Middle East Policy

Change and Democracy in the Middle East: Middle Eastern Researcher Defends the New Middle East Aleppo ― March 25, 2009 ― In one basic center of the old Middle East, Nassim Yaziji the Syrian researcher specialized in international relations and the Middle East defends and advocates, through a new book, the new Middle East with an empirical, realistic and modern perspective, originated in and from the Middle East itself. His research on the Middle East and international Middle East policies has contributed to producing a significant and unique book. Mr. Yaziji's second book " In Defense of the New Middle East: A Neo-Internationalist Perspective " has been published, advocating the new Middle East as a domestic and international necessity through the due change and democracy, and explaining this change through the Middle East's key realities and political developments the book analyzes. This 264-page book includes more than 100 articles classified into several themes

First of all, I understand that Iraq is at the beginning of the democracy path, as defined by the norms and practices of western democracy. Actually, the title of this article came from what I saw of the Iraqi political, legal and civil scene in terms of the pending U.S.-Iraqi pact at the Iraqi constitutional institutions. This scene in Iraq was really touching in terms of its vibrancy, and most importantly, its diversity. This Iraqi scene is unique in the Arab world, with an exception for Lebanon as a special case. It is really a very rare situation in the Arab world that no one can predict if a treaty or a political or sovereign decision would be adopted or not by an Arab country. In fact, in Arab countries, every thing is previously settled according to the ruling regime or dictator's will. However, this time, Iraq has made an exception or, as I hope, a precedent. Furthermore, this Arab unique democratic state in Iraq continued even after the Iraqi government's approval of t

Many argue that removing the Baath totalitarian regime in Iraq has empowered Iran, especially by opening Iraq to Iranian influence. First of all, it is really funny to assume that the Baath weak isolated helpless regime in Iraq, after more than a decade of harsh international sanctions and isolation, would be a barrier to any serious activity coming from behind the borders. This regime survived previously in its last phase after Gulf War II only to exist there, and this was because of an American decision and under a balance of power in the Middle East supported by the United States after the Cold War. In reality, we do not find the typical elements of the political influence used to be in such cases between countries. In particular, there are no means available to the Iranian government to influence the decisions of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament, and nor there are examples about such incidents. More precisely, referring to the facts of some crucial events and milestone

In honor of this occasion, when the wind of change began blowing in the Middle East and when the long aspiration for freedom and dignity started its path into reality despite all huge sacrifices and costs in Iraq, I am reposting excerpts from my previous article, " Iraq Victory: Middle East Salvation, International necessity" , which tries to change the approach of perceiving the Operation Iraqi Freedom through a realistic perspective based on international and regional facts and goals. IRAQ VICTORY: MIDDLE EAST SALVATION, INTERNATIONAL NECESSITY By Nassim Yaziji The U.S. will not abandon Iraq. To me, it means that the U.S. will not abandon the Middle East. Abandoning Iraq means abandoning the new Middle East, a moderate, stable, civilized, modern and prosperous Middle East, and the nascent Middle East democratization movement, for Iranian regime's Islamic Middle East dominated by the Middle East totalitarian axis consisting of Syria's Baath, Hezbullah, Hamas and led

In honor of this occasion, when the wind of change began blowing in the Middle East; when the freedom bell began ringing; when the long aspiration for freedom and dignity began its path into reality, this is an updated version of my article, Iraq Victory: Middle East Salvation, which had been well quoted in 2005 and 2006 and had been highlighted by the Philadelphia Inquirer in December 2005. Some related articles of mine: - The Neo-Internationalism After 9/11 and Middle East Democratization - The Struggle for the New Middle East - The End of International Isolationism - Defining the Iraqi Question - Totalitarianism, Violence and Terror IRAQ VICTORY: MIDDLE EAST SALVATION By Nassim Yaziji The U.S. will not abandon Iraq. To me, it means that the U.S. will not abandon the Middle East. Some recent stances and statements in the U.S. urging to quit Iraq have shocked me. I find it, and I am sorry for this expression, extremely irresponsible, and definitely harming U.S. interests and the nasc

