Among the Middle East’s authoritarian leaders, there’s a mantra: economic development takes precedence over civil freedoms and human rights. Things such as free speech, assembly, association and competitive …
Category:
Opinion
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The conversation between Captain Allen McBroom of the Marines’ 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance and a villager from San Banadar in Afghanistan’s Southern Helmand Province was floundering. McBroom was fishing …
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About the only phrase guaranteed to cross Istanbul’s linguistic barriers is “trafik problem,” the despondent opening line of many taxi drivers. For some, it provides the excuse to take …
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Egypt is still reeling from the recent elections for the People’s Assembly, the lower and primary house of the country’s bicameral parliament. The first round, on November 28, was …
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Over the past decade the Middle East has shaken off its ‘danger zone’ reputation of being a place where only the foolhardy or “conflicted tourists” would plan a holiday. Since …
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Turkey’s fiery, if thin-skinned, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a love-hate relationship with the press. He loves the organizations that show appreciation of his policies and seems to …
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Command Outpost (COP) Spera is located 800 meters from the border with Pakistan in Afghanistan’s Khost province. The platoon section that occupies the COP can only come and go …
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Following the suspension of two FIFA executive committeemembers for accepting bribes, the world’s governing football organization onDecember 2 announced that Russia and Qatar will host the World Cup (WC) in …
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The storms that wracked Lebanon in mid-December were among the most severe in several years. While they helped douse the epidemic of late season brush fires and allowed nervous …
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Jordan is often said to be divided, both demographically andpolitically, between so-called “real” Jordanians and those of Palestiniandescent. Yet that is hardly the only fault line lurking below the …