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Politics & Policies by Claude Salhani
a different perspective on Middle East politics & policies...
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Politics and Policies: What's Next in the Middle East?
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement, is building training
facilities in the eastern Bekaa Valley within close proximity of the
Syrian border, reported a local Beirut newspaper earlier this week. The
facility, according to the report, is clearly visible to Israeli spy
drones that conduct daily reconnaissance flights over Lebanon. And the
site can also be seen using a simple computer with Google Earth
software, if, as the report mentions, one knows where to look and what
to look for.
The site comprises what is described as a suspected driving training
course, along with a 100-meter firing range and other facilities that
includes an urban terrain assault course. Western intelligence
officials and imagery analysts seem to confirm the report. The imagery
dates back to 2008, just two years after the last major confrontation
between Hezbollah and Israel.
Click here for the rest of the story
Dealing With Ankara No Turkey Trot for Damascus
By Claude Salhani
As Bob Dylan used to sing back in the 1960s: "The times, they are
a-changin'." Indeed the times they are changing, even in Syria, the
last bastion of staunch Arab nationalism. And if the Assad dynasty
began its reign in a bloodless coup, here too, things have changed.
When it comes to intra-Arab issues, Syria's tactics of resorting to
strong-arm policies when dealing in the complex, complicated and,
often, backstabbing politics of the Middle East stems from the fact
that Damascus has dealt with parties that have been politically and/or
militarily far weaker than itself. By and large this has been the
secret to the Assad clan's success over the past 40 years.
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From the archives
War with China?
The Four Day War: The Iran/Israel conflagration, a history.
The state of dis-Arabia
A-French-faux-pas?
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Islam Without a Veil
At the height of the Cold War US President John F. Kennedy
stood in front of the Berlin Wall and addressed the world: “There are
some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to
Berlin.
Today, the threat of communism has dissipated after the Soviet
Union imploded, giving way to a new conflict, some would say between
Islam and the rest of the world. Some advocate that there can be no
understanding or common ground between the House of Islam and the
non-Muslim world. Indeed, ever since the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001 by 19 Muslim terrorists, Islam has come under the spotlight
and what emerged was not a pretty picture. Hijackings, bombings,
beheadings, suicide fanatics who killed scores of innocents, including
women and children, slaughtered other Muslims Nineteen men was
all it took to stain the name of one of the world's three great
religions and to open a schism between the East and the West, between
the Judeo-Christian West and the mostly Muslim East. However, true
Islam offers a very different picture.
To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy let me say those of you who
believe that there cannot be a gentler, kinder and more pragmatic face
of Islam, let them come to Kazakhstan.
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Books by
Claude Salhani
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About
Claude
Salhani is a seasoned journalist,
author of several books, special reports and hundreds of
articles, commentaries and analysis.
His focus has been mostly on the politics of
Middle East and on US policies as they relate to the Greater Middle
East region. He also focuses on
politicized Islam
and terrorism.
(see more)
Contact Claude:
Email: Claude@politicspolicies.com
Claude@ClaudeSalhani.com
On the web:
www.claudesalhani.com
www.politicspolicies.com
“…a fascinating walk through the Arab world and the events of recent
years, while at the same time it reminds us that one's lack of history
will often make us repeat our mistakes. Mr. Salhani gives us an
amazing perspective on the real situation in the world, one that US
policy advisors would be smart to follow.”
--Edward Gabriel, former US Ambassador to Morocco.
We need a careful and discriminating analyst to help us avoid being
blown up intellectually and, alas, even literally. Claude Salhani is
that analyst. He is familiar with all the twists, turns and
disappointments of the Middle East’s history because (among other
things) it is his history. He is moved to write by a loyalty to the
people with whom he grew up and whose pains he feels as his own. But he
also knows that many Middle Eastern problems arise in part from the
clumsy interventions of outsiders ignorant of that history and so
liable to repeat their clumsiness. Claude is always lucid, readable,
and entertaining—his prose is as sharp and well-defined… Claude’s love
and knowledge of the Middle East and Middle Easterners shine through
the analysis.
--John O’Sullivan, former speechwriter for British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
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All
images and material in these pages are copyrighted by the
author and/or his agents and/or representatives and may not be
reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form without written
consent, © 2009 by Claude Salhani. All Rights Reserved.
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