released an audio recording on Thursday in what could be the first sign of life since rumors spread that a U.S. airstrike hit Baghdadi and a convoy of ISIS leaders in Iraq.
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shared by sheldonmer on 17 Nov 14
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Blair's doctrine in Egypt: the 'anti-terrorism' industry and counter-revolution | Middl... - 0 views
www.middleeasteye.net/...-counter-revolution-2106373051
prime minister UK United Kingdom egypt egyptian revolution
shared by sheldonmer on 17 Nov 14
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This article on Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the UK, talks about how he is now advising Sisi in Egypt on "economic reform". This article critiques Blair's message by saying that his "anti-terrorism" tactics are actually preventing Egypt from moving forward, it just promotes the status quo. This article goes on to talk about how to control state terrorism and non-state terrorism. The argument is that terrorism is a reaction, and when you have nothing to legitimize terrorism as a reaction to non-state issues, what can you do? Basically this article outlines what the UK thinks Egypt should do to regain stabilization after the uprisings.
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New Tape Of ISIS Leader Appears To Prove He Was Not Killed In U.S. Airstrike - 0 views
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Baghdadi references several events that happened in the last week, including the recent move by militant groups in Yemen and Sinai to swear allegiance to ISIS.
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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is suspected to be alive, after reports that he had been injured or dead after an air strike hit the area he was in at the time. The is an audio recording that fit into the accounts that he might be alive.
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Two rival Libyan governments claim to control oil policy | Top News | Reuters - 1 views
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Oil traders are concerned about the uncertainty over who is in charge of Libya's vast oil reserves after the Misrata group appointed its own oil minister and took over the official website of state firm National Oil Corp (NOC).
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ncertainty about the oil industry, which had just started to show signs of recovery after Thinni managed to end a blockage of major eastern ports by groups of rebels demanding autonomy.
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the newly appointed oil minister, Mashallah al-Zawi,
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Thinni, whose government is recognised by the international community, responded from Bayda, a town east of Benghazi, where his government has relocated and is trying to stay in contact with ministries almost 1,000 km (620 miles) away in Tripoli.
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He said oil revenues for the OPEC member state continued to enter a Libyan bank, which transferred them to the central bank.
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"They are under the control of the state of Libya and the government approved by the Libyan parliament," he said, referring to the elected House of Representatives, which has moved to Tobruk, east of Bayda near the Egyptian border.
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chairman of National Oil Corp, Mustafa Sanallah
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Zawi said oil revenue, Libya's sole source of income, would be around only a fifth of last year's level due to the wave of protests at oilfields and ports.
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Western powers worry that the conflict between the Bayda- and Tripoli-based governments will lead to civil war and that the elected government's nascent army is no match for former rebels of various factions who defy state authority.
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As their sole source of income the control over oil policy and revenue proves to be a huge factor in which government will gain control over the greater Libya. Thinni, the prime minister recognized by the international community, has assured OPEC members that oil revenues are deposited into the Libyan Bank, which then transfers them to the central bank. While this may be true, OPEC members are worried that the continuation of Islamist militant aims for political autonomy through the occupation and attacks on oil ports. BPD have already become a fifth of what they maintained just one year ago.
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Egypt militants pledge loyalty to IS - 1 views
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A jihadist group which has carried out a series of attacks on security forces in Egypt's Sinai peninsula has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS). Ansar Beit al-Maqdis announced the move on a Twitter account in Arabic, saying IS promised "a new dawn raising the banner of monotheism".
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shared by fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
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Syrian Opposition Groups Wary Of Russia's Invitation To Moscow : NPR - 0 views
www.npr.org/...f-russias-invitation-to-moscow
russia opposition groups syria politics peace talks war
shared by fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
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U.N. envoy is pressing ahead on that front, while Russia tries to play peacemaker
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U.N. continues to try to collaborate with both groups while Russia wants to be a "peacemaker."
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Russia is inviting the parties to Moscow this month, but some opposition groups won't go to a country that has been backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
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Rebel groups in Syria do not trust the Russian government since they have been supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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Syrian opposition figures have good reason to be skeptical of Moscow's diplomatic moves
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they provide weapons and advice to the Assad regime and they have taken an approach of cherry-picking who they talk to and who the regime talks to
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The U.S. is not pressuring the opposition groups it supports to go to Moscow. Instead it's suggesting they should think about it so that Russia can't blame the opposition for the diplomatic stalemate
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U.S. is not pushing for the opposition groups to go to Moscow to talk peace but they feel they have nothing to lose if they do.
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"If there are no guarantees as to the end state, that is, a movement towards a transitional government with full executive powers without Assad, then there is really no reason to go
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meant to revive the peace process that started in Geneva in 2012
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Russians aren't in a position to decide who will take part in future negotiations. And this has been the whole problem with their approach.
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He says the Russian job has always been to deliver the regime to the negotiating table, but the Syrian government only wants to talk about fighting terrorism, not discuss a political transition.
