The Middle East articles from February 2007

The Middle East archives from February 2007

Editorial comment: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travelled to the Middle East last month, where she issued various assurances of America's commitment to achieving a more harmonious Middle East.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... And if this all sounds vaguely familiar, that's not surprising; Ms Rice has taken to making these "shuttle diplomacy trips" to the region like the proverbial duck to water. In recent television footage of her speaking to Palestinian President...

Showdown in Gaza: despite the rhetoric and the January visit of Condoleezza Rice to the region, another Middle East proxy war looms as the US and its allies arm Fatah and Iran bankrolls Hamas in the looming Palestinian power struggle.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2007... The power struggle between Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories has become a proxy war between the United States and its allies on one side and an expansionist Iran on the other. This mirrors the swelling crisis in Lebanon, where the...

The last throw of the dice? President Bush has unilaterally taken the decision to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq. This time, even Tony Blair is distancing himself from supporting US policy.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(George W. Bush)
February 1, 2007... AMERICAN PRESIDENT GEORGE W Bush might be a figure of hate or ridicule, or both, among the European Left, Arab nationalmists and various Islamist groups but the president is nothing if not bold in his pursuit of success in Iraq. A month after...

Bush and 'the doctor': what President W. Bush says, and what he does, are not always the same, as recent clandestine meetings in Washington confirm.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(George W. Bush)
February 1, 2007... GEORGE BUSH HAS said publicly that he will not seek any rapprochement with Iran. However, the US, reeling from Iraq's descent into chaos, is privately looking for a new Shi'ite leader to work with--and the signs are that it may choose an...

The man who knew too much: Richard Seymour reports on the relief felt by many in the West as they celebrated the end of Saddam Hussein.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2007... SADDAM HUSSEIN, FOUND guilty of crimes against humanity, was hanged amid chaotic and undignified scenes and is now lying buried in his home village of Ouja. The trial itself, hoped by some to serve as a healing catharsis for a nation still...

The shark, the crocodile and the 'silent coup: in Iran's December elections, the wily supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sought to constrain firebrand President Ahmadinejad to curb his influence, but a radical secret society lurked in the shadows.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)
February 1, 2007... PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD of Iran and his ultra-conservative allies suffered a major setback in December elections at the hands of his key rival, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, with more than a little help from the country's...

Israel's miserable record in human trafficking: Israel's ambitious building programme continues but at considerable cost in terms of human misery.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2007... IMPOVERISHED TURKISH LABOURER Shaheen Yelmaz arrived in Israel six months ago dreaming of helping his father pay off his mounting debts. But today the 23-year-old faces a $14,000 debt of his own, deportation and the possible loss of his...

Shaping the global agenda: from the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Interview)(Company overview)
February 1, 2007... MOHAMED AL MADY, the vice-chairman and CEO of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), is one of the few Arab leaders who have clout and influence at the World Economic Forum. He gave the following interview assessing the new...

The year ahead: 2006 was a favourable year for the region with growth in oil and nonoil producing countries. This special survey, researched and written by international financial analyst, Moin Siddiqi, examines the year just gone and offers an optimistic prognosis for the year to come.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Cover story)
February 1, 2007... 2006 WAS ANOTHER ENCOURAGING YEAR FOR the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region despite the cloud of geopolitical tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions, a worsening security situation in post-Saddam Iraq and the humanitarian crisis in the...

Selling off the silver: Kuwaiti citizens have never known it so good, with high oil prices dealing them health, social and educational benefits as well as possible cashback. But they should not become complacent, warns Neil Ford; now is the time to diversify.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2007... THERE HAS BEEN a great deal of discussion of how much extra the Gulf oil producers have gained from high oil prices over recent years. While barrel prices have fallen considerably over the past few months, they remain historically high. As a...

Arab port security tightens: as America's "war on terror" grows more elaborate, Washington has compelled Arab ports to adopt new security measures, including inspection of cargo on ships bound for US ports. The silver lining is that it may make those ports more efficient, competitive and secure.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2007... IN THE PAST, along international trade routes, Arab ports have been notorious for lax security standards. Smuggling has been tolerated as a necessary evil, sustaining a significant number of legitimate port activities. But in the near future...

