Hezbollah
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IS terrorism in Europe
Glorifying terminology
Those who kill in the name of the IS and do an especially thorough job of it earn the honorary title "Inghimasi". Efficiency is everything here. Joseph Croitoru provides insights into the murderous strategies of jihadist suicide bombers
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Syrian conflict
Everyone against everyone
Rather than being concerned with the fate of the Syrian people, the Geneva peace talks mainly focus on the interests of the two superpowers Russia and the US, writes Islam scholar and sociologist Huda Zein
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Saudi Arabia and Iran
Defeat Islamic State - or become it
The dawn of 2016 has brought a new round of doomsday predictions that Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family cannot sustain its autocratic grip on power. The kingdom, pessimists argue, is caught in a perfect storm with economic problems, social challenges and foreign policy crises all converging at the same time. By James M. Dorsey
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Arab reactions to the Paris attacks
Uneasy bedfellows in the fight against IS
Across the Arab world, there has been round condemnation of the attacks in Paris, which are generally viewed as retribution for the West′s engagement with IS in Syria. In this conflict, however, the Arab states don′t make for easy bedfellows. By Christoph Ehrhardt
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The global risks of an imploding Middle East
A region in flames
Among today′s geopolitical risks, none is greater than the long arc of instability stretching from the Maghreb to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. With the Arab Spring an increasingly distant memory, the instability along this arc is deepening. An analysis by Nouriel Roubini
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Kristin Helberg goes on record about the Syrian conflict
″We need an alternative to Assad″
At the recent EU summit on refugees, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she was willing to take part in talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In an interview with Wolfgang Dick, Middle East expert Kristin Helberg warns against misinterpretation
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Civil war in Syria
First Assad, then "Islamic State"
If the self-styled "Islamic State" is to be successfully combatted, the Syrian conflict has to be resolved. And for this, one thing is necessary above all: an alternative to the Assad regime. This alternative can only be created in safe zones, writes Kristin Helberg
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The Assad regime and the civil war in Syria
Clash of barbarisms
Over the past four years, Assad has razed Syria to the ground. According to Lebanese intellectual Elias Khoury, Assad's regime has reached the end of the line, and the region finds itself in a situation similar to that at the end of the Ottoman Empire
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Military offensive against IS in Iraq
Strike and counter-strike
The Iraqi army hopes that taking back Tikrit will come to mean to it what Kobani means to the Kurds: a turning point and a motivational push in one. By Birgit Svensson in Baghdad
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Iran's foreign policy
All options are open
Is Iran part of the problem or part of the solution to the conflicts in the Near and Middle East? There are actually good arguments for both points of view. By Bahman Nirumand
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Political crisis in Yemen
Teetering on the brink
Yemen is no stranger to crisis. Exposed to a regional proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, plagued by an entrenched al-Qaida affiliate and divided by tribal disputes and a secession movement, the country has become a poster child for everything that can go wrong in the Arab world. By Barak Barfi
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Peace initiatives for Syria
Negotiate locally, implement internationally
A comprehensive solution to the Syria conflict is still a distant prospect. And "freezing" the fighting will not succeed without UN monitoring. If the suffering of the people is to be alleviated and a foundation of trust laid for negotiations, local initiatives must be implemented with international support, says Kristin Helberg