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    The US in the Middle East: A Triumph of the Will

    In an article published by Fair Observer, political analyst Amin Farhad provides some much-needed clarity on the ambiguous situation concerning the US military presence in the Middle East after the strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.  Although there has been a lot of chatter about the US withdrawing from the region, […] More

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    Sultan Qaboos Brought Light and Modernity to Oman

    Despite knowledge of his illness, I was stunned and saddened by the death on January 10 of Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman. I had come to know Sultan Qaboos, who ruled Oman for 49 years, as an American diplomat. I served two assignments in Oman, as deputy chief of mission between 1998 and 2001, […] More

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    Who Stands Up for Iran Standing Down?

    At his speech on January 8 following the Iranian missile attack on Iraqi bases hosting American forces, US President Donald Trump announced, with his usual tone of self-congratulation, that “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.” The rest of […] More

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    Who Wins and Loses in the Middle East?

    Following Iran’s missile attacks on a two US airbase, one outside Baghdad and the second near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, US President Donald Trump almost triumphantly announced that Iran is now standing down in their the two countries’ intensified conflict following the killing of Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani, in an American drone attack […] More

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    The US Will Never Leave the Middle East

    A large number of people seem to believe that World War III has begun with the drone strike that killed Iran’s Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani, on January 3. On December 27, a US military contractor was killed in a rocket attack in Iraq, and the US responded with a bombing campaign. Iraqis rioted and […] More

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    Europe scrambles to save nuclear deal and avert US–Iran war

    EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Friday to look for ways to avert war between the US and Iran and save the deal to stop Iran getting nuclear weapons. The 28 member states’ foreign ministers ministers gathered for an emergency foreign affairs council meeting to decide the bloc’s approach. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told […] More