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fcastro2

Turkish Military Evacuates Soldiers Guarding Tomb in Syria - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...turky-syria-tomb-isis.html

ISIS syria politics turkey

shared by fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • The Turkish Army sent armored troops deep into Syria late Saturday on a rescue mission, to recover the remains of a major historical figure and to evacuate the guards at his besieged tomb
  • The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is 20 miles south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France
  • there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • He said Turkey notified the Syrian government, rebel leaders and the coalition forces fighting the Islamic State about the operation.
  • 572 troops, 39 tanks, 57 armored vehicles and 100 other vehicles were involved
  • Turkish flag was lowered, and the tomb and security station were destroyed to prevent any possible use by extremists.
  • operation was prompted by the chaos and instability in Syria
  • clashes were likely to erupt nearby between forces of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Kurdish troops known as pesh merga, and that the tomb could become a target.
  • “The Suleyman Shah tomb has been a point of vulnerability for Turkey for a long time, and with this operation, such weakness has been eliminated
  • “The Islamic State could have used the presence of the tomb as leverage in case of any confrontation with Turkey
  • in accordance with the 1921 treaty, a new tomb for Suleyman Shah was being established in a part of Syria that is under Kurdish control
  • when conditions in Syria permitted, the tomb would be moved back again to the site that was evacuated, near the village of Karakozak
  • Tensions have mounted around the tomb since March, when the Islamic State took control of the surrounding area and began threatening to destroy the tomb unless guards there lowered the Turkish flag.
  • The militant group raided Turkey’s consulate in Mosul, Iraq, last June and seized 46 Turks and 3 Iraqis as hostages; they were released three months later on terms that were not disclosed
  • crisis discouraged Turkey from joining the United States-led military coalition conducting strikes against the Islamic State, though Turkey has cooperated with the United States in other ways,
  • Turkey has lobbied intensively for international military action in Syria, including no-fly zones and a presence on the ground to strengthen the more moderate Syrian rebel groups who are fighting both the extremists and the Syrian government.
  • Syrian government issued a statement on Sunday calling the military operation a “flagrant aggression” because Turkey did not wait for permission from Damascus to mount i
  • The Kurds were aided by airstrikes and other support from the American-led coalition
  • Mr. Ulgen, the analyst, said the choice of route was a sign of some improvement in relations between the Turkish government in Ankara and the Syrian Kurds, whom the Turks have regarded with deep suspicion.
  • fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15
     
    The Turkish government recently went into an extremist-controlled territory in order to evacuate a tomb of a major historical figure, and the soldiers who guarded it. The safe passage of this mission has shown that the relations between Turkey and Syria have gotten a bit better. 
fcastro2

Syria crisis: Where key countries stand - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-middle-east-23849587

