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3 days ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Jumah Boukleb |Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Nadim Koteich |Eyad Abu Shakra
As an old Arab proverb goes: “With your people, you won’t perish.” Without the protection and support of one’s people, ruin becomes inevitable. A small problem arises, however, when we seek to determine who counts among “your people”, especially to those in power. Does the term refer strictly to one's kin (family, clan, or tribe) or does it encompass all citizens? The difference between the two is clear: the former is defined by blood ties alone, while the latter definition is broader.
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3 days ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Nadim Koteich |Eyad Abu Shakra |Ghassan Charbel
Iran makes threats, but it will not act. It will not mine the Strait of Hormuz or block it by bombing passing ships. This scenario would backfire and primarily harm China – the largest buyer of Gulf oil – which would lose four million barrels a day. Iran’s enemies – the Americans and Israelis – would be the ones to benefit, because Beijing would adopt an angry stance toward Iran.
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5 days ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Ghassan Charbel |Tariq Al-Homayed |Hazem Saghieh |Abdulrahman al-Rashed
Unprecedented scenes in this terrifying region. In the scorching Middle Eastern ring, three great boxers face off over patches of blood and lakes of rubble. The people of the region woke up to the news that US bombers had struck three Iranian nuclear facilities at dawn. The Israelis woke up to destruction they had never seen since the founding of the state in 1948.
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6 days ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Tariq Al-Homayed |Hazem Saghieh |Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Amir Taheri
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the region has been constantly criticizing the United States for allegedly having neglected “the day after” in Iraq. It seems the US and the West have become convinced that this neglect had been a mistake, and they now repeat them in the context of the war between Israel and Iran.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Hazem Saghieh |Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Amir Taheri |Hanna Saleh
Poland is emblematic of the fate of weak countries surrounded by strong ones, which may pay the price of the wars of the strong as well as their agreement. It has been partitioned three times in its history, and, for years, it disappeared from the map. Mind you, a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed in 1385, and it was a formidable and powerful state in the 16th century.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Amir Taheri |Hanna Saleh |Tariq Al-Homayed
Last week, the idea resurfaced that Israel may target Iran’s Supreme Leader – as if he were just another easy military target in the fierce war between Israel and Iran, which may soon involve the United States. US President Donald Trump made a point of distancing himself from the Israeli plan, announcing that the Iranian Supreme Leader is at the top of Israel’s target list and now within their reach. Trump made it clear he opposes Israel’s move and does not support it.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Nadim Koteich |Hazem Saghieh |Eyad Abu Shakra |Abdulrahman al-Rashed
For at least a year now, Iran and Israel have been fighting a direct conflict, after having waged a shadow war for decades. This is more than a regional power struggle; what we are witnessing is an existential war between two regimes as traditional pillars of deterrence erode, creating trajectories that are difficult to foresee. 1. Controlled EscalationThe confrontation has yet to escalate into a full-scale war. Israel continues to target nuclear and military facilities, as well as supply chains.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Hazem Saghieh |Eyad Abu Shakra |Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Ghassan Charbel
It might be safe to say that the relationship between states and armed militias might benefit from revisions of a highly consequential episode of modern Arab history: the Jordanian civil war of 1970–1971.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Eyad Abu Shakra |Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Ghassan Charbel |Tariq Al-Homayed
When a nation’s options are narrowed by dramatic developments, it is left with two choices: gloating or denial... Both affirm that this nation has resigned itself to a life on the margins of history. We Arabs currently constitute a strong majority in West Asia and North Africa. Our territories are home to some of the world’s most significant natural resources; they are by most of the ancient world’s seas, and are part of the most important trade and civilization routes known to humanity.
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1 week ago | 
english.aawsat.com | Abdulrahman al-Rashed |Ghassan Charbel |Tariq Al-Homayed |Emile Ameen
This war had been brewing for two decades - long anticipated but repeatedly avoided. Both the Iranian and Israeli sides had succeeded in avoiding direct confrontation, limiting themselves to proxy wars, until the October 7, 2023, attack happened. At that point, the Israelis decided to eliminate the sources of threat and shift their strategy from “mowing the lawn” - targeting the proxy threats as they grow - to destroying the entire octopus.
