The Current State of Affairs in Bahrain

Lobe Log contributor Emile Nakhleh, an expert on political Islam and Middle Eastern society, recently provided a fascinating primer on Bahrain to the Bahrain Mirror (Arabic version), an e-newspaper run by Bahraini dissidents. As discussed in the Mirror’s introduction, prior to… Continue Reading

Iraq: US “Troop Surge” Magic Bullet Myth Lives On

Criticism of former Senator Chuck Hagel for not backing the 2007 US “troop surge” in Iraq demands an explanation of why that relatively small reinforcement was not the main driver for reversing Iraq’s descent into violent chaos. In fact, when… Continue Reading

US-Iraq Relations: A very Mixed Picture

The signing on 6 December of a US-Iraq Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning defense cooperation might suggest ties between Washington and Baghdad remain close, but such is not the case. In fact, the two sides have more generally experienced somewhat… Continue Reading

Bahraini Repression Amidst a Failing Strategy

via IPS News This week’s decision by the Bahraini court of appeals to uphold the prison terms against Bahraini opposition activists is a travesty of justice and an indication that Bahraini repression continues unabated. Bahraini officials, when confronted with angry… Continue Reading

Expert Q&A: US Should Encourage NATO/Turkey-led Assistance to Syrian Opposition Forces

Emile Nakhleh is a retired Senior Intelligence Service Officer, a Research Professor at the University of New Mexico and a National Intelligence Council associate. Since retiring from the United States Government in 2006, he has been consulting with different US… Continue Reading