Reading Through the Syrian “Outcry”

My take on the big uproar over the US raid into Syria is that it  will blow over in a few days.    While Syria probably didn’t sit down with US troops and say “gee how can we plan a joint operation against the targets,” I suspect Syria probably turned a blind eye, knowing that the [...]

Is Pope Shenuda Violating the Concept of Citizenship?

  A few days ago Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Egypt’s  Al-Dostor newspaper, had an interesting op-ed  questioning whether Pope Shenuda, leader of the Egyptian Christians, was violating the concept of citizenship with his (alleged)  interference in political affairs.  Is he a Pope or a Zaim ( political leader)?  asked Eissa.
Background: 
The Copts consist of at least 7 million [...]

Give them some Goggles!

Robert Worth has an EXCELLENT article  in the New York Times on recent efforts to strengthen the Lebanese Army.  
A few weeks back I posted about the rising Salafi presence in the Levant which are thriving post-2005 Syrian withdrawal because of the power vacuum that emerged after the most powerful force suddenly disappeared.  Ie these groups can move [...]

Yeah I Agree.

Loyal MediaShack reader Blackstar sent me an email today complaining about  the site’s recent focus exclusively on Al-Qaeda and Salafism (apparently she’s not a Salafist).  I hadn’t really thought of it like that but when I looked at the themes of the last 40 post I realized she had a point.  MediaShack does not aim to [...]

Is the Taliban About to Turn Zawahiri Over to the US?

Dia Rashwan, the noted Egyptian Al-Qaeda analyst, said at a recent conference in Cairo that the Afghan government is negotiating with the Taliban.   The potential deal:  The Taliban turns over Ayman Zawahiri in exchange for Taliban participation in the political process and an end to the war with the government.   The negotiations are being carried out under [...]

Can We Stop Calling These Guys Members of Al-Qaeda?

Rafa Taha and Mustafa Hamza are two  members of the Egyptian Islamic Group (Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiya).    In American terrorism literature, however, these two names, are often held up as members of Islamic Group that joined al-Qaeda.  Or the discourse is framed as “the group splintered into two, and the overseas group joined Al-Qaeda.”  Islam Online reports [...]

Good Reads

- I missed this excellent Robert Worth NY Times  article on the brewing_storm in North Lebanon.  Check it out.
-Also, Asharq Al-Awsat, which in my opinion is the best Middle Eastern newspaper, has on the scene reporting about the Pakistani Awakening Forces.  It looks like a solid article although I havent read it yet.   Eventually I will [...]

Dude, You should’ve kept your mouth shut

If you were a radical Jihadist who was lucky  enough to get political asylum in Britain, might you think about laying low?  Not Hanai Sibai.  A former top leader of the Egyptian Jihad group, Sibai takes every opportunity to publicly express his sympathy for Al-Qaeda ideology.   For example, last summer, he made an appearance (from London)  on the Arab [...]

What would Syria-Israeli peace mean?

Readers should check out a long must-read analytical post  from Syria Comment called “Syrian-Israeli Peace: The Impact on Non-State Militias.”

How Did I Miss This?

Maybe its because my tv is is broken.  Last week’s episode of Al-Jazeera’s Al-Itijah Al-Muakis featured a debate  about the Afghan attempt to reconcile with the Taliban.  Making another appearance on the show was John Wilkes, an Arabic speaking British diplomat.  See a MediaShack report on his last extremely impressive appearance.   Anyone studying Arabic should have a  [...]

Can Al Qaeda rebrand itself?

My good friend and long-time MediaShack reader has an outstanding analysis in the Abu Dhabi National on the distinction between terrorism and resistance in the Arab society.
3 critical ideas that article underscores: first, that Arab media makes sharp distinction between terrorism and resistance, the thing that directly influenced the stance Al Qaeda and Hezbollah hold in [...]

Someone Call the Police

A new  movie of interest to MediaShack readers:
AMMAN, JORDAN – The new Ridley Scott thriller “Body of Lies,” which opens Friday, tells the story of a fictional collaboration between the CIA and Jordan’s secret police. While Hollywood may romanticize Jordan’s intelligence service, the facts, according to numerous reports, are more brutal than shown on the big [...]

More from Islamic Group

A couple days ago I posted  that people need to stop calling Egypt’s Islamic Group (Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiyya) a terrorist group because 1) they have not used terrorism since 1997 and  2) they clearly do not aim to overthrow the Government. 
By  coincidence, IslamOnline  just posted a remarkable interview with one of the group’s leaders, Najah Ibrahim, who answered [...]

Talking to the Talibian

is the subject of today’s post at Abu Muqawama.   There’s a couple good responses and I have added my Afghanistan COIN  plan to the discussion session 1) Negotiate with the Taliban and 2)  Buy and Burn all the Opium rather than try and follow a stupid War on Drugs approach

When do “Terrorist” groups become not Terrorist Groups?

Could someone please tell the Council on Foreign Relations to update their website?  
“Jamaat al-Islamiyya is a radical group that seeks to install an Islamic regime in place of the secular Egyptian government.”
First of all, it is not the “Jamaat al-Islamiyya.”  It should say “Al-Jama’a or Al-Gama’a  Al-Islamiyya.”   Second, they do not seek to overthrow the [...]

Does Christopher Hitchens Read Media Shack?

Two days ago I posted  that the US should buy and burn all the Opium in Afghanistan because trying to stop Afghan farmers from growing their only crop drives them straight into the insurgency.  Yesterday, Christopher Hitchens said the same thing:
This is why it is peculiar of us, if not bizarre and quasi-suicidal, to insist that its main [...]

Better Late Than Never?

In a recent interview, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made some shocking statements about what Israel is going to have to give up:
Virtually on his way out the door from the prime minister’s office, Ehud Olmert told Israelis what he really thinks of the future of the peace process.
In a sweeping interview with the [...]

How to Beat the Afghan Insurgency

Here’s another good post on the impending Afghanistan crisis.   Yes, it’s that serious.  So its time for people to start offering up new ideas.  Here’s mine: 
 Allow the Afghan farmers to grow all the Heroin they want and then have the US government  buy it at market value and then burn  it.  When there are no jobs in a nation [...]

Threatening War Crimes or Good Solid Deterence?

Did Israel commit war crimes in the 2006 war vs Hezbollah? Sure.  Might threatening to commit war crimes in any  future confrontation be smart deterence theory?  Absolutely.  This seems to be exactly what they are doing:
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel will use “disproportionate force” if Hezbollah guerrillas attack Israel, a senior military commander said in published [...]

Now the Brits are Saying it Too: Afghanistan is Doomed

See my previous post (scroll down) on Al-Quds Al-Arabi ’s warning that the US is doomed in Afghanistan and that the only solution is to open a dialogue with the Taliban.  Perhaps we could dismiss their warnings as coming from a paper that, while serious,  is also somewhat anti-American.   It’s alot harder to do this when  [...]