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17/05/2013

Conflicts Forum’s Weekly Comment

This 'Weekly Comment' is produced most Fridays by Conflicts Forum with links to key articles published in the regional and international media during the past week.

/ Conflicts Forum

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10 – 17 May 2013 This week has seen the further political consolidation of the strategic military shift begun by the Israeli attacks on Syria.  Netayahu –

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Summary

Challenging perspectives on Islamism and politics in the Middle East

Conflicts Forum aims to shift Western opinion towards a deeper, less compartmentalised understanding of Islam and the Middle East.
By examining problems in terms of differences of thinking, language and intellectual and metaphysical traditions, we attempt to frame differences as more than simple struggles for power. Although not a particular focus of our work, reconciliation is sometimes an outcome of what we do.
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08/10/2012 Article

Escalate at Your Own Risk in Syria, Prospects of a Horrific War are Real

Learning a painful lesson: why delusional expectations can easily lead to war

/ Camille Otrakji

Tags: Middle East, Obama administration, Syria

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Originally posted on The Syria Page, 8 October 2012 The Syria crisis is complex. But it can only be resolved when a number of simple

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02/09/2012 Article

Iranian Soft Power

Iranian foreign policy and the requirements for a political settlement in Syria

/ Flynt Leverett & Hillary Mann Leverett

Tags: Iran, Middle East, Syria

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Originally posted on Race for Iran, 2 September 2012 CNN’s Nicole Dow featured Hillary in an interview on “Iran’s Soft Power Messaging” last week in

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13/06/2012 Article

Syria Alternatives (II): No Homegrown Solutions

Where now for Syria, and what role for the UN?

/ Radwan Mortada

Tags: Middle East, Syria, United Nations

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Originally posted on Al-Akhbar English, 13 June 2012 Opposition leaders inside Syria are increasingly at odds with exile groups over the future course of the

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12/06/2012 Article

Towards a new Arab cultural revolution

From “awakening” to “cultural revolution”: why excitement and promise is turning into fear

/ Alastair Crooke

Tags: Democracy, Middle East, Political Islam, Salafism, Syria

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Originally posted on Asia Times Online, 12 June 2012 The “Awakening” is taking a turn, very different to the excitement and promise with which it

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12/06/2012 Article

Fire in Syria (II): The Regime’s Response

Disarray in Syria is no longer confined to politics

/ Ibrahim al-Amin

Tags: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey

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Originally posted on Al-Akhbar English, 12 June 2012 The disarray amongst the Syrian opposition is all-pervading. The factions are at political loggerheads, trading charges of

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11/06/2012 Article

Fire in Syria (I): Preparations on the Turkish and Lebanese Borders

Syria and the Levant region face a critical situation, armed only with uncertainty

/ Ibrahim al-Amin

Tags: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey

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Originally posted on Al-Akhbar English, 11 June 2012 Syria and the wider region are witnessing preparations for a phase that can be described as critical.

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