By Gary Gerofsky

The obsession of the EU, the USA, the UN, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Russia and even the Vatican to interfere in Israel’s domestic and foreign policy reminds me of the treatment of a Big Brother who has failed to do right in his past and thinks that he can make amends by forcing little brother to make all the sacrifices that Big Brother never has and never will make to satisfy a guilty conscience.

(more…)

by Raymond Ibrahim*

The Obama administration’s censoring of photographs of the late Osama bin Laden, lest they offend Muslims, is one thing; but what about censoring words, especially those pivotal to U.S. security?

The Daily Caller reveals that “the Obama administration has been pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive.”

(more…)

By Gary Gerofsky

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: Get back to your damn office and do some serious homework! You and your administration have now become the enablers of the worst ideologies that the Middle East has to offer and you are abusing your only reliable ally in the region and throwing Israel under the bus to ingratiate your administration to a dangerous new group of dictators along with the existing miserable bunch.

(more…)

by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi*

As we approach the end of the first year of what has been called the “Arab Spring,” it is worth examining the nature of Shi’a (Shiite)-Sunni relations in the Middle East. Indeed, commentators such as Patrick Cockburn have been warning that “since the start of the Arab uprisings this year, Shi’a-Sunni hostility has deepened again wherever the two communities seek to live side by side.”

To discuss this issue, a country-by-country survey is useful wherever there are significant Shi’a-Sunni divides in the population.

(more…)

By Barry Rubin

Assuming that the Muslim Brotherhood and smaller Islamist groups do very well in Egypt’s parliamentary election today, what does it tell us about the modern history and political future of that country? The main cause for the political upheaval in Egypt was the long-term failure of the Arab nationalist regime that governed there, and in much of the Arab world, for well over half a century.

Rulers’ inability to keep promises about what they were going to achieve — pan-Arab union, rapid social and economic progress, genocide against Israel, driving out Western influences — has long been clear. Their corruption, the lack of freedom they offered and the economic hardships they brought have also long been clear.

(more…)

By Fern Sidman

In an exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, New York City topographer and recent ZOA awardee Mark Langfan, responded to statements made by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon while on an official visit to Greece. According to wire service reports, during a news briefing on Tuesday, Ayalon was asked what Israel’s reaction would be to a threat posed by Turkey regarding oil drilling in Cyprus. Ayalon unequivocally stated: “If anyone tries to challenge these drillings, we will meet these challenges.” Last month Turkey said it would send naval forces to protect its drilling rights.

(more…)

By Barry Rubin

What is the definition of insanity? Repeating the same behavior and expecting different results.

What is the definition of Middle East policy insanity? Intensifying the same behavior that has already failed and expecting a better result.

(more…)

By Gary Gerofsky

The only non-military response to Islamism and the creeping sharia (Islamic law) that is infecting the world is through strength and activism against this scourge and against those in power who are facilitating Islamist expansion. The generations that went before us defeated communism and fascism, and now we must step up to the plate to defeat Islamism. This task is made seriously difficult because we have a Muslim supporter in the White House and weak, ignorant, misinformed leaders married to multiculturalism, wishful thinking, and leftism that is intent on appeasing Islamists in all but a few places (For political reasons related to 9/11, Al Qaeda seems to be the only real Islamist concern for the Obama administration.) Our Western countries have become divided states, one part for the radicals and one for the majority of citizenry — and, by virtue of our free and fair society, they are both afforded the same rights. The new world order has its new world leader with Obama encouraging dissent and self-loathing among his own countrymen while boosting the political fortunes of Muslim Brotherhood forces who want us dead and who live by their belief in intolerance and a world ruled by Islamic edicts.

(more…)

by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi*

According to a report by the French daily Le Figaro, Bashar al-Assad is apparently aiming to destabilize Turkey, which has been supporting the predominantly Sunni Islamist leadership of opposition groups to the Syrian regime, by seeking to grant greater autonomy to the Kurdish population that primarily lives in the north and north-east of Syria.

(more…)

by Sara Akrami and Saeed Ghasseminejad

When the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979, its leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, formed a notorious organization called the “Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.” Its major goal is the protection of the country’s Islamic system of government, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) works to prevent any uprisings or internal dissent. It has also been linked to terrorist activities around the world and it supports terrorist organizations. In recent years, especially under the government of the inhumane and Holocaust-denying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the IRGC has taken over many aspects of Iranian society. It has influence in the political, social, military, and especially economic systems. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has turned into a business empire in Iran and is known as one of the wealthiest organizations after the National Iranian Oil Company.

(more…)

By Alexander Maistrovoy

Political commentaries about the events in the Middle East resemble mythological plots written by an experienced censor.

Myths don’t need facts. Their creators’ adjust the facts to their own paradigm. And ideological mythology is not an exception.

Western journalists’ commentaries on Middle East problems give me a sense of deja vu. It feels as though they have undergone the censorship of the Soviet Political Bureau or rather were written by the editor of Soviet “Pravda”, and then distributed with slight modifications, when actually these were written in The Washington Post, La Repubblica, Israel’s Haaretz and other “trustworthy” publications.

(more…)

By Fern Sidman

Just hours before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna released their much awaited report confirming Iran’s “development of a nuclear explosive device”, this very topic was vigorously addressed at a forum at the 92nd Street Y on Manhattan’s upper east side. Excerpts from the powerful 2011 documentary, “Iranium” (which documents the genesis of Iran’s nuclear threat, beginning with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ideology espoused by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini until today) was screened before the 200 audience members. Simulcast to a variety of venues around the country, the distinguished panel members had the opportunity of answering questions from audience members who were not present at the location.

(more…)

By Barry Rubin

What does theocracy look like? This is what theocracy looks like! *

Many people find it hard to comprehend what the Obama Administration thinks it’s doing in the Middle East. But it’s really very simple if you know the history of the arguments, read carefully administration speeches and documents, watch their actions, and talk to some of those involved.

Leaving aside a number of points I’ve made in a previous article (which would be good to read in conjunction with this one), I want to focus here on one concept: the idea that the U.S. government has outsmarted the Islamists.

(more…)

by Ian Johnson*

In early 1959, a small West German intelligence operation stumbled over a sensational find: U.S. collusion with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the West German sources — two ex-Wehrmacht soldiers who were in Washington’s pay but still felt loyalty to their old German bosses — Washington was supporting one of the Brotherhood’s top men, the Geneva-based Said Ramadan, son-in-law of the movement’s founder Hassan al-Banna, in the hope of using him in the global battle against communism. The U.S. double-agents wanted to know if the West Germans would also help support Ramadan.

(more…)

by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi*

Does the recent successful killing of American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki vindicate US policy towards Yemen, or is a change in approach needed? The question is particularly relevant as Awlaki has been an online figure of inspiration for many jihadists and their sympathizers (e.g. the failed “Christmas Day” bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who may have received training in Yemen as well).

Contrary to all expectations, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen has recovered from severe injuries suffered during a rocket or bomb attack back in June and has returned from Saudi Arabia to the country’s capital of Sanaa. What are the implications for the outside world? Currently, the main concern of US officials is the presence of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which they fear will use Yemen as a base to launch attacks against Western targets. Are these concerns valid?

(more…)