Bar Refaeli has enjoyed a long time romance with Hollywood leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio. Now in an ironic twist, Jewish extremists have called on her not to marry DiCaprio as it could in their words ‘dilute the Jewish race’. I would have thought that politicizing racial purity was not a pa
Martin Kramer has stunned many observers in the Middle East by claiming radical Islam is not a response to Western foreign policy, poverty or domestic governance frustration. Instead he states “…that it was inherent in the demography of Muslim societies such as Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and t
An update to the ongoing saga of the Mig-29 jets that Russia is gifting to Lebanon. If you remember, at first blush this looked like a major act of Russian largesse, the gifting of 10 MIG-29 fighters to Lebanon. This would be a strategic boon for Lebanon situated in a region where neighborhood s
There was a certain symbolism in the recent dinner in Damascus between Sheikh Nasrallah. Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The US has been frantically trying to reverse the mishandling of diplomatic relations wi
03.2.2010 | Iran, Middle East, Syria | Stuart Ford
There are many observers that think the recent really to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of murdered ex-Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq al-Hariri, marked the end of the line for the March 14 alliance. It seems the very bastions of the largely anti-Syria movement are eroding. Syria and Lebanon
The settlements keep growing, pre-emptive policies remain, the fence is being strengthened, and the swords are being rattled at Syria and Lebanon. Time moves on, but Israel isn't changing. Many had hoped that a new US President and a newly minted Knesset may have resulted in some progress in t
The Gaza zoo briefly gained notoriety when several of its animals died of starvation during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. The situation became so dangerous that the owners couldn’t reach the zoo during the campaign as it was too dangerous. The enterprising owners subsequently painted two don
In a case of better late than never, the Obama Administration finally seems to have put its strategy ducks in order and moved to a more reasoned policy towards Syria. The timing is critical as Israel and Syria indulge in a war of words against the backdrop of escalating tension in the region The
02.8.2010 | Americas, Editorials, Middle East, Syria | Stuart Ford
Despite posturing and diplomacy in the public arena, if you really want to know what’s going on between nations you can do much worse than follow international arms contracts as we have reported before. Russia has an air defense system that is much in demand for example. Iran has been actively
In the current partisan environment every issue becomes politicized even without merit. It is surprising therefore that the trial of Pakistan scientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is gathering such little coverage in the mainstream press. The potential for other admittedly more high profile cases being t
02.3.2010 | Afghanistan, Americas, Asia, Pakistan | Stuart Ford
