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Jordan emerges from Gaza-Israel showdown with little political clout
Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Jordan emerges from Gaza-Israel showdown with little political clout

    In the final leg of his recent Middle Eastern tour, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped in Amman for half a day to meet King Abdullah. Blinken’s main objective was to support the shaky cease-fire reached between Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel after an 11-day military showdown. Speaking at a press conference on May 26, Blinken said that “the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah was crucial, as it always has been in different issues, his role was essential in reaching a cease-fire in Gaza.”  Jordanians were less confident of their government’s role in ending what most saw as “Israeli aggression against Gaza,” however. Even before the recent military clash Jordanian pundits, some known for their close ties to the government, were critical of the lukewarm official response to the Israeli provocations of Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

    June 2, 2021

    Once again, Iraq is at a crossroads
    Photo by Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Once again, Iraq is at a crossroads

    Although it has been more than 18 months since Iraq’s October 2019 protests, many of the big questions raised remain unanswered, most of which revolve around the sustainability of the post-2003 political system and its ability to correct itself over time.

    May 3, 2021

    مرة أخرى ، العراق عند مفترق طرق
    Photo by HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • مرة أخرى ، العراق عند مفترق طرق

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    في عام 2003 ، بعد الإطاحة بنظام صدام حسين ، كان لدى العراقيين آمال كبيرة في إحداث تغيير جوهري في حياتهم بعد ثلاثة عقود ونصف من الاستبداد. لكن في السنوات التي تلت ذلك ، لم تتحقق الكثير من هذه التوقعات.

    May 3, 2021

    دورة العراق المستمرة من النجاحات والكوارث
  • Commentary
  • دورة العراق المستمرة من النجاحات والكوارث

    “إذا كان الاجتماع الإيراني السعودي في بغداد نتيجة دبلوماسية عراقية قديرة وذكية، فإن مأساة المستشفى هي نتيجة للفساد المستشري في الطبقة السياسية وثقافة الإفلات من العقاب”.

    April 29, 2021

    Expert Views: The Biden administration and the Middle East: Reflecting on the first 100 days
    Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Expert Views: The Biden administration and the Middle East: Reflecting on the first 100 days

    At the end of Joe Biden’s first 100 days as president of the United States, where do things stand when it comes to U.S. policy toward the Middle East and North Africa? We asked experts and scholars from across MEI to weigh in with their thoughts on the changes we’ve seen so far, the new challenges that have emerged, and what we know about the administration’s key priorities for the region. 

    العراق والتحول العسكري الأمريكي
  • Commentary
  • العراق والتحول العسكري الأمريكي

    “الكاظمي يحاول تدريجيًا احتواء المليشيات بينما يتعهد بتجنب حرب أهلية جديدة داخل العراق، وهو موقف يرحب به العراقيون المنهكون”.

    Mansour Abbas: Islamist kingmaker or the “good Arab”?
    Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Mansour Abbas: Islamist kingmaker or the “good Arab”?

    At a press conference on Thursday, MK Mansour Abbas, head of the newly elected Islamist party in Israel, the United Arab List (Ra’am), made what many in the Israeli media dubbed a historic speech. In an effort to reach out to the Jewish Israeli public, he spoke in Hebrew and during the prime time on television often given to Israeli politicians. Speaking surrounded by the party’s green flags, the conservative Islamist quotedverses from the Quran calling for the creation of “an opportunity for a shared life, in the holy and blessed land for the followers of the three religions and both peoples” and told his Hebrew-speaking audience that “Now is the time for change.”

    April 2, 2021

    Reflecting on the global effort to fight violence against women
    Photo by HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Reflecting on the global effort to fight violence against women

    On March 8, the world came together to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), a barometer of annual development on global gender equality. This year, violence against women and women’s protection have been front and center on the political agenda across the world, including in the Middle East, as incidents of violence against them spark mass mobilization and anger from citizens. As civic activism grows, and citizens are increasingly politically and publicly engaged, women are fighting louder and harder than ever before to be a central voice in broader calls to action.

    March 30, 2021

    Political risk vs. risk to force: How policy decisions impact risk and capability in partner operations
    Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Political risk vs. risk to force: How policy decisions impact risk and capability in partner operations

    Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military’s name for the international intervention to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014. While OIR has been a success, it has necessarily been imperfect. Throughout the campaign, cost-benefit calculations made by policymakers led to missed opportunities and possibly a longer conflict. These decisions will have lasting repercussions that could undermine the hard-won victory against ISIS, as well as the ability to partner in future interventions. In particular, the United States mishandled its partner relationships in the war to defeat ISIS. Political considerations apparently won out against supporting and sustaining the SDF, our military partner forces.