syria politics Russia China US UK France Arab States

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • The eruption of civil conflict in Syria in 2011 very quickly provoked a deep split in the international community over which side to back and what outcome to see
  • Syria regarded as the world's most pressing crisis, the US and Russia, along with other permanent members of the UN Security Council, Turkey and Arab states, have attempted to resolve their differences.
  • Their Geneva Communique, which calls for a transitional government based on "mutual consent", has become the basis for peace talks in the Swiss city. But it is clear the sides have different interpretations of the plan, and have so far failed to achieve a breakthroug
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • US wants Bashar al-Assad out of power, and is pushing for the transitional government called for in the Geneva communique.
  • President Barack Obama sought Congressional support for military action but postponed the vote - which was not certain to pass - when Syria indicated it would surrender its chemical stockpile
  • United States has been one of the most prominent advocates of firm action against the Syrian government, which it has accused of using chemical weapons and other atrocities.
  • It is backing Syria's "moderate opposition" with "non-lethal" assistance, including communications equipment, generators, and office supplies - but is also believed to be supplying light weapon
  • Russia is one of Mr Assad's most important international backers and has warned the US and its allies against taking one-sided action against Syria
  • Russia was key to Syria agreeing to give up chemical weapons, and backs the Geneva Communique. But it has repeatedly said Syria's future should be decided by Syrians and blocked anti-Assad resolutions at the UN Security Council. It continues to supply Syria with arms, including missile systems and aircraft
  • Britain has been a big critic of the Assad government and signed a statement in 2013 calling for a "strong international respons
  • supported military action but had to rule out Britain's involvement when he failed to secure the backing of parliament in August 2013.
  • UK, along with France, successfully lobbied for the EU's arms embargo to be lifted so as to allow further supplies to Syrian rebels
  • France has been among the most hawkish Western countries and was the first to stop recognising the Syrian government and deal with the main opposition coalition instead.
  • France up to join US military action until plans were put on hold. The president acknowledged that France could not, and would not, act on its own
  • China has joined Russia in blocking resolutions critical of Syria at the UN Security Council. It has criticised the prospect of strikes against Syria, insisting any military action without UN approval would be illegal.
  • Turkish government has been one of the most vocal critics of Syrian President Assad since early on in the uprising and signalled its willingness to join international action even without UN approval
  • Saudi Arabia has been a rival of the Syrian government for years. It has been particularly active in pushing for action against Mr Assad, and called for "all legal means possible" to be used to stop the bloodshed
  • Qatar is thought to be one of the main suppliers of weapons to Syrian rebels and says outside military intervention has become a necessity to protect the Syrian people.
  • ebanon there is deep division between supporters and opponents of President Assad. The country has suffered from an overspill of violence, including bomb attacks, as well as a huge flood of refugees. It has said it thinks military intervention might make the situation worse.
  • Jordan has also received hundreds of thousands of refugees and has called for a political solution to the conflic
  • Iran has been Syria's main backer in the region since well before the current conflict.
  • Iran has warned that any foreign intervention risks sparking a regional war.
  • Israel regards President Assad as an enemy, but has refrained from publicly backing military action against him. It fears its backing could alienate the Arab world,
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    This article details were certain countries, that are most affected by the Syrian conflict, stand within the conflict and how they would like to solve the issue. 
allieggg

Davutoglu: Failure to support democracy led to ISIL Anadolu Agency - 0 views

www.aa.com.tr/...-support-democracy-led-to-isil

Davutoglu Turkey democracy middle east ISIL

shared by allieggg on 10 Oct 14 - No Cached
micklethwait liked it
  • The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is caused by the world's failure to support democracy in the Middle East,
  • " ISIL now exists because we did not properly support the democratic transition processes in 2012, not becauseISIL is so strong or the Syrian and Iraqi people are aligned to ISIL-like radical acts."
  • "We welcomed the Arab Spring when it first began to flourish as we thought the EU and the U.S. would support and finance the Middle East just as they did for the wind of democracy in the Balkans,"
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Davutoglu said countries like Poland and Romania now enjoy democracy due to finance from the EU but, he added, "no state came up to finance democracy in the Middle East."
  • Syria faces a terrorist threat instead of  democracy is because the world abandonedSyria.
  • "Islamic communities that have a deep-rooted culture of politics have the capacity, like any other nation and religion, to both keep democracy alive and improve it,” he added. “Neither Islam nor the world of Islam can be correlated with entities like ISIL."
  • allieggg on 10 Oct 14
     
    Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke at the World Economic Forum about the world's lack of assistance in the transition to democracy in the Middle East and how that ultimately facilitated the birth of ISIL. He explains how a number of EU states were able to maneuver into the democratic realm with the assistance and guidance of the EU, illuminating the idea that the Middle East should be no different. Davutoglu condemns the west for abandoning Middle Eastern states in their dire time of need. While countries around the world supported the Arab Spring, they did nothing to support or finance it to success. He says it would be wrong to correlate the birth of ISIL with Islam, explaining how Islamic communities are perfectly capable of embracing democratic systems. However, assistance in its implementation is vital.
diamond03

