Feb 10 2019
Erdogan has some tough choices to make – above all whether to reconcile with Syria By Abdelbari Atwan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan has some difficult choices to make in the coming few weeks. He has lost most, if not all, of his bets and assets in his strategy of playing for time, which he […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Russia, Syria, Turkey •
Feb 8 2019
The trend towards abandoning ‘Islamic’ headgear is as political as it is personal By Abdelbari Atwan In Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and other parts of the Arab world, newspapers and social media have devoted much attention to the way some well-known female performers have been giving up the hejab. This is as much a political as a […]
By mahaburbar1 • Islam •
Feb 7 2019
Sisi’s constitutional amendments are a recipe for permanent army rule and abolition of democratic freedoms By Abdelbari Atwan It is hard to understand the uproar currently being raised in some Egyptian circles, both inside and outside Egypt, over the constitutional amendments enabling President Abdelfattah as-Sisi to remain in power until 2034. It’s not as though the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Egypt •
Feb 4 2019
Why did Muhammad Bin-Salman wind up his anti-corruption commission? By Abdelbari Atwan The Saudi Royal Court announced last week that the commission formed to investigate corruption cases, headed by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman, had completed its task after recovering 400 million riyals ($100 million) worth of assets, shares, real estate and cash deposits. The royal […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Feb 1 2019
Turkey and the Saudi-led Arab camp are in a race to mend fences with their erstwhile foe By Abdelbari Atwan Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was correct when he pointed out, in the interview he gave to the al-Mayadeen TV channel last week, that the US’ Arab friends view Turkey as a greater threat than Iran. That is why […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia, Syria •
Jan 24 2019
The Arab states’ withdrawal from the confrontation with Israel allows Tehran to fill the vacuum By Abdel Bari Atwan A close scrutiny of Israel’s missile attacks targeting the Syrian heartland over the past few days reveals fie highly significant developments. They can be summarised as follows. – First, Iran is rapidly turning into a frontline state […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Syria •
Jan 17 2019
Theories abound about the bombing that targeted US troops in Manbij By Abdelbari Atwan The suicide bombing which targeted a restaurant frequented by US personnel in Manbij in northern Syria – killing five Americans, 11 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and a number of civilians – may have been a dual warning to […]
By mahaburbar1 • ISlamic State, Syria •
Jan 14 2019
The anti-Iran alliance the US plans to launch in Poland next month is doomed to fail By Abdelbari Atwan French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was right to point out at the press conference he held in Amman on Sunday that that the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ is no longer on the table. This is […]
By mahaburbar1 • Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United States of America •
Jan 8 2019
Israeli pressure is forcing Trump to stall on withdrawing troops from Syria By Abdelbari Atwan The refusal of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to receive visiting US National Security Advisor John Bolton — who left for home with his head bowed in humiliation — raises many questions about the unexpected crisis that has erupted in […]
By mahaburbar1 • Turkey •
Jan 3 2019
Will Trump reverse his decision to withdraw US forces from Syria? By Abdelbari Atwan A week after Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw all his forces from Syria (2,200 soldiers), following their defeat of the so-called Islamic State (Daesh), it has become clear that most of the opponents of this move – whether inside […]
Dec 28 2018
Is change coming to the Kingdom, or merely the impression of change? By Abdelbari Atwan The reshuffle of top ministerial and security posts announced on Thursday by the Saudi monarch, King Salman Bin-Abdelaziz, was noteworthy both in its substance and timing. It raises many questions about the true purpose of the move, and about the […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Dec 27 2018
Why Arab regimes are trying to mend fences with Syria By Abdelbari Atwan Syria is very much in the headlines these days. Not only because it is the only Arab country being actively targeted by Israel, at a time when Gulf states are normalising relations with Tel Aviv, but also because of the way Arab […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria •
Dec 24 2018
External parties are using their local proxies to block the formation of any government By Abdelbari Atwan Lebanon is experiencing an uncharacteristically un-festive Christmas holiday season, with thousands of demonstrators gathering in central Beirut and other cities to protest about the country’s economic condition and the thwarting of efforts to form a government — after […]
By mahaburbar1 • Lebanon •
Dec 20 2018
Why is the US withdrawing its forces from the country? By Abdelbari Atwan There is a military rule that says: if you are facing defeat and want to cut your losses, the shortest way out is to declare victory and promptly retreat. US President Donald Trump may not be familiar this dictum, as his expertise […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria •
Dec 17 2018
How serious is Turkey’s threat to launch a military assault northeast of the Euphrates? By Abdelbari Atwan Turkish Foreign Minister Melut Cavusoglu surprised his audience and raised many questions when he announced on Sunday that his country might be prepared to deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad if he were to be re-elected in an […]
By mahaburbar1 • Syria, Turkey •
Dec 16 2018
In the West Bank too, Palestinians are showing they won’t surrender to occupation By Abdelbari Atwan The recent escalation of armed resistance operations in the occupied West Bank — resulting in the death of three Israeli settlers and the wounding of at least ten others – make a plain point. While Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin […]
By mahaburbar1 • Palestine •
Dec 11 2018
The Gulf regional grouping is being sent the way of the Arab League By Abdelbari Atwan Far more important than the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit — which convened for just a few hours in Riyadh on Sunday — and the ‘poetic’ closing statement it issued, were the remarks made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Dec 5 2018
The Israeli leader could be planning a military adventure to offset his domestic difficulties? By Abdelbari Atwan Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s unexpected flight to Brussels on Monday to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was attending a NATO meeting there, was reminiscent of a similar meeting: the one his predecessor Ehud […]
By mahaburbar1 • Israel •
Dec 3 2018
The G-20 summit has demonstrated that money outweighs morals in international relations By Abdelbari Atwan The G-20 summit in Buenos Aires was a key test for Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Salman. It was his first appearance at such a high-level international forum, surrounded by world’s top leaders, since the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi […]
By mahaburbar1 • Saudi Arabia •
Feb 15 2019
Between Riyadh and Beirut
Why Saudi Arabia lifted its two-year ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon By Abdelbari Atwan Saudi Arabia’s lifting of the two-year-old prohibition on its citizens travelling to Lebanon was attributed by Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari to the fact that the security concerns that prompted the ban no longer apply. The Lebanese government is committed […]
By mahaburbar1 • Lebanon, Saudi Arabia •