In a global economy gone sour, there are still stories of success if you look hard enough, but they are now found in unusual places, far from the London Stock Exchange or Wall Street. Once again, the economy and banking system in Lebanon have indicated strengthening numbers, bucking the inte
Many of the neoconservatives and defense hawks are aligned with the fundamentalist religious minority. This was well evidenced in the Bush Administration foreign policy approach, and the amount of zeal and excitement the evangelists exhibited when the religious positions of Sarah Palin were
The US foreign policy of military sales and assistance to select partners is one of the most powerful and dangerous tools in its armory.In provisioning arms to its friends, it can easily disturb delicate regional balances. By ill-considered transactions it can arm friends that later turn int
Today we want to revisit the populist confusion around the Iran nuclear discussion. The world is seemingly obsessed with Iran's potential to make the journey towards uranium enrichment and on to membership of the nuclear club. Populist commentators, vehemently argue Iran shouldn’t be allow
03.28.2009 | Features, Iran, Middle East | Clarity Staff Reporter
I think I may have been busy covering an international conflict when 'they' changed the definition of war. It used to be that when a standing army (or a state-sponsored group) crossed into someone else's sovereign territory and killed their inhabitants, that was interpreted as an act of war. H
03.27.2009 | Americas, Features, India, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
The implied social contract that governs our democratic involvement has changed. In an increasingly complex, inter-connected, and rapid-pace world this is perhaps inevitable, but is worthy of note. Like the current economic recession, this change in the model of free government is a global phe
03.26.2009 | Americas, Features, Iran, Israel, Middle East | Clarity Staff Reporter
As we have previously observed, some of President Obama's early foreign policy steps are not necessarily supportive of his stated objectives. In several ways, and particularly in relation to the Middle East, we hear more than a dim echo of some past ideological myths, and would repeat
Uri Dromi writing in today's Guardian newspaper tells us, "Don't judge Israel's war crimes". It is a reasonable request. Any allegations of wrongdoings do need to be fully investigated prior to drawing conclusions, even though the allegations of the use of human shields are severely troubli
03.24.2009 | Israel, Middle East, Palestine | Clarity Staff Reporter
There is something intrinsically troubling in there being 37 million people living below the poverty line in one of the top ten richest countries in the world. While the definition of whether the 'poverty line' in this context is valid can be argued, it is indicative of a nation highly effi
There's something of a clash between good intent and consequential action in the Catholic Church. It is an ancient institution based on age-old dogma, and sometimes the way it thinks, demonstrates this. Despite its best efforts and intentions, the Church continues to fall foul of the modern
