Meet the New Boss: The Resurgence of Mideast Authoritarianism

by Derek Davison Over the next few months, citizens in several Middle Eastern countries will take to the polls in a series of elections that will have a good deal to say about the direction the region’s politics will take.… Continue Reading

Amidst CW Disarmament, No Pause in Syrian Fighting

by Wayne White Most international attention remains focused on locating, inspecting and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons (CW) arsenal, but the bloody conventional civil war rages on. The process of getting rid of Syria’s CW probably will take at least until… Continue Reading

Hope, Scepticism Over U.S.-Russia Accord on Syria Conference

by Jim Lobe  via IPS News The surprise accord reached by the U.S. and Russia in Moscow Tuesday to try to convene an international conference to resolve the two-year-old civil war in Syria as soon as the end of this… Continue Reading

Should Iran be Included in Syria Conflict Diplomacy?

As former top State Department intelligence specialist Wayne White points out for Lobe Log, in the absence of a tenable ceasefire agreement, the quagmire that is the Syrian civil war will likely intensify, thereby only worsening post-Assad scenarios. “The bottom line is that a… Continue Reading