Group items tagged

Almost 100 civilians have been killed and 364 injured in Yemen due to the fighting there. The toll is weighing heavy on civilians and causing a humanitarian crisis.

The US had been partnered with the Yemeni government in implementing drone attacks against AQAP members, but now with the decentralization of Yemen's government, the future of US drone operations is uncertain. The political upheaval has caused the US to close their embassy in Yemen, and the departure of US special forces.

In this Global Research interview, author Adri Nieuwhof speaks with Farid Esack. Esack, chairperson of BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel) South Africa, speaks about his ten year history with the cause and the increasing amount of backlash he is receiving in regards to the organization's stance against Israel. Stating that the Arab Spring eroded much of the local support for Palestine, Esack calls for increased support of BDS.

Israel has moved to prevent Palestinian political parties to be recognized in parliament. The Palestinian minority spokesperson was suspended from the Knesset, causing outrage within Palestine.

In 2007, the Palestinian Civil War took place and the fighting between Fatah and Hamas caused much destruction. This war makes peacemaking extremely difficult for the nation today.

Why is there particular revulsion over such attacks versus conventional warfare? The population feels they can do nothing to protect themselves. Chemical weapons are invisible and indiscriminate killers than could affect anyone at any time. The fear can even cause symptoms that aren't real.

AQAP has developed effective social media to create support for their cause. One of these strategies in creating a Reddit-esk Ask Me Anything page.

In 2011 when Ben Ali decided to leave the country, Tunisia, went into an uproar. Corruption, Jobs and freedom of speech were some of the main reasons for this uproar. This article briefly touches on these 3 reasons.

the begging of tunisia revolution, and the reasons that cause it

Libyans are in conflict over supporting US-backed airstrikes against ISIS in the city of Benghazi. Some feel that it is necessary to thwart the extremist group and others feel that it will only cause more deaths and destruction from mistaken locations

Journalist Charles Sennott recently returned from Tahrir Square, where he was filming a documentary on the revolution for PBS's Frontline. He describes how various groups of the youth came together to support a common cause. The Muslim Brotherhood had a very strategic role in the revolution. They hesitated to join in the beginning, and then the youth in their group pushed for greater involvement. The Brotherhood brought a lot of organization to the revolution. They positioned themselves as a central force of the revolution rather than a leading player in the uprising. They did not want Mubarak to pin the revolution on them. And it was not their revolution--it was a revolution of all Egyptians. Although the Muslim Brotherhood is aiming toward more of a social movement toward Islamic incorporation into the structure of society, they also want to establish themselves on the political playing field.

ISIS is not the only group that is causing conflict in Iraqi territory. There is a shiite armed group called Kataib Hezbollah that everyone knows is in control of Jarf al-Sakhr.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women. Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

Explains how the Muslim Brotherhood went through somewhat of an identity change post Mubarak due to the oppression they were under when he was in power. Reformations within the group caused changes from radical parochialism to a more political pluralistic approach.

It's one key piece of evidence authorities are looking at as they search for suspects after two explosions at the Brussels airport and another at a busy metro station in the Belgian capital Tuesday killed at least 30 people and wounded 230 others. This explosion and attack was said to be caused by ISIS in their latest message to the western powers.

This footage provides evidence that could explain what happened in the airport at Belgium. At least one of the bombings was a suicide bombing.

In the Middle East there is a lack of focus on culture in education. it focuses on the history of the "winners" and is promoting hate and ignorance in the education system. These issues have popped up before the Minister of Education since 1997. 

Including Mr. Boudina, at least 21 fighters trained by the Islamic State in Syria have been dispatched back to Europe with the intention of causing mass murder, according to a Times count based on records from France's domestic intelligence agency. This is the latest news out of Syria and the Islamic State. The European union is very worried about future attacks form these terrorists.

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. 

This is such a controversial topic. I saw a reference to it recently (was it possibly something that was brought up in the Bill Maher/Ben Affleck dust-up?) that pointed out that the practice is almost unheard of outside of central and northeastern Africa, with a few small pockets in Iraq and the Gulf.