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We are hoping, more than expecting, that it will be a success," he says.De Mistura describes Syria as the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II
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They all agree that we need to do something to avoid that the Syrian conflict goes into a back burner and that movement towards some type of political solution should take place this year,"
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He says that's because Assad thinks he's winning — and U.S. plans to train and equip 5,000 moderate rebels a year won't help level the playing field.
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The rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State and the U.S.-led airstrikes against that group in both Syria and Iraq now top the U.S. agenda.
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war in Syria has been raging for nearly four years and it's been challenging for diplomats to get warring sides to agree on even temporary truces.
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No guarantees as to what the alleged "peace talks" will provide from the opposition groups.
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Russia is attempting to bring opposition groups and the Syrian government to Moscow in order to "talk peace." In the past, Russia has supported the Syrian President and because of this, opposition groups are wearing of these alleged "peace talks."
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shared by alarsso on 16 Feb 15
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Syria after Assad: Heading toward a Hard Fall? - The Washington Institute for Near East... - 0 views
www.washingtoninstitute.org/...sad-heading-toward-a-hard-fall
syria post-assad heading institute outcome
shared by alarsso on 16 Feb 15
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To a certain extent, the nature of the transition will be i
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nfluenced by how the Assad regime leaves the scene.
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forces retain their cohesion
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control
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whether the opposition moves to purge regime employees
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offices are trashed and looted
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violent power struggle
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unitary state with a strong central government is unlikely to emerge from the civil war.
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great challenges exerting control over local leaders who fought the regime
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ederation of warlords (probably former military and security chiefs) ruling over fiefdoms
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unitary entity
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Syrian army
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opposition will have more time to set up rudimentary institutions
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provide humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees
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likely be accompanied by a new round of massacres and ethnic cleansing
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Sunni extremist groups.
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new opportunities for external actors, especially Iran and Hizballah, both of which would seek allies among the former regime's Alawite security elite
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Iran's
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remain a major player in the Levant
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hostile to Iran and more closely aligned with Turkey, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia.
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revolutionary Sunni government in Syria
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Iran and Hizballah
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support to former regime
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Washington should continue with preparations to contain spillover from the conflict
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enabling it to collect tariffs on imports
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Washington will need to know as much as it can about the key players,
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Turkish Military Evacuates Soldiers Guarding Tomb in Syria - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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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
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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
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there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident
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He said Turkey notified the Syrian government, rebel leaders and the coalition forces fighting the Islamic State about the operation.
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572 troops, 39 tanks, 57 armored vehicles and 100 other vehicles were involved
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Turkish flag was lowered, and the tomb and security station were destroyed to prevent any possible use by extremists.
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operation was prompted by the chaos and instability in Syria
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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.
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“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
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“The Islamic State could have used the presence of the tomb as leverage in case of any confrontation with Turkey
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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
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when conditions in Syria permitted, the tomb would be moved back again to the site that was evacuated, near the village of Karakozak
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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.
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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
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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,
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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.
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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
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The Kurds were aided by airstrikes and other support from the American-led coalition
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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.
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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.
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shared by mjumaia on 25 Mar 15
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The question of succession in Saudi Arabia - 1 views
www.aljazeera.com/...arabia-201514122353911207.html
politics succession Saudi Arabia reform democrazation
shared by mjumaia on 25 Mar 15
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This Article explain how Saudi Arabia is moving toward Political succession and also talks about that Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has passed away after nearly 10 years as the country's top leader. "King Abdullah isn't a reformer but a modernist. There's a difference," Ali Alyami, director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, told Al Jazeera. He has empower saudi's women in so many ways. which is illustrated in toward the end of the article .
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Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa - 2 views
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Selected Socioeconomic Indicators in the Middle East and North Africa
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he United Nations has articulated the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include goals for improved education, gender equality, and women's empowermen
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The region's oil-based economy, which produced tremendous wealth in some MENA countries, reinforces the region's gender roles. In a number of MENA countries, the use of capital-intensive technologies that require few workers, along with relatively high wages for men, have precluded women's greater involvement in the labor force.
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In addition, the benefits of female education for women's empowerment and gender equality are broadly recognized:
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While 53 percent of the women said that the decision should depend on the children's capabilities, 39 percent said that the son should go to the university, compared with only 8 percent who said that the daughter should go. The survey also found that mothers of children who had never attended school were more likely to cite the cost of education as a reason for not educating their daughters than for not educating their sons.
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As women's educational attainment in MENA countries has increased, more women have moved into the job market. But women's participation in the labor force is still low: Only 20 percent of women ages 15 and older in MENA countries are in the labor force — the lowest level of any world region.
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But those rates are lower than rates found outside the region. In France, for example, women make up 45 percent of the labor force; in Indonesia, which is home to the world's largest Muslim population, women make up 38 percent of the labor force.16
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Women in MENA countries are twice as likely to be illiterate as men are and make up two-thirds of the region's illiterate adults. The gender gaps in education vary greatly across countries in the region but are generally wider in countries where overall literacy and school enrollment are lower. In Yemen, for example, the illiteracy rate among young women (54 percent) is triple that of young men (17 percent). But countries that make political and financial commitments to reducing illiteracy, as Jordan and Tunisia have, generally see significant improvements in reducing illiteracy and narrowing the gender gap (see Figure 6).
