For the cleric who runs Iran, there’s no such thing as a pleasant surprise, especially on election day. Ayatullah Ali Khamenei was not pleased when a librarian named Mohammed Khatami was swept into the President’s office in …
Middle East
The Belgian Teen Who Went to Fight in Syria: The Brian De Mulder Story
Like many boys in Antwerp, Brian De Mulder dreamed of being a professional footballer. His favorite team was continental powerhouse FC Barcelona and he sought to emulate its Argentine superstar Leo Messi, proudly wearing “10” on …
Iraq’s Sectarian Violence: Bombings Plunge Country Into Deadly Spiral
In early January 2006, less than a month after I arrived in Iraq as a young U.S. Army lieutenant, I witnessed my first act of violence committed against Iraqi civilians. While on a patrol on a highway 20 km south of Baghdad, a …
How Syria’s Rebels Aren’t Winning the War: The Anatomy of a Battle
The short message screeched over a walkie-talkie, prompting the half a dozen rebels in the room who had been lounging on flat mattresses and drinking tea to jump to their feet, grab their guns and run out of the door. It was …
Top Russian Diplomat Explains Reasons for Syrian Arms Sales
In the past two weeks, the U.S. and its allies have done just about everything short of getting down on their collective knees and begging Russia to stop delivering weapons to the Syrian government. President Vladimir Putin has …
Turkey’s Erdogan Visits the U.S.: 4 Problems That Won’t Be Solved
As domestic scandals clouded Washington, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived for a U.S. visit enveloped in his own fog. The Turkish Premier has been one of the most outspoken international statesmen on the need …
Exclusive: ‘We Will Slaughter All of Them.’ The Rebel Behind the Syrian Atrocity Video
Syrian rebel commander Khalid al-Hamad says he bit into a dead enemy soldier’s internal organ because he wanted revenge
In Jordan, Women Fight for Full Citizenship Rights
A new coalition is fighting to give women in Jordan the right to pass on their citizenship to their children
Savage Online Videos Fuel Syria’s Descent Into Madness
A video shows what appears to be a shocking atrocity from the battlefields of Syria
Hizballah and Israel Spar as Syria’s Conflict Threatens to Spin Out of Control
A dangerous game of brinkmanship is unfolding in the Middle East pitting Israel against Syria and its militant Shi‘ite ally Hizballah in what threatens to expand the two-year Syrian civil war into a full-blown regional …
China Can Posture, but It Can’t Bring Peace to the Middle East
China’s surprising offer on Tuesday to referee peace in the Middle East offers an enticing narrative. Having emerged over the last generation as an economic colossus and budding military power, the People’s Republic might seem …
Key Netanyahu Ally’s Corruption Trial Marks Pivotal Moment in Israeli Politics
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may find himself politically damaged if his former Foreign Minister is convicted of fraud and breach of trust
Syria’s Lurking Terror: A History of Sarin Gas
Reports of chemical-weapons attacks have hovered like a cloud over the bloody conflict in Syria for at least half a year, with both the Syrian opposition and the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad accusing the …