Guita Hourani

The fourth Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region concluded last week with a drop in donations for 2020 for those affected by the decade-long war, a result which is disappointing but not surprising.

During three major crises, each happening under a different administration, the U.S.-Gulf partnership failed to effectively address the security concerns of the Gulf states. While no partnership is perfect, such major and persistent breakdowns in coordination among longstanding security partners are uncommon, and can be deadly if left unresolved.

The Middle East Institute was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the murder of the esteemed and admired Iraqi scholar Husham al-Hashimi outside his home in Baghdad on Monday, July 6.

The double whammy of the economic fallout of COVID-19 and a lack of sufficient support from international donors is putting enormous pressure on PM Hamdok’s government.

This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Dara Conduit, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Mark Heller, Syed Mohammad Ali, Gonul Tol, and Guled Ahmed.

Outside of clerical circles in Iran, the name of Alireza Arafi is hardly well known, but he deserves more attention. His entire career has been shaped by appointments given to him by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In fact, Arafi may even be a candidate to succeed Khamenei when the day comes.

Today’s landscape is dramatically different from that to which we awoke on Sept. 11, 2001. It’s a complex mix of foreign and domestic forces influenced by economic and social conditions that breed extremism which ebbs and flows across physical and cyber space often defined by great power competition. While terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS have innovated and adapted, U.S. counterterrorism strategy has remained unchanged, fighting yesterday’s war while neglecting present day threats as well as those over the near horizon. America is long overdue to update its counterterrorism strategy and, perhaps more importantly, how we measure success.

ضيف هذه الحلقة الدكتور بول سالم، رئيس معهد الشرق الأوسط في واشنطن. نناقش الاتجاهات والسمات الأساسية لما تمر به دول الشرق الأوسط ومجتمعاتها، وما تعنيه التقلّبات والاضطرابات التي نشهدها. وكذلك نناقش ثوابت السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية، وما يمكن أن يتغير بين إدارة وأخرى في السنوات القادمة.

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent states of the Caspian and Russia are still deeply intertwined in each other’s economies, security, and cultures. Moscow has continued to wield considerable military, political, and economic influence in the region.

With the election of former IRGC commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s “Second Phase of the Revolution” is well under way in two of the three branches of government in the Islamic Republic. All eyes have now turned to the presidency, with elections less than one year away.

One Square Meter Berber is a Dutch-Moroccan project with a dual mission: to protect the dying craft of traditional Berber carpet weaving and to fight the exploitation of the skilled craftswomen who keep the iconic industry from coming apart at the seams.https://www.onesquaremeterberber.com