GLORIA Center

Breaking News: It’s Official, Iran’s Presidential Election is A Sham

Barry Rubin — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:28:44 +0000

The names have now been announced of who will be allowed to run for president of Iran by the regime in the June 14 elections. Six of eight are supporters of the current ruling faction; the rest are two weaker candidates of the other two factions. The outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tumultuous time in office [...]

Iran’s Presidential Election: Plenty of Problems and No Real Change

Barry Rubin — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:43:38 +0000

In June 14 elections are supposed to be held to elect Iran’s new president. The outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tumultuous time in office has left many dissatisfied especially since he has mismanaged the economy and made Iran’s international situation worse by his provocative behavior. Now, however, the election process itself may have broken down or [...]

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Praised at White House as He Puts Knife In U.S.’s Back

Barry Rubin — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:28:37 +0000

Consider five factors that had no effect on the very warm reception given by President Barack Obama to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: –While the U.S. government has pressured Erdogan not to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Erdogan announced in the White House Rose Garden that he would do so. An alleged U.S. ally [...]

More Violence in Benghazi Shows After-Effects of Scandal

Barry Rubin — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:28:42 +0000

As I’ve noted, Libya is starting to fall apart and the Benghazi scandal cover-up prevented the Obama Administration from taking serious action in regard to that country, including retaliation against the terrorist group that the United States knows was responsible. In the last week, there was a car bomb and four attacks on Libyan military posts in [...]

Erdogan’s Kurdish Gambit

Jonathan Spyer — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:44:42 +0000

Jerusalem Post, 17/5 On May 8th, fighters of the Kurdish PKK militia began to withdraw from their positions in Turkey, bound for their mountain strongholds in Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq. The decision by the PKK to withdraw is the result of orders issued by jailed movement leader Abdullah Ocalan. The re-energizing of the Turkish-Kurdish ‘peace process’ [...]

Who’s More Dangerous: Sunni or Shia Islamists?

Barry Rubin — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:51:52 +0000

There is a passionate, but somewhat academic debate, over the following issue: Which is the greater threat, the Sunni Muslim Islamists (Egypt, Tunisia, Gaza Strip, and perhaps soon to be Syria) or the Shia Muslim Islamists (Iran, Lebanon, at the moment still Syria)? I would say the answer would be the Iran-led Shia bloc. But [...]

The Israeli Debate over Syria

Jonathan Spyer — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:44:41 +0000

Tablet Magazine, 14/5: The civil war in Syria has led to a keen debate among the professional echelon tasked with advising policymakers in Israel. This debate has been reflected in a more subdued public conversation and occasionally in spectacular events—like the bombing of Syrian military sites around Damascus. So, what are the dividing lines [...]

The Ultimate Painting for Understanding Modern Jewish History

Barry Rubin — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:43:39 +0000

The painting below is Moritz Oppenheim’s “The Return of the Volunteer from the Wars of Liberation to His Family Still Living in Accordance with Old Customs.” It was the painting I wanted to have on the cover of my book, Assimilation and its Discontents, but was overruled by the publisher in favor of a post-modernist monstrosity. [Assimilation and [...]

As Benghazi Scandal Builds, Libya Falls Apart

Barry Rubin — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:43:45 +0000

Even as the Benghazi scandal is growing in the United States, the situation in Libya is deteriorating further. Ignoring the actual threat of revolutionary Islamist militias—and attributing problems to a video—plus the botching of the investigation of the attack—due to the cover-up–has also led to a mishandling of post-attack U.S. Libya policy. As a result, [...]

Trying to Figure Out Syria: An Interview

Barry Rubin — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:43:40 +0000

Here’s a program on the Canadian Broadcasting Company interviewing me about Syria and the extremely complicated situations and very difficult options facing intervention into that civil war. But I should add that this debate is largely academic. The United States and Europe aren’t going to intervene in Syria, at least not to do more than send more [...]