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| Please take a moment to visit and log in at the subscriber area, and submit your city & country location. We will use this information in future to invite you to any events that we organize in your area. Turkish-Iranian Rivalry on the Riseby Daniel Pipes
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/07/turkish-iranian-rivalry-on-the-rise
Turkey and Iran are two of the largest, most central, advanced, and influential countries of the Middle East; and their governments have a history of rivalry going back to Ottoman-Safavid times and as recent as the 1990s. The past decade, however, has been a time of good relations as both countries experiment with Islamism. I see, however, that tensions between these two regional heavyweights are increasing and predict they will continue to do so, with who-knows-what endpoint. This weblog entry notes in reverse chronological order some of the more interesting developments in their relationship. Hezbollah: Süddeutsche Zeitung on April 30 quoted Western diplomats saying that Turkish authorities stopped a truck containing a large weapons shipment intended for Hezbollah at Kilis, near Turkey's border with Syria. (August 4, 2011) Syria: On March 31, Ankara informed the U.N. Security Council about seizing a weapons shipment, listed as "auto spare parts," that Iranians were trying to export on a Syria-bound plane. More broadly, the ex-CIA spy who goes by Reza Khalili notes how differently the two regimes have responded to the Syrian uprising against Bashar al-Assad: "the ongoing protests in Syria have the Iranian leadership worried. The survival of the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, is essential to the dictatorial Islamic regime in Tehran because Syria provides the very gateway to Iran's expansion of power in the Middle East and its extremist policies against Israel and the United States." In contrast, "Neighboring Turkey has denounced the Syrian slaughter. Thousands of fearful residents from the northern regions of Syria have taken refuge in Turkey." Khalili reports that A recent article published in the weekly magazine Sobh'eh Sadegh, one of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' media outlets, sternly warned Turkey against its stance on Syria, emphasizing that Iran stands squarely with the Assad regime. The article, entitled "Iran's Serious Stance in the Face of Syrian Events," warned that "Should Turkish officials insist on their contradictory behavior and if they continue on their present path, serious issues are sure to follow. We will be put in the position of having to choose between Turkey and Syria. Syria's justification in defending herself along with mirroring ideological perceptions would sway Iran toward choosing Syria." (July 25, 2011) Related Topics: Iran, Turkey and Turks This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL. How to Waste Money, Persian Gulf Editionby Daniel Pipes
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/07/how-to-waste-money-persian-gulf-edition
This weblog entry is dedicated to the oil rich who find creative new ways to burn through excess funds, listed in reverse chronological order. Spell your name out on sand in kilometer-high letters: A member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, 63, has a taste for the large and ostentatious, including 200 luxury cars at his disposal. He has gone where no one has before by having his name carved in Roman letters in an island he owns, with the letters 2/3s of a mile high and two miles long. (For more details and more pictures, see the Atlantic Wire.) (July 20, 2011)
Related Topics: Persian Gulf & Yemen This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL. Egypt's Military Holds onto Powerby Daniel Pipes
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/07/egypt-military-holds-onto-power
It's been my contention since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February that (1) this was a military coup d'̩tat against the prospect of Mubarak's son taking power and (2) the military brass intend to hold on to power. On the latter point, I wrote in April: "The soldiers have become far too accustomed to power and the good life to give up these perks. They will do whatever it takes, be it purging Mubarak, throwing his sons in jail, banning his old political party, changing the constitution, or repressing dissent, to keep power." An important article in the New York Times today, "Egypt Military Moves to Cement a Muscular Role in Government" by David D. Kirkpatrick explains just how the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces plans to keep its power Рby pre-empting the constitution:
The military announced Tuesday that it planned to adopt a "declaration of basic principles" to govern the drafting of a constitution. … it will spell out the armed forces' role in the civilian government, potentially shielding the defense budget from public or parliamentary scrutiny and protecting the military's vast economic interests. Proposals under consideration would give the military a broad mandate to intercede in Egyptian politics to protect national unity or the secular character of the state. … Though the proposed declaration might protect liberals from an Islamist-dominated constitution, it could also limit democracy by shielding the military from full civilian control. For those of us worried about a potential Islamist domination, this is good news: "The announcement of the declaration is a setback for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group considered Egypt's best-organized and most formidable political force. It was poised to win a major role in the new Parliament, and thus in the writing of the new constitution." But for the liberals, it's bad news: Demonstrators have returned to Tahrir Square with increasing frequency to voice their demands, culminating in a weeklong sit-in rivaling the days of the revolution. … The protests are increasingly taking aim at the military. On Thursday, a coalition of 24 political groups and five presidential contenders endorsed a call by the young leaders of the protests for the military to cede more power to a civilian government now rather than wait for elections. The military leaders are sounding increasingly exasperated. In other words, it's business as usual. All that huffing and puffing about a "New Egypt, New Era" really does not amount to much. That said, I continue to be impressed by the Tahrir spirit and hope it will someday reach the corridors of power. (July 16, 2011)
Related Topics: Egypt This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL. | |||||||||||||||
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