New dangers in Africa

The Polisario Front – less known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro – a group fighting for the independence of Western Sahara could be turning to radical Islamism and international crime, warns a European intelligence analyst.

Big Test for Palestine

The Palestinian Authority took its first step towards nationhood when it assumed control of the Gaza Strip’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, nearly three months after Israel closed it.

Bush and Hurricane al-Jazeera

The hurricane season is over but President George W. Bush is getting no respite. Having barely recovered from the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the president is now facing the full brunt of Hurricane Al Jazeera.

A document leaked to the London Daily Mirror reported that Bush raised the idea of bombing Al Jazeera’s main offices in Doha, but was restrained by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The British newspaper reported that Blair advised against such action.

Lebanon gives the world the alphabet & tabouleh

Gen. Michel Aoun came to Washington to drum up support for his bid for the presidency. He told a group of sympathizers gathered over lunch in Washington Tuesday that Lebanon is a country with great ingenuity; “We gave the world the alphabet and Tabouleh,” said the former general.

North Korea assists Iran in building nukes

Iran is building nuclear-warhead capable missiles with help from North Korean experts in a vast underground complex near Tehran. The project, initiated at the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1989, involves dozens of immense tunnels and facilities built under the mountains near Tehran, Iranian opposition sources reported Monday. The information was first released in September, but the involvement of North Korean experts, and the report that Iran’s missile production has reached an advanced stage, brings a new twist to Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The two faces of Palestine

Assuming that peace is one day achieved between Israel and the Palestinians, the future State of Palestine will consist of two territories — the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. But the two areas comprising what is known today as the Palestinian Authority could not be more dissimilar.

Major setbacks for Bush

PRESIDENT George W. Bush has suffered a number of political setbacks in recent weeks, the hardest of which was losing two key states to Democrats. Or was it the scandal involving his vice president’s chief advisor? Or was it?

Jerusalem: Another brick in the Wall

Everything in the disputed Middle East, even naming something, is a complicated exercise. The Israelis call it the “security fence,” the Palestinians refer to it as the “apartheid wall,” and the United Nations calls it a “barrier.” Others call it the “Jerusalem security envelope.”

Interview with Bibi Netanyahu

Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, believes the rise of radical Islam is a real challenge to Israel and to the entire Western world. If left unchecked, Netanyahu cautions, the danger will only grow, and with dire consequences.

Gaza — boiling away

Following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the area was left to its own demise.