All signs suggest it is legit and I suspect this is the next big battle we are going to see - Muqtada's desire to consolidate his power within the domestic Shi'a power structure v Khamenai's (through Suleimani) desperation to not lose Velayat al-Fakih influence in Baghdad and Najaf. If Khamenai loses his leverage within Iraq then his entire expansionist program across the region loses legitimacy.
Middle East Politics
- Thread starter Raoul
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All signs suggest it is legit and I suspect this is the next big battle we are going to see - Muqtada's desire to consolidate his power within the domestic Shi'a power structure v Khamenai's (through Suleimani) desperation to not lose Velayat al-Fakih influence in Baghdad and Najaf. If Khamenai loses his leverage within Iraq then his entire expansionist program across the region loses legitimacy.
Interesting stuff, I was expecting a major regional push-back against Iran this year, but never considered Muqtada would be one of the channels for it.
I think outsiders understate how much Iran’s excessive influence is resented amongst Iraqis, even amongst the Shi’a core. For starters a lot of the rampant corruption is attested to them.
The generalisation seems to be that Iraqis welcome the Iranians with open arms because of its largely Shi’a demographic, and that may have been the case a decade ago since the wounds of Ba’athi oppression were still fresh, but the reality is very different today. They’ve realised that Iranian stooges like Maliki have been nothing but self serving harbingers of corruption and cronyism.
Not entirely surprised with Moqtada being the flag bearer for it. He’s always been at odds with the Iranian backed militias and his stance on Iran has been consistent with that of his father’s legacy.
Yeah, I know enough about the Iraqi Shi'a to understand that this is mostly a myth. Their modern history is the story of a struggle for political representation and influence within Iraq in proportion with their numbers, not a bid for union with Iran.
Another historian bites the dust. I haven't read any of Howard Sachar's books.
I never get the feeling that Lewis’s fiercest critics have read much of his work beyond a couple of articles (“Return of Islam” and “Roots of Muslim Rage”) or at most one of What Went Wrong? or Crisis of Islam. Most I think have just read Said’s famous critique (itself based only on “Return of Islam” and an earlier article). There is obviously IMO still much to criticize (especially from the 90s onward), but that goes for everybody. Reading the vitriol directed toward him now, it’s aimed at a scholar that is unrecognizable from the author of pretty much all his substantial works.
This is a long and interesting interview with Netanyahu's new biographer:
'To understand what makes Israel tick today you must understand who Netanyahu is and how he became the man he is’: a Fathom Forum with Anshel Pfeffer
http://fathomjournal.org/to-underst...man-he-is-a-fathom-forum-with-anshel-pfeffer/
'To understand what makes Israel tick today you must understand who Netanyahu is and how he became the man he is’: a Fathom Forum with Anshel Pfeffer
http://fathomjournal.org/to-underst...man-he-is-a-fathom-forum-with-anshel-pfeffer/
Rumours going around that MBS is missing? Probably bollocks.
Hasn't been seen in a few weeks apparently.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/05/30/563388/Israel-settlements-expansion-West-Bank
Israel to build 2000 new settlements in the West Bank. Most of our governments at complicit in this barbaric invasion.
Israel to build 2000 new settlements in the West Bank. Most of our governments at complicit in this barbaric invasion.
It doesn't say they're building 2000 new settlements, it says nearly 2,000 new units (i.e. houses or apartments), presumably in already existing settlements (very few if any new settlements have been founded in ages).
Amir Taheri said:
One quality exhibited by Bernard Lewis that I greatly admired, and will miss. Too many suffer from the "imperialism of Western guilt".
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Yep, still a war crime
Check out @KhaledBeydoun’s Tweet:
Another israeli war crime
Another israeli war crime
Building one unit in an illegal settlement is a crime, never mind two bloody thousand of them.
Well, yes. I'm not in favour of the settlement project, although I don't see them as the be all and end all issue of the conflict like others seem to.
In practical terms though, there's quite a massive difference between "2,000 new settlements" and "2,000 new units in already existing settlements" that's worth pointing out, no?
No
Protests in Jordan the last few days:
Saudi women getting their licenses as of today
Amman tonight:
Only in the Middle East.
Wouldn't expect any less from this cnut.
Note: For the uninitiated, RTE is Ireland's State Broadcaster.
Who is he?
Sa'ad Hariri?
Yep....Hariri. On the heels of last year's dust up in Riyadh where it looked like he was being held against his will and forced to resign.
Getting backed by America and UK had a lot more to the success than any political,personal or economic freedoms.
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One of the better journalists on the Middle East, Nir Rosen, talking about Iraq and Syria a couple of months ago:
(Edit): also this is worth watching on the Syrian Kurds, from back in February:
(Edit): also this is worth watching on the Syrian Kurds, from back in February:
There's been ongoing but sporadic protests held across Iran since the mass protests last December/January, but it's been difficult to know exactly what to make of them given how little we know about what's been happening, and the involvement of the MEK in reporting them.
This morning though it seems like there may be legitimately serious protests in the heart of Tehran, involving the bazaaris who have traditionally been associated with mass unrest going back to the late 19th century. May be worth keeping an eye on:
Twitter tags to follow are #IranProtests and #IranRegimeChange. Again it's striking how many accounts appear to be MEK-linked.
This morning though it seems like there may be legitimately serious protests in the heart of Tehran, involving the bazaaris who have traditionally been associated with mass unrest going back to the late 19th century. May be worth keeping an eye on:
Twitter tags to follow are #IranProtests and #IranRegimeChange. Again it's striking how many accounts appear to be MEK-linked.
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