An extremely insightful commentary on al-Qaeda and the new terror wave from Al-Jazeera. Soumayya Ghannoushi cuts through the propaganda that the attacks are unrelated to Iraq or any other legitimate grievances—without loaning the slightest degree of legitimacy to either criminal… Read moreAl-Qaeda: real grievances, wrong answers
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) runs a July 13 piece from the Florida Times-Union, “Muslim Leaders Condemning Terror to Deaf?” in which columnist Mark Woods speaks to CAIR’s new chairman Parvez Ahmed and finds that such Muslim condemnations are… Read moreIslam and terror: two Muslim views
Jeez, will people please stop blowing other people up already? This is really getting old. Minibus Explosion in Turkey Leaves 5 Dead ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A bomb tore apart a minibus in a popular Aegean beach resort town Saturday,… Read moreTerror in Turkey
This analysis from Lebanon’s Daily Star, July 12, online at Kurdish Media, makes clear the dilemma of the Syrian Kurds. The fact that they are disenfranchised by the Damascus regime makes them a convenient football for White House hawks. And… Read moreSyria’s Kurds: pawns or actors?
President Bush says today he has receieved reports of covert Syrian interference in Lebanon, and the White House charged that it had information that Damascus had drawn up an assassination hit list targeting Lebanese political leaders. “Obviously we’re going to… Read moreBush accuses Syria on Lebanon
During the Turkish National Day celebration in the eastern city of Siirt this week, helicopter gunships circled over the stadium and sharpshooters stood watch on rooftops–signs of the rising tension in southeast Turkey as Kurdish separatists rekindle an insurgency after… Read morePKK insurgency flares in Turkey
At least 20 Kurdish guerilla fighters are dead in an assualt by Turkish army troops backed up by US-made Cobra attack helicopters near the Iraq border, AP reported April 15. Three Turkish soldiers and a village guardsman were also killed… Read morePKK resurgence in Turkish Kurdistan
Lebanon’s Omar Karami has resigned a second time, after Parliament refused to accept his February 28 resignation. This time Najib Mikati, a Sunni perceived as a moderate, has been chosen to succeed him. Mikati hailed the opposition–especially Druze leader Walid… Read moreLebanon back from brink?
Scores are dead in Yemen, where security forces are battling Islamist forces led by Badruddin Al-Houthi in and around the northwestern town of Saada. A group of opposition parties is calling for the nation’s pariliament to immediately launch an investigation… Read moreCounter-insurgency in Yemen
A powerful bomb tore through a shopping mall in the Christian area north of Beirut March 23, killing three Asian immigrant workers and bringing Lebanon closer to chaos weeks before general elections. (Reuters, March 23) It is the latest outburst… Read moreAnother bomb blast in Lebanon
In the men-only elections for half the seats on Saudi Arabia‘s municipal councils–a landmark step towards democracy by Saudi standards–results are in from the capital, Riyadh, and over 30 losing candidates are claiming the seven winners violated campaign guidelines. The… Read moreOpposition: Islamists cheat in Saudi elections
A front-page story in the Feb. 10 NY Times notes that Saudi Arabia is holding its first national election that day–albeit with an "asterisk": women are barred from the vote, and even men only get to elect half the members… Read moreSaudi dissidents freed on eve of election
