Khaleej Times (Dubai)

...Nir Rosen, one of the most astute and knowledgeable correspondents in the region, observes that the main target of the US-Maliki military operations, Moktada Al Sadr, is disliked by Iran as well: He's independent and has popular support, therefore dangerous.

Iran "clearly supported Prime Minister Maliki and the Iraqi government against what they described as 'illegal armed groups' (of Moktada's Mahdi army) in the recent conflict in Basra," Rosen writes, "which is not surprising given that their main proxy in Iraq,… more

American author and international relations analyst Parag Khanna yesterday called the UAE a "rare success story", attributing it to its geographical location, globalisation and blend of foreign legacies with indigenous power structures.

Speaking on the role of the emirates in the geopolitical market place, Khanna, Fellow and Director of Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan, public policy institute in Washington DC, termed the UAE "a meeting point for first world European technology and third world labour".

"The… more

Worlds Apart (Khaleej Times - Dubai,United Arab Emirates) A number of analysts lay the blame on what they say is a failed policy and “good versus evil simplistic ideological stubbornness that the American public seems to be increasingly turning against”, said Daniel Levy, senior fellow and director of the Middle East Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation. “Expect more of the confusion on Iran, optimism on Iraq….” said Levy, who also served as a senior advisor in… more