East, fighting continued in Syria, Jews throughout the world celebrated Yom Kippur, protests against the anti-Muslim film produced in the U.S. continued, Basra governor Mohammed Musabih Al-Waili was killed in Iraq, and 15 militant Islamists were sentenced to death or life imprisonment in More »
“History,” President Barack Obama remarked, “will judge the original decision to go into Iraq.” But the lessons of the Iraq War already weigh on the president. Even in defending the use of force in Afghanistan and Libya, President Obama cited U.S. difficulties in Iraq to caution against costly, military engagements in the future. The invasion More »
This week, Muslims all over the world celebrated the end of Ramadan with Eid Al-Fitr, a three-day holiday. In Lebanon, clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in the northern city of Tripoli caused concern that the Syrian crisis is spilling across the border. Meanwhile in Beirut, protesters gathered to demand the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador Ali More »
This week in Bahrain, human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison in what observers call a ‘shocking’ decision. In Iran, earthquakes killed hundreds and injured over 4,500. Relief workers tried desperately to free trapped citizens from the rubble and Tehran, after initially rejecting help, called for international aid. In Syria, fierce More »
This week in Syria, government forces pushed back Free Syrian Army rebels in Aleppo, a bomb exploded in the state news agency, and President Bashar al-Assad’s newly appointed prime minister, Riad Hijab, defected, raising the question, is the Syrian regime coming apart? In Lebanon, security forces detained for questioning former information minister Michel Samaha, an ally of Syrian More »
