Leave a CommentMonday Analysis: U.S. Committed to Israel’s Security
Leave a Commentby Claude Salhani – Editor, Middle East Times
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the United States would stand by Israel and protect it from potential Iranian nuclear threats. Israel, along with the United States and several members of the European Union, has accused Iran of wanting to develop nuclear weapons.
How politically flexible is Hamas?
Comments (1)How politically flexible is Hamas?
By Claude Salhani
WASHINGTON - Three primary questions arise when discussing the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, also known by its Arabic acronym, Hamas. First, how politically flexible are they? Second, Will they ever talk to the United States and Israel? Third, are they implicated in trying to expand Islamist influence to Latin America, as is believed to be the case with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite Movement.
A Nuclear Pandora’s Box
OPINION
Khaleej Times
Should what was once referred to as the Arab-Israeli dispute now be called the Arab-Israel-Persian dispute? Indeed, Iran’s entrance into the “traditional” Middle East conflict only serves to expand the reach of the crisis, more than from simply a geographic perspective.
What was once a relatively straightforward conflict over real estate has turned into a complicated war of religion, which comes on top of the other problems afflicting the region; natural resources and of course the issue of real estate which still lies at the core of the conflict. But now, one can add the all explosive ingredient, if you will excuse the pun, nuclear weapons.
Chairman of Joint Chiefs: Iran Can Develop Nukes
By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)
Iran is at the point where it can develop nuclear weapons said Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Wednesday in Washington.
Obama’s Foreign Policy Faces First Real Opposition
By CLAUDE SALHANI
The first real opposition to Barack Obama’s foreign policy surfaced this week after the U.S. president told the New York Times that his administration could engage in dialogue with the moderate element of the Taliban – and it came from his supporters.
What to do with Iran?
For the last 30 years, ever since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the shah of Iran and installed a strict theocratic regime in its place, Western nations, as well as Iran’s immediate neighbors, have been asking themselves the same two questions: How serious is the Iranian threat? And what to do with the Islamic Republic of Iran, if that threat is serious?
Lebanon’s Role in the Middle East Peace Process
Lebanon is the smallest Arab country, after Bahrain. However, it has far more people than Bahrain: 3.97 million versus 718,300. And it has considerably far fewer resources than the tiny oil-rich island kingdom situated in the Gulf. Yet Lebanon, whose role as a major participant in the broader Middle East peace process until recently was not considered essential, now finds itself at the forefront of a final settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute.
The Mouth That Roared
The title of this article is not a typographical error. Rather, this was how an acquaintance, an analyst well familiar with the Middle East, referred to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s latest rant last week.
No sooner had U.S. President Barack Obama declared in front of the world a drastic change in U.S. foreign policy, criticizing past dealings with the Arab and Muslim worlds, and announcing that henceforth the Arabs and Muslims would be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, Ahmadinejad refuted the hand of friendship extended from Washington.
Rahm Emanuel: Truth and Falsehoods
By CLAUDE SALHANI
Editor, Middle East Times
Many people in the Arab world wasted little time before criticizing President-elect Barack Obama for choosing Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. Before those who find fault with the president-elect’s new appointment, let me offer the following advice: take a deep breath and give the next American president and his team the benefit of the doubt.
