Middle East & North Africa Archive

Throughout history, the most transparent and blunt expression of international power has involved the projection of military force. Over the years, other forms of power have gained importance, with the concept of “soft power” — or the ability to peacefully persuade and attract other nations to acquiesce to a country’s will — recently gaining prominence as an alternative to traditional “hard power.” But for countries without the luxury of the large military budgets that fuel hard power or the massive cultural and economic assets that underpin soft power, a third way has emerged as a path to global influence. Call […]

Former Knesset member Yossi Beilin speaks with WorldFocus’ DaljitDhaliwal about the Israeli government’s issues with West Bank settlersand peace talks with Palestinian officials. Beilin says that in theend, he is confident that settlers will comply with the government’srequests. A temporary freeze will not revive peace talks between theIsraelis and the Palestinians, however, says Beilin.

Recent attacks in Iraq have shaken Iraqi security gains after a periodof relative calm. The most recent attack, killing 170 people andinjuring hundreds more, coincided with the announcement of a newpresidential election date. Jane Arraf of the Christian Science Monitorand Global Post talks to NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill about the mood inBaghdad, Obama’s election intervention and from where this new wave ofviolence may be coming.

In the summer of 1999, during one of the most notable periods of social unrest in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, an ominous letter signed by 24 leaders of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution Corps (also known as the IRGC or Sepah e Pasdaran) was delivered to then-President Mohammad Khatami. In what amounted to an ultimatum, the IRGC leaders expressed their grave concern about the direction taken by the reformist movement, which at the time controlled both the legislative and executive branches of the Iranian government. The letter warned Khatami that the IRGC feared for the […]

In a meeting in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama and TurkishPrime Minister Tayyip Erdogan discussed a wide range of topics fromenergy to Armenia-Turkey relations. Obama emphasized not only theirNATO commitments to one another, but also focused on the increasingeconomic ties between the two nations.

Vali Nasr talks to WorldFocus’ Daljit Dhaliwal about the role of Iran’srising middle class. Nasr, a professor at the Fletcher School at TuftsUniversity, says that recent protests are an illustration of Iran’seducated youth and their lean toward the West.

Iran has long been considered one of India’s key allies in the Muslim world. But relations between the two countries have been adrift since India voted against Iran at the IAEA, in 2005 and 2006. Taken aback by India’s position, the Islamic republic responded by blocking already contracted shipments of liquid natural gas (LNG) on the grounds that the price needed to be renegotiated. The move effectively downgraded the Indo-Iranian energy relationship, with Iran subsequently making noises about building a gas pipeline to China, even as Saudi Arabia’s importance as an energy supplier to India continues to grow. However, the […]

Here are a few of this week’s highlights from WPR’s video section: -Romanians are discouraged by their choices for the next president as election day approaches. The Wall Street Journal reports in this video. -Kosovo meets resistance in its fight for independence. This Al Jazeera video shows the push back coming from Belgrade. -Residents of Gyumri, Armenia’s once-prospering second city, contemplate the significance of an open border with Turkey in this WSJ video. -United NationsSpecial Representative in Iraq Ad Melkert discusses the political climate in Iraq in this New America Foundation video. And if you missed our Afghanistan strategy video […]

Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation talks with United NationsSpecial Representative in Iraq Ad Melkert. Melkert says that Iraqis arebeginning to feel the weight of responsibility as the fate of the “newIraq” is increasingly placed in their hands. In that vein, Melkert sayshe thinks the stalled Iraqi election will take place “reasonably soon.”

If you’re looking for a clear-eyed, non-alarmist assessment of Turkey and the bilateral U.S.-Turkey relationship in advance of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington on Monday, I recommend Hugh Pope’s brief monograph (.pdf, via Yigal Schleifer). Pope argues that the suspicions that Turkey labors under (hidden Islamist agenda and a “neo-Ottoman” shift to the East) are largely overblown. He recommends that President Barack Obama avoid the many potential issues of conflict between the two countries, and instead focus on two central policy objectives that he says will test Turkey’s true intentions: getting Ankara to recommit to its EU […]

When the White House first announced President Barack Obama’s decision to give a speech in Cairo in order to “reset” U.S.-Muslim relations last June, American pundits from the left and right criticized the speech’s location, its timing and its presumed content. Skepticism dominated Middle Eastern commentary as well. In a region battered by conflict and profoundly suspicious of Western intentions, the history of the 20th century, as taught in schools, was dominated by the narrative of colonialism and national liberation, war and resistance. From this perspective, Britain and France simply passed the imperial torch to the United States. So the […]

I’d be remiss not to point out this Arms Control Wonk post regarding Iran’s recent declaration that it would build 10 new enrichment facilities. In a nutshell, Joshua Pollack wonders whether the sites might not end up corresponding to the intelligence files the IAEA already has on other hidden sites., what he calls “compliance in defiance”: One way to see it, then, is that the Iranian side has seized theopportunity to get tough by coming clean, or to come clean by gettingtough. In the two-level gameof international diplomacy and Iranian domestic politics, this sort ofJanus-faced response may be as close […]

Every few months, Israelis undergo an emotionally wrenching experience, with one family in particular experiencing it on a level no other could comprehend. With cruel regularity, the local and international media announce the imminent release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by Palestinian operatives more than three years ago. Once again, there is word that negotiations between the Israeli government and Hamas, the Islamic organization that governs Gaza, are on the verge of bringing an end to Shalit’s captivity. With the help of German and Egyptian intermediaries, the two sides may soon conduct a trade. Israel could free perhaps as many […]

A series of recent moves indicates that Iran’s fundamentalist Shiite hierarchy is increasingly wary of extremist Sunni beliefs and the militant practitioners bringing them into the Islamic Republic from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even Iraq. As part of an effort to halt the spread of radicalism, Iranian authorities are denouncing those tenets and deporting non-nationals who ascribe to them, while combating Sunni terrorists at home. Having been a state sponsor of terrorism for many years, the regime in Tehran and Qom has now begun experiencing a measure of the fear they have previously inflicted on others. In a November meeting with […]