Middle East Policy

Human Rights Watch launched its 2007 World Report on January 11. The report evaluates human rights development in Bahrain , Egypt , Iraq , Iran , Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories , Jordan , Lebanon , Libya , Morocco , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Tunisia , and the United Arab Emirates . Here are two reports concerning the only Middle East totalitarian regimes occupying Iran and Syria: Iran Events of 2006 Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement. The Judiciary, which is accountable to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is responsible for many serious human rights violations. World Report 2007 Report, January 11, 2007 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s cabinet is dominated by former intelligence and security officials, some of whom have been implicated in serious human rights violations, such as the assassinatio

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

Naharnet Beirut, 14 Feb 07 Lebanon's majority leaders told a sea of supporters marking the second anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination in Beirut that agreeing on the international tribunal to try his murderers is the only gateway to dialogue and unity. Hundreds of thousands of March 14 supporters streamed from north, east, central and south Lebanon to Martyrs' Square in cars, busses, and boats raising Lebanese flags and chanting slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad. The March 14 majority coalition accuses the Assad regime of masterminding the Hariri assassination on Feb. 14 2005 and the serial assassinations, the latest of which killed three civilians and wounded 23 in a twin bombing that targeted commuting buses northeast of Beirut on Tuesday. Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea said the international tribunal, which Syria reportedly rejects, "will certainly be created." He stressed that "whoever fights against what is right will b

The Middle East totalitarian axis represented by the Iranian terrorist armed gang of Hezbullah , is attacking Lebanon's freedom and democracy. Meanwhile, the international community continues its support to Lebanon and its legitimate and democratically-elected independence government and assures the achievements of the Cedar Revolution which kicked out the totalitarian occupation in 2005. Nevertheless, as I frequently said before, the essential problem was diagnosed and the prescription was and still obvious and stated in the historic UNSC resolution 1559. I frequently warned of not fully implementing this resolution that it would cause Lebanon to be held as a hostage on behalf of some regional totalitarian regimes. So, the international community should do more with the concerned totalitarian regimes to save Lebanon and the democratic project in the Middle East. Here are some related reports. Some related posts and articles: - Lebanon's Independence and Democracy - Lebano

The "Iranian Armed Group of Hezbullah" has proved to the whole world that they are the "Iranian Terrorist Armed Group of Hezbullah" after their latest terrorist attacks. This time it is not the Israeli civilians are the victims, whom their government proved that it is totally out of the strategic sense of the 'new Middle East' after Iraq when it secured and supported over the past years a totalitarian terrorist regime, which is one of the two operators of the Iranian Terrorist Armed Group of Hezbullah, and ultimately made a fool of itself after the result demonstrated in the high cost it paid last summer. This time the victims of Hezbullah are the Lebanese civilians who were yesterday under attack of the Hizbullah terror. The aggression targeted Beirut besides freedom and civilization as quite expected from a totalitarian armed gang as Hezbullah on behalf of the Middle East totalitarian axis and to preclude the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at any cost. On

In the last day in this year, 2006 I want to repost the Freedom House's Worst of the Worst , which is a special report detailing the world's most repressive societies, drawn from Freedom in the World 2006 , Freedom House's annual global survey on political rights and civil liberties. This is for reminding the world of the Suffering of many peoples in the authoritarian and totalitarian countries by one of totalitarianism's victims in one of the most repressive states. Let us hope that 2007 will be better than this year, and let us stand up for that. Happy New Year! Here is the Freedom House report: Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2006 Freedom House, Special Report A special report detailing the world's most repressive societies, drawn from Freedom in the World 2006, Freedom House's annual global survey on political rights and civil liberties. September 6, 2006 Introduction Methodology Table of Independent Countries Table of Related

Iran Freedom Support Act (H. R. 6198) has been adopted by Congress. This is definitely an important step in the right course towards the new Middle East. It becomes clearer day by day that the fate of the Middle East will be determined by the outcomes of the war between Middle East totalitarians led by Iran and democratic forces backed or represented by determined democratic international powers led by the US. To be accurate, I stress on the term 'totalitarian' because the general authoritarian Arab states are weaker than taking this war. Hence, what matters now is the totalitarian axis. This totalitarian axis, the terror umbrella, as already became obvious and in public consists of the Iranian regime as leader and the remnants of al-Ba'ath party (or the 'last Ba'ath' as I would love to call) besides Hezbullah and Hamas as proxies and hit men. There will be no salvation, peace, stability and of course freedom and democracy in the Middle East without targeting th