Tag: Middle East

Sanctioning Syria – And Now We Wait

It took Syria a few weeks longer than other Arab nations to catch the fever of the Arab spring. Now that over 800 Syrians have died in protests for freedom and basic rights at the hand of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the international community has decided that it’s time to step in. Yesterday, President Obama …

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The Importance of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Until recently, there was little reason to doubt that the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraq would be honored and all US forces would be out of Iraq by December 31st, 2011. As the deadline nears, the agreement is being called into question. This is a mistake. Withdrawing US forces …

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Aid to Iraq – USAID and Power

On Tuesday, I wrote about the basics of Iraq Aid, pointing out a few of the key issues that are being addressed by international aid organizations. One of the most influential of these organizations is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has provided over $7.4 billion in aid to Iraq since 2003. …

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Aid to Iraq – The Basics

A few years ago, Iraq was a hot topic of discussion. In the US, it seemed everyone had a friend or family member in some stage of deployment there. The news headlines flashed stories of Iraqi elections, sectarian struggles and attacks on Coalition Forces. Even if US citizens weren’t completely informed on the events taking …

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Unity Deal – Very Cautious Optimism

The word “Hamas” tends to elicit a strong response whenever mentioned. There are few people on the fence when it comes to this Islamist political party; most are either tenacious supporters or resolute critics. Perhaps these polemical views have justifiable roots, as either side has an ample supply of news that can be interpreted to …

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Goldstone in Perspective

Almost two weeks ago, Richard Goldstone, a prominent and well respected former South African judge, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in which he retracted some of the key findings of the Goldstone Report from 2009. The Goldstone Report,officially known as the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, …

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Censoring Revolution

The Tunisian Revolution ignited protests across Northern Africa and the Middle East, but they have not been the only areas affected. Much to the Chinese government’s dismay, human rights and pro-democracy groups in China have used the Middle Eastern and African protests as an inspiration for their own campaigns. This has led to incredible censorship …

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