MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA (MENA)

Les Marchands de La Prostitution

Pour beaucoup de gens, à la fois citoyens et visiteurs, le taux de prostitution au Maroc a grimpé de façon inquiétante ces dernières années. Certains s’inquiètent que le degré d’affairisme et le réseau de support de ce commerce de la chair a bénéficié d’une certaine dilatation dernièrement. D’autres raisonnent que la visibilité ‘osée’ ou, même, ‘insolente’ de la prostitution dans les lieux publiques et sa permissivité dans la conscience collective de la société marocaine est devenu un phénomène rudement imposant. -- Read more

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The Iranian Case: Another Look

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 and the hostage-taking ordeal that ensued at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, we have come to expect nothing but ill will and strong rhetoric between the US and Iran. The US-Iran dossier has been effectively reduced to two headlines diffused by each side for public consumption: For the US, Iran is an "axis of evil", whereas for Iran the US is "the great Satan". -- Read more

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'From Conflict To Cooperation: Writing A New Chapter in US-Arab Relations'
"Earlier this year the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report summarizing the results and recommendations of an advisory committee it brought together to address the current challenges facing America's relationship with the Middle East." -- Read more

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A Word On Egypt Before I Run
"The so-called Mubarak 'initiative' is a political trap that seeks no immediate opening up of the electoral system. In other words, it is smoking mirrors or, if you wish, a delay tactic used to extend the power grip of the ruling party under the guise of reform and democracy." -- Read more

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'We Are Technically the Head of the Nation Here'
"On the day commemorating World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), the Kuwaiti parliament moved to effectively kill a measure that would have allowed women to participate in municipal elections for the first time this year" -- Read more

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Iraq's New Government: A Few Brain Teasers
"Now that an Iraqi government has been formed, I would like to point out a few interesting things that may or may not have made the news coverage" -- Read more

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It's The Policy Stupid...and Better Communication Too
"What we have consistently heard from high levels of the US government regarding the Middle East is that the biggest problem facing America in the region is overcoming a rampant disinformation and propaganda campaign led by unfriendly governments, non-state actors, and Arab media...it is time to evaluate the American strategy and revisit the overall assumption that America’s problems in the Middle East can be mainly settled with public diplomacy and media outreach." -- Read more

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A First Step for the Women of Kuwait
"Congratulations to the women and men of Kuwait who marched into the Kuwaiti Parliament building last month demanding political rights for women in this tiny Gulf nation." --Read more

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Arab Human Development Report
"Freedom in its comprehensive sense, incorporates not only civil and political freedoms (in other words, liberation from oppression), but also the liberation from all factors that are inconsistent with human dignity." --Read more

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Faiza's Barometer for Change in Saudi Arabia
"It's hard not to be intoxicated by the breeze of democracy wafting across the Middle East...But just as I'm about to get carried away by the spirit of hope, my mind stops, does a U-turn and returns to three men -- two academics and a poet -- who've been behind bars in Saudi Arabia for a year." --Read entire article

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The UN Report on the Fact-Finding Mission to Lebanon
"In one of the most vivid parts of the report, testimony given to the UN investigative team describes a meeting in Damascus at which Assad told Harriri that 'Lahoud should be viewed as his personal representative' in Lebanon and that 'opposing him is tantamount to opposing Assad himself'". --Read more

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The State of Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
"the data presented below was extracted from the latest Freedom House survey data contained in the organization's annual 'Freedom in the World 2005' Report" --Go to Post

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Are Those Wings on Your Camel?
"...That’s what dictators are really good at. They lock you in a dark cell for years, then they announce that they decided to allow you to breath through a tiny hole in the wall and somehow we are all supposed to thank them and praise them..."

"...the Lebanese showed to their fellow Arabs that tyranny can not withstand popular will; it never has and never will" -- Read entire article

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The Amazigh: Returning from the Ashes of Neglect
Part II - What the Amazigh (Berbers) Want
"Five years ago, a group of Amazigh Intellectuals headed by a prominent scholar and former teacher of the current King of Morocco produced a document called The Amazigh Manifesto; a document that has come to symbolize the official rebirth of the Amazigh movement." -- Read entire article

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Iraq: The Next Problem; Same as the Old Problem
"As soon as the new Iraqi government, likely to be led by Ibrahim Jafari, is in place, a familiar name will come back to make headlines"

"For those who take the time to read the graffiti that litters Iraqi cities, the writing is literally on the wall" -- Read entire article

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The Improbable Comeback of Ahmad Chalabi
"Once he had the U.S. committed to a military confrontation, he was already halfway to his ultimate political goal in Iraq...Then a leak hit Washington faster than a lightening rod: Chalabi may have shared U.S. intelligence with the Iranians" -- Read entire article

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The Inconsequential Existence of the Arab League
"the Arab League remains an organization of which the genesis is primarily based on the premise of war and resistance and NOT that of fostering a new path for the development of the Arab people...The only decision of consequence that the Arab League has ever made was calling for the oil embargo of 1973" -- Read entire article

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The Amazigh: Returning from the Ashes of Neglect
Part I - An American Introduction of a Native Civilization
"The task of introducing the Amazigh people to the world is not an easy one ... my approach is to describe the Amazigh people within the societal context of the intended audience."

"The Amazigh people would likely vote for the GOP if they were in America. " -- Read entire article

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1979: A Year to Remember in the Struggle against Militant Islam
"In reviewing the lessons of history we find both solace and nuisance in the actions of those who came before us...An old saying holds that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

"1979 is a year we must all remember, if only for the seeds it planted and for the lessons it holds... if wisdom were to prevail, seeds of poison may no longer find fertile ground as they did in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq in 1979."-- Read entire article