What are Western vital interests in the Middle East?
Western governments should seek to clearly define their interests; understand how best to promote them; and balance them with a long-term commitment to democratisation
- 20 August 2013Egypt: If it's dictatorship again, or civil war, remember who got it right about the "Arab Spring"
We all hope that it ends up swimmingly in Egypt, but there were those who always said it might not
- 3 July 2013After the Arab Spring: Algeria's standing in a new world
Algeria has the potential to emerge from the Arab Spring as a regional power. This may be good news for western states, but it's bad new for Arab revolutionaries
- 25 March 2013Arab Winter: Egypt suspends parliamentary elections
Post-'Arab Spring' Egypt hits its latest roadblock
- 6 March 2013Atheists face increased discrimination around the world
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is being confronted with a detailed report highlighting the widespread discrimination and prejudice faced by atheists around the world
- 26 February 2013Two years on, the Arab Spring could use some Talmudic spirit
Unfortunately, the Talmudic spirit has been almost entirely absent from the Middle East, except of course for Israel. It shows
- 19 February 2013The collapse of Al-Jazeera's credibility
“Before the beginning of the Arab Spring, we were a voice for change...a platform for critics and political activists throughout the region. Now, Al-Jazeera has become a propaganda broadcaster.”
- 18 February 2013There's more to the Arab world's malaise than dictators
The ongoing 'Arab Winter' is showing that there was always more than dictatorships to blame for the Arab world's malaise
- 10 February 2013Waiting for Nobel
The relentless, obsessive focus on Israel is driving the world crazy
- 1 February 2013Ashton in Wonderland
Catherine Ashton and the rest of Europe are lost down the rabbit hole as the Saudis and Qataris are well placed to gain from the Arab Spring
- 18 January 2013Christians - The forgotten victims of the Arab Spring
The world is increasingly realising that the Arab Spring also has a dark under-belly. And Christians are emerging as significant victims
- 12 December 2012Leaving America weaker in a more dangerous world
After almost four years of Obama's presidency, not only is America’s standing in the world weaker, the world is also more dangerous than before
- 24 October 2012As Israel carries out war drills, the noose is tightening
As the aftershocks of the "Arab Spring" continue, the noose is steadily tightening around the only beacon of democracy, tolerance, and technological advance in the Middle East
- 22 October 2012"Muslims do not kill Muslims". Illustrating the victim complex
The experiences of Sky's Tim Marshall about the Muslim world's victim complex mirror my own
- 14 October 2012A storm of massive proportions is brewing in the MidEast
The region is splitting apart and ready to explode out of its largely artificial boundaries along two major fault lines, ethnic and religious, writes a former senior editor of the Jerusalem Post
- 9 October 2012