By Emile Nakhleh As street protests continue unabated in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, and other Middle Eastern countries, regimes have used the social media platforms and traditional media to track, control, and repress their citizens. Iran has shut down the… Continue Reading
By Emile Nakhleh Lebanon’s largely peaceful “Arab Spring” is a model in civic activism for the greater Middle East. Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s offer to resign in response to the country’s popular uprising, which has been devoid of bloodshed and… Continue Reading
By Emile Nakhleh The demise of Osama bin Ladin in 2011 did not end al-Qaeda. Nor will the apparent demise of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi end the terror of the Islamic State. Al-Baghdadi’s death is a major psychological blow to the… Continue Reading
by Emile Nakhleh President Trump’s recent decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the Syrian-Turkish border and the ensuing Turkish offensive against the Kurds have thrown the Levant and the wider region into a deadly spiral of chaos and mayhem. Despite… Continue Reading
by Emile Nakhleh As of this writing, President Trump seems to be using more severe sanctions as a response to the September 14 attack on two Saudi oil facilities, which he blames on Iran. It’s difficult to predict whether, in… Continue Reading