President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed an agreement to improve bilateral political and commercial ties and further develop consultations on regional developments during yesterday’s visit to Kuwait. During the visit, the president also invited local investors to Turkey and explained the government initiatives implemented to make the country a …
Read More »It was a mistake for US to topple Saddam Hussein, says Sen. Rand Paul
Republican presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul said on Monday it was a big “mistake” that U.S. ousted former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003, according to the weekly New York Observer. Rand Paul said U.S.’s move to topple Saddam Hussein might have made Iran “twice as strong as …
Read More »Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: An exceptional franchise…The jihadists gain ground in Yemen
IT HAS been a rough decade for al-Qaeda. America and its regional allies assassinated its top leaders from Yemen to Iraq, and made it harder for the group’s branches to communicate with the central leadership. In 2011 America killed Osama bin Laden, its chief. Since Islamic State (IS) …
Read More »Saudi Arabia and Yemen: Stop-start…What can the kingdom do next?
BY WADING into the war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia may well have made matters worse. Tension with its regional rival, Iran, has deepened. Saudi aircraft are said to have killed up to 400 civilians and destroyed scores of buildings. So most Yemenis—and Arabs across the region—sighed with relief …
Read More »Hariri: Aggressive action beyond Yemen to counter Iran
By Joyce Karam Albeit a power-sharing government, and a dialogue that is in play between his party and Hezbollah, but former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is leaving no room for doubt when it comes to the new “united Arab front in countering the Iranian influence.” Coordinating some …
Read More »Russia has no allies or enemies
By Maria Dubovikova Russia has no allies. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that his country’s size frightens its neighbors, and repeated the famous saying of Emperor Alexander III that Russia has only two allies: its army and navy. The current international crisis started with the Ukrainian conflict, which has …
Read More »Is Turkey spearheading a new Middle East foreign policy?
BY Ceylan Ozbudak The question in many Arab capitals these days is: What is Turkey’s strategy in today’s Middle East? An ever-changing region, Turkey has adapted fastest to regional changes. Since the beginning of March, Turkey has been sending clear messages about its new foreign policy path. President …
Read More »Saudi King names nephew as new crown prince
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Wednesday appointed his nephew, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as the new crown prince. A royal decree aired on state TV announced that Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also the kingdom’s interior minister, and is widely known internationally as Saudi …
Read More »France’s Message to Germany: Back to the 19th Century?
France takes exception to the words of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. By Stephan Richter Anybody who thought that we live in the early stages of the 21st century – and not in the middle of the 19th – must be sorely disappointed about the latest round of …
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