There is still doubt in the minds of serious people about Israel’s attack on the Free Gaza flotilla and the events that lead to the death of 9 of the activists aboard. There can be little surprise of…
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Iraq: nessun governo, ritiro delle truppe?
Published: 25/07/201025/07/2010
Original Version: No government, but troop withdrawals
Mentre i politici iracheni continuano a portare avanti la loro pericolosa politica del rischio calcolato per cercare di ottenere vantaggi nel prossimo esecutivo, le truppe combattenti americane si preparano ad…
Fadlallah – morte di una leggenda
Published: 14/07/201008/07/2010
Original Version: Death of a legend
Durante uno dei suoi sermoni del venerdì lo scorso gennaio, il Grande Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, deceduto domenica 4 giugno a Beirut all’età di 75 anni, aveva parlato ai suoi…
I malanni dell’Unione per il Mediterraneo
Published: 30/06/201003/06/2010
Original Version: Union woes
Due anni fa il presidente francese Nicolas Sarkozy sollecitò la creazione dell’Unione per il Mediterraneo (UPM). L’obiettivo era rendere il Mediterraneo un mare di pace e di prosperità attraverso la cooperazione economica di…
Turkey and the Freedom Flotilla
Published: 16/06/2010The disastrous Israeli interception of the Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian relief for the people in Gaza marked a turning point in the history of the Middle East and in the history of Turkish-Israeli relations in particular. The incident sent unprecedentedly…
Conferenza sul Trattato di Non Proliferazione: vittoria di facciata, sconfitta sostanziale
Published: 08/06/201008/06/2010
Original Version: Victories of sorts
Israele è uscito sconfitto dalla Conferenza sul TNP, mentre l’Iran ne è uscito vincitore; ma è l’intero meccanismo del TNP che ormai non funziona – scrive il giornalista Graham Usher
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Dopo…
Conflitto nel bacino del Nilo
Published: 24/05/201024/05/2010
Original Version: Conflict in the Nile Basin
I paesi a monte del bacino del Nilo hanno minacciato di firmare un nuovo accordo, che mira a escludere l’Egitto e il Sudan e a ridistribuire le acque del Nilo;…
Contradictory Iran
Published: 24/05/2010I believe that the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastian Elcano ruined it for the rest of us. As second in command on Magellan’s expedition around the world, he completed the circumnavigation after the lead explorer’s death in the Philippines. As historic…
Medvedev in Damascus – Louder than words
Published: 22/05/2010Russian President Dmitri Medvedev visited Damascus last week to discuss with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad ways of strengthening political and economic ties between the two countries. During the short trip, the two leaders found time to discuss the stalled…
Reproduction of failure
Published: 12/05/2010At a time when the Obama administration is hailing the imminent resumption of indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a “notable achievement”, very few observers in the region think that the upcoming talks will lead…
Playing peace to target Iran
Published: 05/05/2010In the last month Barack Obama has engaged in a blitz of nuclear diplomacy. He has reiterated his commitment to “a world without nuclear weapons”; issued a new military doctrine that reduces the amount and role of nuclear weapons in…
When will Iraq’s crisis end?
Published: 24/04/2010With no sign of the crisis over forming a new Iraqi government easing, a panel on Monday ordered a partial recount of the votes cast in last month’s national elections, further inflaming tensions that many fear could turn violent, with…
Splitting the atom
Published: 21/04/2010The curious political paradox of our time is that we’ve actually got a scintillating president in the Oval Office. 2010 could, by a wide stretch of the imagination, mark the beginning of the end as far as nuclear weapons are…
Egypt – Foiled protest
Published: 11/04/2010Since the small hours of Tuesday downtown Cairo has been awash with thousands of riot police packed in armoured trucks. Central security vans remained parked on side streets as Tahrir Square filled with uniformed riot police and plain- clothed security…
What kind of grand imam is he?
Published: 08/04/2010Three major challenges confront the man at the helm of Al-Azhar. One is about dependence and independence. Al-Azhar’s grand imam has to decide whether he is working for the Egyptian government, and therefore has to toe its line, or whether…
Il vertice arabo in Libia: evento tipico, agenda atipica
Published: 24/03/201024/03/2010
Original Version: Typical agenda, atypical summit
Si terrà il 27 marzo in Libia il vertice annuale della Lega Araba, un’occasione che continua ad essere dominata dalle divisioni inter-arabe e dall’incapacità di prendere decisioni concrete – scrive la…
Lebanon – To dialogue or not to dialogue?