The Struggle for the New Middle East: A Domestic Perspective By Nassim Yaziji In the context of the international and regional struggle for the new Middle East, where freedom, democracy and peace have the chance for the first time in the Middle East's history to replace totalitarianism, authoritarianism and violence which came from the pre-2003 regional regimes' interdependent authoritarian system. The remnants of this system represented by the totalitarian regimes and entities are fighting to survive after the Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and the semi-liberation of Lebanon in 2005 aiming to restore their previous stability through deliberate instability in the region. Methodology through Essential Facts The empirical approach with a comprehensive geopolitical perspective, in my view, is indispensable to find out the basic relations and rules controlling the Middle East political occurrences and then to develop the appropriate policy to cope with them in the comprehensive ge

Following is an interesting article on the geopolitical and strategic changes of Iraq's liberation; some articles of mine related to this subject can be found at: - Iraq Victory: Middle East Salvation - Lebanon's Independence and Democracy - Defining the Iraqi Question The Strategic Waves of Iraq's Liberation By Walid Phares World Defense Review May 1, 2006 In a previous analysis of the War in Iraq, I argued that in the middle of a conflict, one cannot pronounce the final verdict yet, but detect the trends of successes and failures. Between 2003 and 2006, the U.S. led coalition, was winning by points while al Qaida wasn't able to reverse the process, yet. The ending of Saddam's regime, the rise of a political consensus, the deployment of new Iraqi forces and the three popular votes is a string of coalition victories. The Salafists and Khumeinists weren't yet able to crumble the Sistani-backed Iraqi consensus. Hence in Iraq itself, and despite the all-out war by

There is an important regional dimension in the U.S. new Iraq strategy as I explained before. Here are two related analyses by the Council on Foreign Relations . Some related posts and articles: - U.S. Middle East strategy - The U.S. New Iraq Strategy - Explaining Bush's Plan to Secure Baghdad - The Neo-Internationalism After 9/11 and Middle East Democratization - Defining the Iraqi Question - Totalitarianism, Violence and Terror - Iraq Victory: Middle East Salvation - Middle East Totalitarians and Existential Choice - Middle East Totalitarian Axis - Middle East Salvation - Lebanon's Independence and Democracy - The International 'New Deal' of the Middle East On Course for Iran January 16, 2007 Prepared by: Michael Moran Nearly a week since President Bush’s vow to “ surge ” U.S. forces into Baghdad, a surge of a different kind got underway in the direction of Iran. The carrier Stennis (NYT) and its battle group will join the USS Eisenhower and its escorts in the Arab

Here are a backgrounder by the Council on Foreign Relations explaining the Bush's plan to secure Baghdad, which is at the heart of the security section of the U.S. new Iraq strategy , and some responses to this strategy by the CFR scholars. My comment on the U.S. new Iraq strategy is available here . Bush’s Plan to Secure Baghdad By Lionel Beehner, CFR Staff Writer January 18, 2007 Introduction At the heart of President Bush's new stabilization plan on Iraq is securing Baghdad, depicted in this interactive map . A large percentage of the additional 17,500 U.S. forces going to the capital will be deployed to protect the local population. Unlike previous efforts to secure Baghdad, the plan calls for more American soldiers to be embedded with Iraqi forces, to remain in cleared areas around the clock, and to be given greater freedom to take on Shiite militias as well as Sunni insurgents. Once security is established, the U.S. military will then focus on economic reconstruction and

Finally, the US has acknowledged the regional active role in Iraq's instability and violence. So, it will activate the regional dimension in the U.S. new Iraq strategy as an essential element. It is quite clear that without foreign support the insurgency in Iraq cannot be sustainable or politically effective. As the Iraq's insurgency has its domestic roots, the foreign (regional) input and intervention were essential in turning its efficacy from the security level to the political level. Here I should remind that the insurgency course in Iraq was in reverse that the violence advanced or led the political issue or problem not the political strife which produced the violence. That indicates that there are external roles and players taking their parts in this whole operation and manipulate the course of events there. So, as we should be totally aware of the domestic roots of the insurgency in Iraq, we should also be aware that it is definitely a regional issue and a deliberate war