Discovering MENA and other thoughts

Tracking the events in Iraq - in the whole region, actually - might be a colossal task. Particularly so during the Summer, when it is sometimes even difficult to grasp a single headline. We all are aware about something called ISIS - or IS, as of lately - that seems to be messing around from Lebanon to Iran. A group of bearded man that scares everybody, the only ones able to force Obama to reconsider his mantra of non-intervention and to make Assad look like a harmless puppy. We've read about them, we've seen tons of maps showing their advance, we've heard rumours and conjectures. In case you've missed half of it, there go a few basic things you need to know about them. And yes, they are creepy!

Anyone out there unaware of Assad's latest mischief? Really? Well, on the occasion of Syria's  Independence Day , the country's stiff President gave an interview to the Syrian official television channel Al-Ikhbariya. The interview coincided with the country's Independence Day, and at one point of the ranting he linked his departure to a "decision of the people". Was he maybe suggesting there might be a presidential election, in which he will beyond doubt be the front runner, in 2014? He then paradoxically added that his post is of no value without the support of the people. Which people exactly?  Assad's speech was full with pearls of wisdom, notably the one about the West being trying to colonize his country and thus playing with fire as a result of its funding Al-Qaeda operations. He somewhat threatened the West saying it will pay dearly one day or the other, for this organization would turn against them in the future,  striking "in the hear...

Previous articles about the situation in Jordan here and here . Despite King Abdullah's considering a postponement in view of the growing polarization between the government and the opposition and the widespread popular protests (some of them including people actually  burning their voter ID cards) , elections in the country were held as scheduled on 23 January, and thousands of voters went to the polls to vote for a new Parliament amidst non-abating calls for reforms. So far, foreign observers have characterised the vote as a free and fair one, only marred with minor disruptions, and security was beefed up with an eye on the eventual resumption of protests throughout the country.

I had saved this article because the headline had very much caught my attention. Apparently, in a controversial recent meeting between Netanyahu and the King of Jordan, both leaders mentioned the possibility of building a confederation between the West Bank and Jordan, that would find its origins in the British-dominated protectorate of Transjordan created in 1921, after WWI. That would be one of the main talking points in future peace negotiations and "would leave the core disputes on permanent borders, Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees and the future of Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria to a later round of negotiations at some unspecified time in the future" (evidently!). This way, Israel won't feel obliged to recognise the existence of a Palestinian state (even though the Palestinian Authority already vowed to recognise the Jewish state) and Hamas won't have to recognise the state of Israel. According to the article, "in early December, the Palest...

Weeks ago, I wrote an introduction on what was happening in Jordan. Apparently, I still have further things to elaborate on... Widespread protests keep taking place despite the Police's promise to crackdown on any incitement to violence. Demonstrations first broke out as a result of an announcement that has been considered the last straw: a future spike in prices of fuel and gasoline, staples that have been subsidized over the years in order to ease the burden on the population and to thus guarantee an artificial stability (as several Arab countries do). This decision has been justified citing an imposition of the IMF and the need to forestall a fiscal crisis, even though some pundits believe it won't really represent huge savings for the Treasury, and will actually worsen an already difficult economic situation the current rulers seem to disregard and that won't be solved merely handing out cash payments to ease the pain. It seems King Abdullah II is facing ...

The UK Special Immigration Appeals Commission granted at the beginning of the week the appeal of Abu Qatada , a Muslim cleric and a controversial figure, believed to be part of Al Qaeda (some have even called him "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe"). The sentence allows him not to be extradited to Jordan, for the court considered he could not receive a fair trial in the latter country (citing the fact that Jordanian law allows the use of evidence gained as a result of torture), where he is accused of setting up terrorist attacks in 1999 and 2000 (he has been already convicted in absentia there). The cleric was thus released on bail yesterday, though subject to a 16-hout curfew (besides electronic tagging, a ban on Internet use and prohibitions on meeting some people). The thing is that even though the European Court of Human Rights [ECHR] (a very much moot body for many UK politicians) had already blocked his deportation, he was ar...

It seems the “Arab Spring” (or at leas part of it) has finally arrived in Jordan, even though the outcome will certainly vary from the ones we have been witnesses to in Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia. First and foremost, because (at least for now) most among the Jordanian population seem to love their King (even though a majority thinks its powers should be curtailed), their royal family, and the “stable” system the latter has been building over the last decades. But the people are not blind to what their neighbours have been fighting for and, moreover, to what they have achieved so far. It seems what Jordanians actually want is constitutional reform rather than revolution. King Abdullah II himself has admitted the country is experiencing “national challenges”. On 10 October, the latter surprisingly appointed a new Prime Minister: Abdullah Ensour, former MP in the dissolved Parliament and head of various ministries in previous governments, substituting Fayez Al-Tarawneh, who ha...