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Statistics on Middle Eastern education. The gender inequality in the education. Reasons the litteracy level is so low and analyzing why there are has been a recent curve up in education. -
Education is a key part of strategies to improve individuals' well-being and societies' economic and social development.
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Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - BBC News - 0 views
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The Muslim Brotherhood initially started as a movement to spread Islamic morals and goods but later became involved in political matters. Under British rule and the Egyptian government, the movement has been in direct opposition of individuals in charge and many of their ideals. Through different political moves the group has obtained some power, which has made an impact on many Egypt elections. -
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is facing a difficult time, especially after the end of Morsi's presidency and now crackdown on the Brotherhood which has been called a terrorist organization. It used to be a group that was involved in spreading morals from the Quran, but now has turned into a political group as well. This does not go too well, especially in a time for the Middle East where democracy, secularism and Islamists are clashing heads.
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DHS adds Somalia, Yemen and Libya to anti-terror travel list - 0 views
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What seems like an obvious move, the Obama administration and the Department of Homeland Security have added Libya, Somalia and Yemen to anti-terror list. This adds restrictions on travel to these countries and increases regulations on how people from these countries can enter the United States.
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Islamic State-linked fighters seizing oil-rich land in Libya - 0 views
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This is another example of how ISIS or ISIS inspired fighters are increasingly moving their operations Westward into Libya. As they continue to lose ground and support in Iraq and Syria, they find an area that is basically the wild west when it comes to terror. Libya has no stable government and no real solution to combat the influx of ISIS.
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Saudi coalition challenges U.S. role in Middle East - 0 views
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But the United States might be getting a lot less than it asked for. Since Saudi Arabia's announcement on December 16, questions have been raised about the coalition's membership, its commitment to fighting terror and its overall purpose. Many see the move as aimed at bolstering Saudi prestige and countering Iran more than forming an effective fighting unit.
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More countries in the Middle East are cutting diplomatic ties with Iran - 0 views
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More Middle Eastern countries are following Saudi Arabia and cutting ties with Iran. Saudi Arabia severed all diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday. "The move comes after Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran, ransacking and setting fire to the building in retaliation for Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others on Saturday," Business Insider's Natasha Bertrand reports.
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Iran, Saudi Arabia in War of Words After Cleric's Execution - 0 views
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Rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia were given fresh fuel Monday with both sides issuing tit-for-tat verbal volleys. Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have been trading blows in an escalating war of words since Saturday following the former's move to execute prominent Shiite opposition cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Iran's Shiite leaders blasted the Sunni kingdom verbally, while protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Arabian embassy.
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Army's Delta Force begins to target ISIS in Iraq - 0 views
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The U.S. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It's the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. This is a strong move shown by the United States that says ISIS is the main priority in the Syrian War. Many officers of high rank have said that this has taken weeks of planning and scouting out enemy positions so that it would be swift missions that would demand very accurate precision.
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Why Russia's Syria war is bad news for the U.S. (and why it isn't) - 0 views
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Russian warplanes are conducting airstrikes now in Syria, according to a slew of news reports. The move follows authorization by a vote in Russian parliament as well as weeks of Kremlin messaging about the importance of bolstering the Syrian regime to combat the Islamic State. These Russian airstrikes, although effective, have put United States in a bit of worry because they are unsure of who is calling in the airstrikes. Russia is known to support Assad so any chance they have they will use the strikes to help strengthen Assad, which is not what the U.S. wants. These actions were not surprising to the United States, who believe Russia is saying that they will attack terrorists when they really just want Assad to stay in power.
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What is the Muslim Brotherhood? - CNN.com - 1 views
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is a religious and political group founded on the belief that Islam is not simply a religion, but a way of life
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advocates a move away from secularism, and a return to the rules of the Quran as a basis for healthy families, communities, and states.
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slamic Sharia (way of life or principles) as the basis controlling the affairs of state and society and working "to achieve unification
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Morsy
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is government failed to keep order as the economy tanked and crime soared, including open sexual assaults on women in Egypt's streets. The chaos drove away many tourists and investors.
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Issues that were attributed to Morsi being in power included: -increase in crime -issues with the economy -assaults on women
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The issues surrounding the brotherhood and the fear surrounding the idea that all of Egypt would be expected to become part of the brotherhood are discussed on this page. The original foundation of the brotherhood was based on the idea of "liberating them from foreign imperialism" as well as forming "unification" as a nation. Issues presented with the brotherhood include: a "poor economic stability or growth, increased crime, and assaults on women."
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The issues surrounding the brotherhood and the fear surrounding the idea that all of Egypt would be expected to become part of the brotherhood are discussed on this page. The original foundation of the brotherhood was based on the idea of "liberating them from foreign imperialism" as well as forming "unification" as a nation. Issues presented with the brotherhood include: a "poor economic stability or growth, increased crime, and assaults on women."
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The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest and largest opposition group group in Egypt. It's members control many of the country's professional organizations. -
This article gives background information regarding who and what the Muslim Brotherhood is. It provides historical significance of the group as well as give suggestions as to why there is interest in learning about the group and their ideals.