Published: 13/03/2010A new round of Lebanon’s national dialogue opened on Tuesday 9 March, with little hope that it will seriously address the sorry catalogue of Lebanon’s chronic problems. The first session of this new round was procedural, with the next session…
Turkey’s military under pressure
Published: 10/03/2010Last week, 68 serving and retired Turkish officers, including 24 generals and admirals, were taken into custody on suspicion of plotting a coup in 2003. It was the largest police operation against the military in Turkish history, and by week’s…
Scontro USA-Iran in Iraq
Published: 03/03/201025/02/2010
Original Version: US vs Iran in Iraq
Il 18 febbraio, l’ambasciatore americano Christopher Hill ha fatto presente che potrebbero volerci mesi affinché si formi un nuovo governo a Baghdad dopo le elezioni previste per il 7 marzo…
Head to head in Iraq
Published: 03/03/2010Parliamentary elections in any country tend to be influenced by local issues and concerns and sometimes by personalities. While politics is more complicated than that, voters still tend to give their votes to the candidates they trust and will serve…
Another lame summit
Published: 02/03/2010This year’s Arab summit, scheduled to be held in the Libyan capital 27-28 March, is unlikely to spark great excitement in an Arab public that has grown weary of how ineffectual Arab summits are. If the Arab League suffered a…
The El-Baradei phenomenon
Published: 26/02/2010Right now it is Friday morning, only hours before Mohamed El-Baradei is due to arrive in Cairo. Three days ago, I was in Kuwait where I attended a workshop on strategic circumstances in the Middle East. Although Iran, Iraq and…
Blair’s arrogant intransigence on Iraq is reminiscent of the colonial and imperial era
Published: 06/02/2010If it proved anything, the testimony of former British prime minister Tony Blair before the Chilcot Iraq Inquiry last week reveals that we are reliving the mediaeval age of discovery and colonial conquest. Blair’s account of the developments leading to…
Yemen’s slide into chaos is sending shock waves throughout the region
Published: 29/01/2010For some time now, Yemen has endured several crises on both the state and societal levels, casting doubts on the viability of the country’s unity and security. The current Yemen government is heading towards collapse unless it shoulders its responsibilities…
La politica di dialogo con l’Iran è in un vicolo cieco?
Published: 27/01/201021/01/2010
Original Version: Disengaging the Iranians
La politica di dialogo portata avanti da Barack Obama con l’Iran sul suo programma nucleare si è incagliata? I rappresentanti delle cinque più importanti potenze nucleari più la Germania, incontratisi a New…
Qaradawi slams Abbas
Published: 23/01/2010A heated exchange of recriminations, name-calling and blame casting has been raging in occupied Palestine between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood following scathing criticisms of President Mahmoud Abbas by Qatar-based Sheikh Youssef El-Qaradawi.
Qaradawi, one…
The Coptic question
Published: 09/01/2010THE COPTS AND CITIZENSHIP: This approach to the Coptic question is based on the premise that the Copts are, first and foremost, citizens and members of the Egyptian national community. The Copts are not a separate group or closed entity.…
La questione copta in Egitto
Published: 09/01/201009/01/2010
Original Version: The Coptic question
Gli incidenti di questi giorni fra cristiani e musulmani in Egitto richiamano l’attenzione sull’annosa questione copta e sulle crescenti tensioni settarie nel paese; nell’analisi che segue, lo scrittore copto egiziano Samir Morqos…
Iniziativa curda: lo spiraglio di possibilità si sta chiudendo
Published: 23/12/200917/12/2009
Original Version: Window of opportunity closing
Venerdì scorso la Corte Costituzionale della Turchia ha votato, all’unanimità, la messa al bando del filo-curdo Partito per la Società Democratica (DTP) poiché sarebbe diventato “centro di attività miranti a danneggiare…
Siccità: la catastrofe ambientale dell’Iraq
Published: 17/12/200917/12/2009
Original Version: Drought hits Iraq
La siccità e le dissennate politiche idriche dei paesi confinanti con l’Iraq stanno riducendo alla sete questo paese, determinando una situazione ambientale ed umanitaria gravissima – riferisce il corrispondente Salah Hemeid
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Non rinneghiamo Dubai
Published: 16/12/200910/12/2009
Original Version: Don’t disown Dubai
La città-stato di Dubai oggi viene punita. Viene punita per essersi allontanata dalla “strada maestra” e aver pensato l’impensabile. Alimentata dalla sua stessa ambizione, Dubai è volata in alto, ha trasformato il…
Drought hits Iraq
Published: 12/12/2009For centuries, Iraqis only needed to dig small channels and use simple pumps to irrigate the green fields of Iraq that span tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. The ancient Greeks and Romans called the region now occupied…
Iraq – One step forward
Published: 12/12/2009Iraq’s parliament on Sunday approved plans to hold national elections early next year that are seen as an essential step towards political reconciliation and as paving the way for the country’s full sovereignty after the withdrawal of US troops by…
Don’t disown Dubai
Published: 11/12/2009City-state Dubai is being punished today. It is being punished for straying from the well-trodden path and for thinking the unthinkable. Fired by its own ambition, Dubai rose high, turned the desert into a lively oasis, and never looked back.…
Iraq: elections at an impasse?