Egypt's deep-seated culture of sexism - 1 views

www.middleeastmonitor.com/...-deep-seated-culture-of-sexism

egypt culture sexism women's rights

shared by diamond03 on 22 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Don't worry, women have smaller brains than men."
  • in the Qur'an
  • od's right given to men to command women."
  • ...32 more annotations...
  • "Women overstate the problem
  • harassment
  • gently to ask why they thought it was OK to do it.
  • 99.3 per cent
  • nearly all of the Egyptian women
  • a sleaze-ball while she was pre
  • reported sexual harassment on a too regular basis. One even reported being whistled at by a sleaze-ball while she was pre
  • regular basis. One even reported being whistled at by a sleaze-ball while she was pre
  • deep-rooted culture of male sexism that pervades Egyptian society was clear.
  • sexual harassment law needs to be defined better
  • gender very much defines your experience of walking the streets of Egypt.
  • Twenty-eight per cent of Egyptian women reported being victims of domestic violence
  • UNESCO estimates that a third of Egyptian females will still be illiterat
  • married off at the age of just twelve or thirteen
  • experienced some form of sexual harassment
  • president Adly Mansour approved a new sexual harassment law
  • men are required to report incidents to their local police station, taking the assailant with t
  • described the law as "weak and unclear.
  • nds are too often dismayed when the
  • senior officer simply calls the husband, who takes the woman home
  • Egypt as the worst country for women's rights among twenty-two Arab League states.
  • In the short-term, the
  • propose anonymity for women
  • formed protection squads
  • Tahrir Bodyguard,
  • civil society group
  • President Al-Sisi was elected on a patronising notion of gender.
  • 2011 uprising;
  • Al-Sisi saw the role of a good Egyptian housewife as "encouraging men and children to work
  • Al-Sisi is less about burning the bra and more dousing it with dishwater.
  • His popularity amongst women's rights activists wasn't helped given that he also presented himself as a stereotypical masculine man
  • time for him to step up to the mark on women's rights.
  • diamond03 on 22 Sep 14
     
    Women in Egypt continue to fight for their rights. They continue to be abused even with laws that aim to protect them. 
fcastro2

Russia's Putin, Egypt's Sisi say committed to fighting terrorism | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...pt-syria-idUSKBN0LE1O020150210

russia putin egypt terrorism ISIS Syria politics

shared by fcastro2 on 02 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • United by a deep hostility toward Islamists, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russia's Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday they were both committed to fighting the threat of terrorism.
  • Sisi, who is fighting a raging Islamist insurgency in the Sinai region, said Putin had agreed with him that "the challenge of terrorism that faces Egypt, and which Russia also faces, does not stop at any borders
  • utin, making his first state visit to Egypt in a decade, said they agreed on "reinforcing our efforts in combating terrorism
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • The Kremlin chief was the first leader of a major power to visit Egypt since former army chief Sisi became president in 2014
  • Sisi has repeatedly called for concerted counter-terrorism efforts in the Middle East and the West. Egypt has fought Islamist militancy for decades, mostly through security crackdowns that have weakened, but failed to eliminate, radical group
  • Putin has also resorted to force against Islamists, sending troops to quell a separatist rebellion in Chechnya, but still confronts insurgents in parts of the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region
  • Putin, facing Western isolation and sanctions over his support for pro-Russian separatists in neighboring Ukraine, received a grand welcome in Cair
  • Sisi has since opened up to Moscow, describing Russia on Tuesday as a "strategic friend"
  • Egypt and the Soviet Union were close allies until the 1970s when Cairo moved closer to the United States, which brokered its 1979 peace deal with Israel.
  • Putin said he expected a new round of talks on the Syrian conflict, following on from a meeting of some opposition figures and the Damascus government in Moscow last month
  • The Moscow talks, which ended on Jan. 29, were not seen as yielding a breakthrough as they were shunned by the key political opposition in Syria and did not involve the main insurgent groups fighting on the ground
  • Moscow has been a long-standing ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
  • fcastro2 on 02 Mar 15
     
    Not only is Russia aligning with Syria, but it is also getting closer to Egypt and its government. Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi believes that its relationship with Russia is a "strategic alliance" which is what other middle eastern countries, such as Syria, believe. 
allieggg