Is football Dubai's new oil?(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2007... IF THE MAKTOUM family offer Liverpool Football Club the same financial clout and commitment they have afforded horse racing, fans of what still is British football's most successful club, will be in for the ride of their life. The Maktoum...

Egypt signs a nuclear accord with China.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2007... CHINA HAS ANNOUNCED a collaboration accord with Egypt for the construction of a peaceful nuclear power industry on the Mediterranean. Russia and the United States are also competing hard for development contracts in Egypt's new, multibillion...

Reach for the sky: organisations in the Middle East are overhauling and revamping their IT strategies, thanks to an excess of cash for investment, together with an onslaught of consumer enthusiasm for the Internet and mobile technology.(IT SURVEY)
February 1, 2007... What do soaring oil prices have in common with the Gulf construction boom, market deregulation and rising population figures? Answer: they're all factors in the spurt in ICT spending in the Middle East. The region has been on an IT...

On the hoof: Dubai is at the forefront of municipal and state government moves in the region to offer citizens the ability to interact with officials online and on their portable handsets; at the same time businesses are starting to offer connectivity to their customers and employees from any location.(IT SURVEY)(e-governance in Dubai)
February 1, 2007... "Dubai has a take-a-chance mentality. It's a risk-taker as opposed to risk averse," says Hisham Malak, channel and marketing manager of software integration company Sybase. "It's always at the forefront of development in the (Mena) region."...

Egyptian women: waiting for the gender renaissance.(MOSAIC)
February 1, 2007... LAST YEAR, NEARLY 1,000 WOMEN, INCLUDING 44 MINISTERS from 88 countries, met in Cairo for the 16th Global Summit for Women, an annual conference dedicated to advancing women's roles in business and government. Summit president, Irene Natvidad,...

Mightier than the sword.(MOSAIC)(Mullah Mohammed Omer)(Biography)
February 1, 2007... AUTUMN'S CLOUDS', 'Operation Rainbow', 'Picking Roses', the Israelis have a genius for giving lovely names to their bloody incursions into Gaza," said Mohammed Omer to nearly 200 Americans who gathered to hear him speak in Los Angeles. The...

Lens on Lebanon.(MOSAIC)(documentary movie by Diana Keown Allan )
February 1, 2007... "THIS IS A project of empowerment," explains Diana Keown Allan, founder and co-director of Lens on Lebanon, an international grassroots documentary initiative formed during the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. A filmmaker and doctoral student...

Is Iraq Another Vietnam?(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... By Robert K. Brigham published by Public Affairs ISBN 1 58648 413 3 price 13.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Since the first days of the Iraqi invasion, supporters of the war have cautioned the public not to view this conflict as another...

Islam and Muslims: A Guide To Diverse Experience In A Modern World.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... A GUIDE TO DIVERSE EXPERIENCE IN A MODERN WORLD By Mark Sedgwick published by Intercultural Press ISBN 1 931930 16 3 price 14.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The need to understand Islam and Muslims has never been greater, both because of...

Turkey's Kurds: A Theoretical Analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... By All Kemal Ozcan published by Routledge ISBN 0 415 36687 9 price 60.00 [pounds sterling] hardback With the Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK)led movement Kurdish ethnicity has entered into a supra-tribal resistance. It has moved towards...

The Arbian Nights and Orientalism: Perspectives from East and West.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... Edited by Tetsuo Nishio and Yuriko Yamanaka published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 85043 768 8 price 42.50 [pounds sterling] hardback The Arabian Nights and Orientalism Perspectives From East And West was especially commissioned to celebrate the...

Desert Capitalists.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... By Richard Rivlin published by Bladonmore Media Ltd ISBN 0 9553070 0 7 price 40 [pounds sterling] hardback The Middle East can trace its trading history back to the dawn of time. But the impact of globalisation, coupled with how the...

Israel in History: The Jewish State in Comparative Perspective.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... By Derek Penslar published by Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 40037 4 price 20.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The comparative dimension is all too often missing from writing on Israeli history. Zionist ideology restricts comparisons between...

The last word.(United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development )
February 1, 2007... The United Nations, the only organisation providing a forum where the poor can look the rich in the eye to ask what is being done to help them out of poverty, has chosen St Valentine's Day [14 February 2007] to confront the rich with the...