Published: 03/12/2009For weeks, feuding Iraqi sectarian and ethnic groups have been wrangling over a new election law that would clear the way for Iraq’s second parliamentary elections since the downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime in the US-led invasion of 2003.…
The hidden war: the regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Published: 18/11/200911/11/2009 – Saudi Arabia has traditionally opted for a calculated, non- confrontational approach to counter Iran’s ascendancy as a key regional power player. Parallel to this quietest approach, however, it launched what one Saudi observer described as “a hidden war”…
Libano: aspre accuse all’Egitto
Published: 30/10/200930/10/2009
Original Version: Harsh accusations
L’Egitto è stato ultimamente accusato da diversi esponenti dell’opposizione libanese di ostacolare la nascita di un governo di unità nazionale in Libano. Il Cairo ha diversi interessi in Libano, tuttavia è solo uno…
The Goldstone Report – Contested but not read
Published: 26/10/2009The Goldstone Report is back, taking centre stage in a raging international debate. What is most troubling is not the circuitous route the report took on its way to the UN Security Council. Rather, it is the fact that those…
Nubi minacciose si addensano sul Sudan
Published: 24/09/200924/09/2009
Original Version: Storm clouds over Sudan
Nel Sudan martoriato, ad una fetta di popolazione sempre più ampia che vive sotto la soglia di povertà si aggiunge la violenza tribale, salita ormai a livelli incontrollabili. Mentre si aggrava…
Let’s try something else – Fayyad’s plan for Palestinian statehood
Published: 22/09/2009In three months time, we’ll mark the anniversary of UN Resolution 181 of 1947, which provided for the partitioning of Palestine into two states, a Jewish one and an Arab one, with Jerusalem being an international zone.
David Ben-Gurion agreed…
Israele in Africa
Published: 20/09/200920/09/2009
Original Version: Israel in Africa
Il recente viaggio in Africa del ministro degli esteri israeliano ha suscitato la dura reazione di molti commentatori della stampa araba. Gli arabi considerano da sempre l’Africa sub-sahariana come il loro “giardino…
Storm clouds over Sudan
Published: 16/09/2009Pagan Amum, secretary-general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), has a story. He once went to a restaurant in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia with friends from north and south Sudan. The owner of the restaurant was puzzled to see…
Exercising Entebbe – Israel and the African nations
Published: 16/09/2009Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman flew to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last Wednesday, 2 September, where he met Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin. Lieberman’s visit to Ethiopia, strategically located in the heart of the…
Message of fear in Iraq
Published: 09/09/200927/08/2009 - On a scorching Wednesday morning last week, an enormous explosion ripped through an apartment block just outside the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, sending huge columns of smoke billowing over a large area.
The blast, caused by the explosion…
Xinjiang e Afghanistan: due casi a confronto
Published: 29/07/200916/07/2009
La sommossa dei giorni scorsi ad Urumqi, nello Xinjiang, il cui bilancio è stato di 180 morti, ricorda disordini analoghi che si sono verificati in Tibet l’anno scorso, sebbene solo 19 persone siano rimaste uccise in quella…
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