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Middle East

Netanyahu Speech To Congress

Addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on March 3, an appearance arranged without the prior knowledge of the Obama administration, Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted the emerging nuclear agreement between the major powers and Iran. Calling it a “very bad deal” that would pave the way for an Iranian nuclear arsenal, heĀ urged […]

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Middle East

Australia Sets An Example

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has unveiled a new counter-terrorism strategy that other Western countries should emulate. It seems like an effective method of curtailing the spread of radical Islam. Under his proposals, announced on February 23, a senior government official will oversee counter-terrorism measures and be placed in charge of efforts to achieve better […]

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Middle East

Israel Breaks With U.S. Over Iran

Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are embroiled in an acrimonious dispute over a looming agreement to constrain Iran’s contentious nuclear program. The broad objective of the latest round of talks, which have been going on for one and a half years, is to ensure that Iran cannot build a full-fledged nuclear arsenal. […]

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Middle East

Semantic Clarity Needed From Obama

Regrettably, President Barack Obama is averse to calling a spade a spade when it comes to labelling terrorism perpetrated by Muslim radicals. The Obama administration, in the interests of abiding by a strange kind of political correctness, has created the impression that it prefers to use vague rather than direct language to describe the vile […]

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Middle East

Islamic State: A Nimble Adversary

The Sunni jihadist organization Islamic State appears to have lost some of its momentum. It has not made any meaningful territorial gains in Iraq since last year, when it threatened Baghdad, the capital, and captured Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, in a lightning offensive that reverberated across the Middle East. More to the point, Islamic […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Ties With Turkey Tumbling

Turkey’s Islamist leadership, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, seems intent on burning its bridges with Israel, once a valued ally. In recent months, the pair have stepped up their diatribes against Israel so as to burnish their anti-Israel credentials and consolidate Turkey’s standing and status in the Muslim world. […]

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Middle East

Hezbollah, Iran On The War Path

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon warned recently that Israel will not tolerate attempts by its enemies to destabilize its northern border. But that’s exactly what Hezbollah and its ally, Iran, claim they will do following an upsurge of violence on the Golan Heights, where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria converge. With Syria embroiled […]

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Middle East

Boehner’s Boner

John Boehner, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, disengenuously claims he did not commit a grave breach of protocol by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress without first gaining advance White House clearance. “I don’t believe I’m poking anyone in the eye,” he said recently. If […]

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Middle East

War Against Jihadism

It’s not necessarily true that the West is engaged in a “clash of civilizations” with the Islamic world, but it’s certainly true that radical Islam is at war with the West. As Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in the wake of the terrorist attack on the editorial offices of the satirical magazineĀ Charlie Hebdo in […]

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Middle East

Schizophrenic Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a schizophrenic state oscillating between pragmatism and extremism. Supposedly “moderate,” Saudi Arabia helps keep oil prices in check and expresses a readiness to sign a peace accord with Israel if the Israeli government fully accepts the Arab League peace plan, which was unveiled in 2002 and again in 2007. As the price […]