The U.S. Is Giving Up on Middle East Democracy-and That's a Mistake - The Atlantic - 0 views

www.theatlantic.com/...282890

middle east democracy institutions Bush Obama Congress

shared by allieggg on 29 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • democracy assistance to the region, which will drop from $459.2 million to $298.3 million
  • Today’s Middle East is a product, at least in part, of failed democratization, and one of the reasons it failed was the timid, half-hearted support of the Obama administration.
  • the significant impact Western leverage and “linkage” can have on democratic transitions.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • “it was an externally driven shift in the cost of suppression, not changes in domestic conditions, that contributed most centrally to the demise of authoritarianism in the 1980s and 1990s.” They find that “states’ vulnerability to Western democratization pressure… was often decisive.”
  • it is also worth noting that President Bush acknowledged the existence of a “tyranny-terror” link—the notion that the root causes of extremism and terrorism can be found in the region’s enduring lack of democracy.
  • the administration’s approach to the region is characterized almost entirely by ad-hoc crisis management and traditional counterterrorism approaches. Its one larger-scale reform initiative—a half-hearted proposal for a
  • We argue that the U.S. and its partners now need to consider a very different approach to Middle East democracy assistance.
  • Conventional democracy promotion activities tend to focus on the process and “retail” aspects of democratic politics—things like elections, political party training, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaigns, and civil society enhancement. While these are undoubtedly important, they are insufficient to deliver lasting reforms. Authoritarianism in the Arab world has proven time and time again—even in supposedly post-revolutionary settings such as Egypt today—that it can weather the annoyances of elections and civil society.
  • What is needed are more systematic reforms focused on fundamental institutions. These include things like constraining the military’s role in civilian domains of governance, deep reform in the security and justice sectors including law enforcement and policing, and comprehensive “renovation” of the civil service sector. These are large-scale, long-term, and expensive undertakings that far transcend the modest parameters of most U.S. democracy promotion programs.
  • we make the case for a new Multilateral Endowment for Reform (MER) that would tie significant levels of financial assistance—in the billions of dollars—to reform commitments and benchmarked implementation performance by partner nations.
  • provide a real incentive for countries to embark down a path to deeper and more enduring political reforms while retaining the ability to pull back funding if they do not deliver.
  • allieggg on 29 Sep 14
     
    This article begins by illuminating the regional democracy assistance cuts that are dropping from $459.2 million to $298.3 million It explains that the Bush Administration began the quest for democracy in the Middle East, and the Obama administration has only continued in his footsteps. The author presents the viewpoint that the U.S. approach to Arab democratization has been in the form of "ad-hoc crisis management" rather than "large scale reform initiatives." Promoting democracy in the form of democratic politics are insufficient, elections and political parties have consistently proved to weather away and fester further civil strife. Consequently, the article proposes a new approach to the region conflict. This approach calls for "systematic reforms" focusing on basic institutions such as the civil service sector, justice and law enforcement, and the military's role in governance. The idea is that addressing these lacking departments in the arab world will eventually pave the way to a smoother democratic transition. 
diamond03

3 Survivors Reveal the Brutal Reality of Female Genital Mutilation - 0 views

www.cosmopolitan.com/...al-mutilation-survivor-stories

reality female genital egypt

shared by diamond03 on 01 Dec 14 - No Cached
  • 3 Survivors Reveal the Brutal Reality of Female Genital Mutilation
  • According to the AHA Foundation, up to 228,000 girls and women in the U.S. are vulnerable to what's called "vacation cutting," when parents send their daughters to stay with their families abroad and to endure female genital mutilation (FGM)
  • they make themselves invisible
  • ...23 more annotations...
  • "We have a culture of silenc
  • "Most women won't share their stories because they are afraid of what will happen to them, what will happen to their parents."
  • The shame runs so deep that girls are taught to never look at or touch their genitals, and most of them have never been to a gynecologist
  • don't even know they have been mutilated until they attempt to have sex, at which time they often need to be cut open again to consummate a marriage.
  • I was 6 and my sister was 3 at the time.
  • Dukureh has been the only U.S.-based survivor to speak up so publicly against FGM
  • We were there three months. We ate out of one shared bowl.
  • We went into a home, and immediately women grabbed and blindfolded us and tied us to some thick bushes.
  • There was loud drumming and older women were singing songs, which I was too young to understand.
  • . I saw an old woman holding a knife so sharp I could see the drops of blood sliding down the edge.
  • it is common practice to circumcise infant
  • I can still feel the weight of her today
  • t. What the cutter does is hold on to your clitoris to make sure she gets that and scrapes everything else that comes along with it — all of the labia,
  • we were left to bleed into little dirt holes for hours.
  • Three other women were holding down my arms and legs, and another was sitting right on my chest, covering my mouth
  • receive our "treatment
  • They took dried leaves and placed them on the wound and that would stay on for two to three days
  • We were also taught, every day, that if we ever talked about this, if we even mentioned it, they would kill us.
  • I learned two of them later died in childbirth, which was too difficult for them because of FGM. They bled to death.
  • h the rite of passage
  • This is who we are."
  • She cannot have kids as a result of her FGM.
  • I will never take them back. My family will never see them.
  • diamond03 on 01 Dec 14
     
