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    With Trump’s Peace Plan on the Table, Palestinians Face an Existential Decision

    Following President Donald Trump’s long-awaited unveiling of his “deal of the century” Middle East peace plan on January 28, the Palestinians now confront an existential moment: find a way to make it work or begin wrestling with how to accommodate a single state. The optics of Trump’s announcement ceremony said it all. A beaming Israeli […] More

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    Trump’s Farcical “Vision for Peace” in the Middle East

    The long-awaited “deal of the century” crafted by Jared Kushner and presented by his father-in-law, US President Donald Trump, finally saw the light of day on January 28. Playing the role of the most brazenly dishonest of “honest brokers,” Trump, accompanied by legally (and morally) troubled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, triumphantly announced his “win-win” […] More

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    For Ali Khamenei, Trump Isn’t a Solitary Clown

    The hardest part of publishing articles in the news is drafting the story’s headline. Headlines serve two essential purposes: to give a general idea of the subject that the article exposes and to trigger the reader’s curiosity or interest. Because the headline must be pithy, the second objective includes a serious risk of misrepresentation. A […] More

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    Trump’s Anti-Politics and the Assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani

    The dust has settled for the time being in the US-Iran duel. Retreating from the conflict, US President Donald Trump tweeted “all is well” in response to Iran’s retaliatory strikes on airbases in Iraq hosting US troops on January 8. Shortly after, he went back to his “go-to” deterrent of choice: sanctions. Faced with the possibility […] More

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    In Bahrain, Justice Is Still a Far-Off Goal

    On January 8, Bahrain’s high criminal court of appeal upheld the death sentences of Mohammed Ramadan and Hussain Ali Moosa. The two were convicted in December 2014 in the killing of a police officer using confessions secured under torture. The UK Minister of State for the Middle East Andrew Murrison tweeted, “I am deeply concerned about the death […] More

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    The American Quest to Kill

    It always seems to work here in America, no matter how many times it shouldn’t work and no matter how many times the only real outcome is more dead bodies. So, this time it was Trump’s turn. Run up the flag, kick off an armed conflict, send off the troops, wipe out the “enemy” to save […] More

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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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    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