Right Side News
Eurozone countries on June 9 agreed to lend Spain up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to stabilize the Spanish banking system. Because the bailout dealt with Spain’s financial sector directly rather than involving the country’s sovereign debt, Madrid did not face the kind of demands for more onerous austerity measures in exchange for the […]
As reported in the Egyptian press last week, American senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, asserted that Egypt’s recent parliamentary elections were conducted honestly and without fraud (masrawy.com, 5/25/12).
The U.S. military for years has debated the utility of counterinsurgency operations. Drawing from a sentiment that harkens back to the Vietnam War, many within the military have long opposed counterinsurgency operations. Others see counterinsurgency as the unavoidable future of U.S. warfare. The debate is between those who believe the purpose of a conventional […]
An Afghan website reports that Iran has earmarked $25 million to be given to Afghan lawmakers in exchange for their vote against the Afghan-U.S. Strategic Partnership Agreement, which was signed by U.S. President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai recently.
News Highlights of the Week on Iran♦ Iran accuses West of responsibility for failure of nuclear talks in Baghdad♦ Ali Larijani re-elected for Majles speaker♦ Surprise and criticism in Iran over Ahmed Shafik’s qualification for the second round of the Egyptian presidential elections♦ “Emigrant Olympiad”: 62 percent of Iranian medalists in science Olympiads move to Western countries
Introduction: The violence raging in Syria has begun to spill over into several areas in Lebanon, where riots have recently caused over ten civilian deaths. May 12, 2012 saw the outbreak of violence in Tripoli, near the Lebanon-Syrian border, as intense clashes occurred between Sunni Islamists and pro-Assad ‘Alawites. Later, clashes also broke out between […]
The Egyptian presidential election was held last week. No candidate received 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff will be held between the two leading candidates, Mohammed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq. Morsi represented the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and received 25.3 percent of the vote, while Shafiq, a former Egyptian air force […]
Muhammad Mursi (Muslim Brotherhood, 25.3 percent Ahmad Shafiq (ex-general, ex-prime minister), 24.9 percent Hamdin Sabbahi (radical left), 21.5 percent Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh (“moderate Islamist) 19 percent Amr Moussa (radical nationalist) less than 10 percent
According to the Brotherhood, the almost complete vote counting for president looks like this: Mohamed Mursi (Brotherhood) 28.4% Ahmed Shafiq (Mubarak era general) 24.6% Abdul Moeim Abul Fotouh (so-called “moderate Islamist” but supported by radical Islamist Salafists) ·18.1% Hamdeen Sabahi (radical anti-American “left” Nasserist) 17.1% Amr Moussa (radical nationalist pragmatist) 11.6%.
Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, ranked in the top 10 in gross domestic product per capita. It is one of the most isolated major countries in the world; it occupies an entire united continent, is difficult to invade and rarely is threatened. Normally, we would not expect a relatively well-off and […]
Although the fatwa of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on nuclear weapons does not exist (see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 825, “Renewed Iran-West Nuclear Talks – Part II: Tehran Attempts to Deceive U.S. President Obama, Sec’y of State Clinton With Nonexistent Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa By Supreme Leader Khamenei,” April 19, 2012, the Iranian propaganda machine continues […]
New political leaders do not invent new national strategies. Rather, they adapt enduring national strategies to the moment. On Tuesday, Francois Hollande will be inaugurated as France’s president, and soon after taking the oath of office, he will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. At this moment, the talks are expected to be about austerity […]