Archive for March, 2009|Monthly archive page

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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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