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This article offers a brief history of Russian naval bases and highlights modern day Russian ports in Syria. From these facts, an investigation is proposed regarding military actions by Russia in Syria against ISIS and the presence of the naval base.

Arab states have began to jump on board offering support to the coalition against ISIS. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have recently voiced their support. Turkey, the only Arab member of NATO has voiced their lack of support in the coalition thus far. Saudi, the home to major religious cities, feels like a direct threat to ISIS and have made it clear that they will be playing a major role in the war against the Islamic State. UAE allegedly initiated bombings from Egyptian bases on Libya due to islamic militia takeovers of major cities and institutions. Arab states along with France, Germany, and Britain have agreed to form a "coordinated military campaign." Bringing in Assad from Syria is somewhat crucial, but the coalition is hesitant due to the loss of the Assad Regime's legitimacy over the past years of civil strife. Official plans of attack are still sketchy, but are definitely in the works. The coalition of states have made it clear that in order to tackle this ISIS threat, they must band together to dynamically exterminate the Islamic State from all angles.

The Yemen crisis has led to the pull out of US drone base. The future of counter-terrorism in the region is uncertain.

Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco appear to be getting a divorce, breaking up their joint venture in U.S.-based refining assets.

Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco appear to be getting a divorce, breaking up their joint venture in U.S.-based refining assets.

Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco appear to be getting a divorce, breaking up their joint venture in U.S.-based refining assets.

Plans to set up new military bases in the Middle East are being considered as part of a strategy to tackle extremism, it emerged last night. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Bahrain are all being looked at as part of the Government's attempts to contain the terror threat from the wider region, according to The Times. The United Kingdom is severely interested in stopping ISIS.

This is an article for Hurriyet Daily News, an online newspaper based in Istanbul.On October 5, many neighborhoods on Turkey's border with Syria were evacuated. I thought this news article was interesting because it quotes a speech by Turkey's president in which he addresses his viewpoint on the PKK. The organization has been banned in Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization. He says that ISIS/ISIL and the PKK are equivalent groups, and that the PKK is using the current conflict with ISIS to manipulate public opinion.

This is an article for Hurriyet Daily News, an online newspaper based in Istanbul.On October 5, many neighborhoods on Turkey's border with Syria were evacuated. I thought this news article was interesting because it quotes a speech by Turkey's president in which he addresses his viewpoint on the PKK. The organization has been banned in Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization. He says that ISIS/ISIL and the PKK are equivalent groups, and that the PKK is using the current conflict with ISIS to manipulate public opinion.

The news today says that ISIS has all but taken a Syrian Kurdish border city with Turkey, called Kobane. Not surprised that Erdogan would conflate the two groups, while the US is trying to activate Kurdish militants to resist ISIS. I was chatting with another student in my office today and we were wondering if the duty and suffering that have devolved onto the Kurds in this crisis might reinvigorate their push for a nation-state of their own.

Compiled by faculty members at the German University in Cairo, this working paper series addresses the effect that watsa has on competence and morality in Middle Eastern economics and society. The authors define watsa as, "the intervention of a patron in favor of a client to obtain benefits and/or resources from a third party." In simpler terms it is a system of social networking in Arab culture in which family and social ties play a significant role in the attainment of economic advantages and resources, largely in the hiring process in businesses and organizations. A person applying for a job seeks out watsa to increase their chances of getting hired. Comparable to nepotism and cronyism, but is not restricted to friends and associates, watsa can also involve strangers linked through some social web of people. Watsa runs somewhat parallel to a Chinese concept of guanxi, based on Confucian ethics and focusing on strong collective ties. While guanxi is a part of Chinese ethics it actually defies Muslim ethical values, which advocates hiring the person most capable. In a Jordanian survey, 87% of respondents want watsa eradicated. While we know that unemployment in the Arab region is widespread, we can assume that this motivates people to do anything they can to improve their chances of obtaining a job. However, the practice of watsa as a whole is actually degrading the economic systems in the Arab sates even further. The article explains the linkage between watsa and poor job performance, economic decline, and the festering of injustice and frustration among the masses in Arab countries.

This looks super interesting, but I can't get the link to open. Thanks for writing a thorough summary of it!

The article discusses the removal of Said Youssef a judge who held a postion on the Minya Criminal Court of Egypt. The court was regarded as the court dealt with cases surrounding terrorism. Youssef was responsible for deciding the fate of many Muslim Brotherhood supports/members. Youssef's removal is said to be a "signal of change in the policy of Egyptian judiciary...for the lack of judicial due process and sentencing of civilians based on their political affiliation. 

In this Bloomberg article, the details of President Obama's speech on an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal were examined. Discussing the issues presenting on both sides (including the highly controversial Israeli settlements), President Obama pushed for a deal based upon the 1967 delineated lines.

Less than a week after denying reports that it had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, militants of the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, or ABM, released an audio clip late on Sunday, declaring their support for ISIS, according to media reports. The nine-minute clip was posted on a Twitter account claiming to be ABM's official account.

After the ousting of the Gaddafi regime the country pivoted into civil chaos. Because of the deficiency of structure and state autonomy, armed militias have become the dominant force in determining Libya's future governmental system. While the UN has internationally recognized the NTC as the interim government to ultimately turn the country into a democratic one, militias have taken things into their own hands tipping the country towards the brink of civil war. General Khalifa Haftar launched his Operation Dignity campaign accusing congress of allowing terrorists flourish in Libya and vowed to wipe them out, gaining much support from the regular armed forces and nationalist militias. The opposition to Haftar insist that his attacks are aiming for a military coup. This article was helpful in highlighting the armed groups and dividing them by Pro-Haftar and Pro-Congress sections. 

The Tripoli based anti-Islamist militia government has fired its Prime Minister for incompetence.

Gender Based Violence campaign began Nov. 25. The campaign was launched by the Cairo Center for Development and Tadwein.

Gender Based Violence campaign began Nov. 25. The campaign was launched by the Cairo Center for Development and Tadwein.

In Egypt there is a university which has been promoted as the ebst school in the Middle East. Except, it is very limited. It does not offer a reason to develop analytical skills, so often their students do poorly in the job world. in Egypt students are assigned a major and classes based off of their grades, they do not get to pursue what they want. 

In this Al-Bab translation, the details of the 2002 Arab Summit peace initiative for the Israel-Palestine conflict are outlined. Including borders based off of 1967 lines, and the right of protection, the plan was inspired by Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.

This is an image of the resources avaliable to the US near Syria as well as different facilities and bases in Syria controlled by the assad regime.

Jonathan Guyer is a Cairo based scholar who is currently looking into the comic satire used throughout Egypt.