    ! This article shares 3 stories of women who have gone through the FGM procedure. They tend to consider FGM as the "Right of Passage" for young worn. Many women die in childbirth or have complications because of the results of FGM. 
wmulnea

BBC News - Falling oil prices: Who are the winners and losers? - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...business-29643612

shared by wmulnea on 13 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • The reasons for this change are twofold - weak demand in many countries due to insipid economic growth, coupled with surging US production. Added to this is the fact that the oil cartel Opec is determined not to cut production as a way to prop up prices.
  • Russia loses about $2bn in revenues for every dollar fall in the oil price,
  • Russia has confirmed it will not cut production to shore up oil prices.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Venezuela is one of the world's largest oil exporters, but thanks to economic mismanagement it was already finding it difficult to pay its way even before the oil price started falling.
  • Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and Opec's most influential member, could support global oil prices by cutting back its own production, but there is little sign it wants to do this.
  • There could be two reasons - to try to instil some discipline among fellow Opec oil producers, and perhaps to put the US's burgeoning shale oil and gas industry under pressure.
  • Saudi Arabia needs oil prices to be around $85 in the longer term, it has deep pockets with a reserve fund of some $700bn - so can withstand lower prices for some time.
  • were to force some higher cost producers
  • In the 1980s the country did cut production significantly in a bid to boost prices, but it had little effect and it also badly affected the Saudi economy.
  • Saudi Arabia, Gulf producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have also amassed considerable foreign currency reserves, which means that they could run deficits for several years if necessary.
  • Islamic State, capturing oil wells. It is estimated it is making about $3m a day through black market sales - and undercutting market prices by selling at a significant discount - around $30-60 a barrel.
  • "The growth of oil production in North America, particularly in the US, has been staggering," says Columbia University's Jason Bordoff.
  • It has been this growth in US energy production, where gas and oil is extracted from shale formations using hydraulic fracturing or fracking, that has been one of the main drivers of lower oil prices.
  • "Shale has essentially severed the linkage between geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, and oil price and equities," says Seth Kleinman, head of energy strategy at Citi.
  • With Europe's flagging economies characterised by low inflation and weak growth, any benefits of lower prices would be welcomed by beleaguered governments. A 10% fall in oil prices should lead to a 0.1% increase in economic output, say some. In general consumers benefit through lower energy prices, but eventually low oil prices do erode the conditions that brought them about.
mcooka

FRONTLINE/World I Pakistan: The Lost Generation I Watch Full Program Online I PBS - 0 views

www.pbs.org/...video_index.html

#Education #Middle East

shared by mcooka on 27 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • In Pakistan, public education has become a battleground. Members of Fatma’s local school council are outraged, saying the elite only care about themselves and keep the poor illiterate to stay in power.
  • Across town, another kind of school is functioning quite well. It has plenty of room and even provides free tuition and a hot meal. It is one of the country’s many madrassas, or religious schools, which are becoming an increasingly popular option for poor parents.
  • the Ministry of Education’s curriculum wing, the staff has been working on removing the militaristic tone of the curriculum. But the textbooks still include passages like these: “For the past three centuries the Europeans have been working to subjugate the countries of the Muslim world” and “The Christians and Europeans were not happy to see the Muslims flourishing in life. They were always looking for opportunities to take possession of territories under the Muslims.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • But ironically, others fear that the money will never reach the schools, anymore than the $100 million in U.S. aid over the past three years has.  Reformers believe the problems that Pakistani children face are so deep that money alone will not be enough to fix them
  • Just a few months ago, Paracha led a protest against the latest American aid package, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for education reform. The religious parties say the United States. is using the aid to try to hijack Pakistani societ
  • mcooka on 27 Jan 16
     
    Education in Pakistan. The Threat to the elite and the poor illiterate suffering.
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