Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Omar Ahmed
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We were deliberately left out of Syria’s constitutional process, Kurdish official tells MEMO
Although launched by the UN, the idea of the Syrian Constitutional Committee was originally put forward by Russia which, along with Turkey and Iran, is part of the Astana trio, an alternative peace process to that of the international organisation. Yet the second round of constitutional talks ended on...
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Past and present perspectives on civil society in South Yemen
The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce was the venue for yesterday’s workshop organised by the Academic Forum Muhammad Ali Luqman and supported by Independent Diplomat focussing on civil society, women’s activism and the role of local and international media in current developments in South Yemen, in particular from a historical...
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‘The EU knows Hamas isn’t a terrorist group, but is working to delegitimise it’
Speakers at MEMO’s latest conference ‘The Palestine Question in Europe’ discuss Hamas, anti-Semitism and how Israel has become an example of how the West should live...
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Arson attacks are the latest escalation in America’s shadowy war against Iran
The recent protests in Iran and neighbouring Iraq are based on legitimate grievances. However, as has also happened in Iraq, there have been elements in Iran carrying out arson attacks against state and public institutions. Whilst recognising the right to protest peacefully, both governments have made it clear that...
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Riyadh delays the inevitable; the Houthis have the power in Yemen, Hadi has no authority
This week saw the signing of the much-delayed Riyadh Agreement between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and the UAE-supported Southern Transitional Council (STC). The Saudis hope that this power-sharing initiative will quell the dispute between the rival factions so that their coalition can focus...
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America’s ‘deep state’ and Israel won’t allow Trump’s troop withdrawal from Syria
The crocodile tears have stopped now that the world has yet again forgotten about the Kurds following the deals between Russia, Turkey, Iran, Syria and, to some extent, US President Donald Trump. It’s a win-win situation for everyone: Turkey gets its safe zone allowing it to resettle Syrian refugees;...
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Why MEMO matters
After another successful MEMO-hosted Palestine Book Awards ceremony, in which literature on subjects related to Palestine was honoured. I wanted to shed light on MEMO’s willingness to be a platform for opposing opinions on the wider regional discourse, covering issues which have divided communities – who are often of...
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Winners of 8th Palestine Book Awards announced
The winners of this year’s Palestine Book Awards (PBA) were announced on November 1st in London, in recognition of authors and their contribution to the literature on the subject of Palestine....
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MEMO to host 8th Palestine Book Awards in London
Middle East Monitor will be hosting the 8th annual Palestine Book Awards in London on Friday evening to honour and celebrate the best newly published books relating to any subject on Palestine. More than 40 English language books were entered in this year’s competition with seven having been shortlisted by...
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Lebanon’s protests look like destabilisation by proxy
Exactly two years ago, Saudi Arabia’s firebrand State Minister for Gulf Affairs, Thamer Al-Sabhan, called for “toppling Hezbollah”, promising “astonishing” developments in “the coming days”, whilst maintaining that the issue was not about bringing down the Lebanese government, despite the fact that Hezbollah forms part of it. Five days...
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The UAE lobby in America lacks legitimacy
The tiny Gulf nation of the United Arab Emirates has long been known to punch above its weight internationally. With a native population of about one million and in possession of the world’s seventh largest oil reserves, this is certainly achievable. Ever ambitious and forward-thinking, the Emirates also serves...
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The Kurds may well have ‘no friends but the mountains’, but they do have Israel
There is an old saying that “the Kurds have no friends but the mountains”. Poetic, poignant and tragic; but not quite true. Despite the mainstream Western media lamenting the latest “betrayal” of Kurdish allies by the US government, there has been one ally who has had a consistent relationship...
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Syria and the multipolar era
The way that history has a tendency to repeat itself is intriguing. In Alfred Lilienthal’s The Other Side of the Coin, published in 1965, he said that the “Soviet Union has taken advantage of the resultant decline in American prestige in a suspicious Arab world to establish itself on...
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‘Coup’ attempt in Iraq is really an attack on Iran
Having failed to dislodge Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad after eight years of conflict and with the twin political processes of the UN and the Astana initiatives moving a step closer towards peace, the alliance against Iran appears to have turned its sights on Iran’s neighbour and other ally, Iraq...
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Najran could well be Saudi Arabia’s fault line as much as its front line
The 14th century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun is famed for his treatise Al-Muqqadimah and is regarded as “the father of social science”; he wrote about the rise and fall of states and civilisations. Tunis-born, his ancestors hailed from Yemen’s Hadramawt. He is notable for popularising the notion of ‘asabiyya...
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Israel and the evolution of asymmetric warfare
War, wrote the 19th century Prussian General and military strategist Carl von Clausewitz, is an “act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” This is an enduring maxim of the essence of war to this day, with von Clausewitz’s work still studied by army officers around...
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Was Iran really behind the attack on Saudi Aramco facilities?
On 14 September, state-owned Saudi Aramco’s oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais in the Eastern Province were the target of a sophisticated drone and cruise missile attack. The Houthis of Yemen were quick to claim responsibility for “Operation Deterrent Balance 2”, which more than halved Saudi Arabia’s oil...
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Did Saudi push Yemen’s Zaydi community into Iran’s hands?
It has been argued that the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam is closer to mainstream Sunni Islam than it is to the Twelver Shias who form the majority in Iran. This is particularly so in regards to jurisprudence and general practises. However some socio religious developments among Yemen’s Zaydi...
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Revival, not revolution in southern Yemen
Omar Ahmed interviews Salah Al-Noud of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council...
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#USAEnemyOfPeace campaign against America’s role in Yemen
The US’ attacks on civilians in Yemen have taken centre stage on Twitter as social media users highlight America’s actions using the hashtag #USAEnemyOfPeace. America has been supporting the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen by providing it with intelligence and weapons. Nearly 100,000 people have been killed as a result...