Best of the Moment
middle-east
Maureen Dowd | Vanity Fair | August 2010
Exactly the piece you'd expect from Maureen Dowd in Saudi Arabia. Shrewd, sarcastic, superficial, full of odd factoids and jibes against Islamist misogyny. And very funny
Roger Cohen | NYT | 26 July 2010
Furkan Dogan was shot dead by Israeli forces on a Turkish vessel in international waters. What would have happened if an American called Michael Sandler had been killed by a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank?
Paul Salem | Project Syndicate | 23 July 2010
Analysis of the challenges facing Lebanon's powerful Shia movement. Clear and concise on source of the dangers; possibly underestimates Hezbollah's ability to withstand them
Chas Freeman | Nixon Center | 20 July 2010
Blunt public talk, coming down firmly on the "liability" side of the balance sheet. Israel is rich, US subsidises it heavily, "Yet it’s pretty much taboo to ask what’s in it for Americans"
Anonymous | Economist | 15 July 2010
Saudi King Abdullah 86, losing lucidity. Scrum of potential successors. Even if this handover is smooth, family power struggle seems inevitable sooner or later
Max Rodenbeck | Economist | 15 July 2010
First article in excellent survey. Long-suffering Egyptians finally losing patience with Mubarak's brutal autocracy. State falling apart. Parallels with 1952, when army ousted King Farouk
Andrew Cockburn | LRB | 14 July 2010
Shocking account of US-led sanctions regime 1990-2003. "Invisible war" that caused horrible hardship, radicalised Iraqis, promoted corruption, strengthened Saddam's dictatorship
Danny Rubinstein | Dissent | Summer 2010
Haaretz writer reports on signs of sea-change in Palestinian public opinion: decline of nationalism. Waning belief in possibility of Palestinian state, rising support for one-state outcome
Joshua Kurlantzick et al | Boston Globe | 11 July 2010
Interesting exploration of diminishing rate of military coups since Cold War. Armies find it more efficient to subvert governments—as in Mexico, Thailand—without overthrowing them
Lee Smith | Weekly Standard | 10 July 2010
Western media naively admires, romanticises Hezbollah. "It’s not just a militia with an appetite for slaughtering Jews, it’s also a social welfare outfit that provides educational opportunities!"