Home / REGIONS / Middle East (page 32)

Middle East

Jordan’s parliamentary visit to Syria inevitable and a new page

By Shehab Al Makahleh At a time of growing retrenchment and economic instability, Jordan is leading a strong move nowadays, albeit belatedly, to give momentum to Arab causes as the region is heading towards very critical incidents in 2018 if friction continues at same pace of past few …

Read More »

What are the likely scenarios for the Middle East for the coming years?

Shehab Al Makahleh There is growing interest in knowing the future of the Middle East with the emergence of new crises that may ravage the entire region. There is no global peace and prosperity without the stability and security of the Middle East. This cannot be achieved in …

Read More »

Hamza bin Laden likely groomed for a senior al-Qaeda role

Shehab Al-Makahleh Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, appeared in a video broadcast by al-Qaeda’s ‘al-Sahab’ media channel in which he criticized Saudi Arabia and its alliance with the United States. This video raises many questions about the timing, the motives and future developments, as Hamza …

Read More »

Iran accusations to distract from Jerusalem, support Saudi ‘escalate to de-escalate strategy’ in Yemen

The United States on Thursday presented for the first time pieces of what it said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating U.N. resolutions, according to Reuters. While it is understandable that the US and …

Read More »

Will Iraq’s upcoming elections be dead on arrival?

Shehab Al-Makahleh On December 5, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, announced that provincial and parliamentary elections will be held on May 12, 2018; yet, many domestic events and regional developments would delay the elections as the Iraqi community is undergoing many societal and economic as well as …

Read More »

Will Yemen’s sectarian rift continue to widen?

Shehab Al Makahleh and Maria Al Makahleh (Dubovikova) Peace and stability in Yemen is likely to succeed only when all major players and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members take honest and true measures to end the bloodshed in this poor country, which pays the bill …

Read More »

Will the GCC Summit end the Quartet rift with Qatar?

Maria Al Makahleh (Dubovikova) Amidst many political and security developments in the Middle East region, the coming Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit comes at a very critical time to discuss many thorny issues including the Palestinian questions, terrorism in the region, Iranian-Saudi brawl and the tiff with Qatar …

Read More »

China’s new role in Syria

Maria Dubovikova What is China’s incentive for a greater involvement in Syria? The new Chinese involvement in Syria would lead to a further competition between the Washington and Beijing. China will deploy troops in Syria as Beijing is very concerned about the amounting number of militants of Chinese-origin …

Read More »

The Future of Incirlik Air Base

Despite the sweltering Turkish summer, American pilots shopped for handsewn leather jackets at Pop’s Leather. Sitting on the edge of the NATO airbase at Incirlik, Pops is just one of many businesses that have for decades depended upon American clientele. Today, they receive nary a visitor says Shafak Acikgoz …

Read More »