Tag - middle-east

 
 

MIDDLE EAST

COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2014
Three timelines shaping Mideast developments
To shape an effective strategy in the Middle East, it is essential to understand three distinct timelines that are shaping developments: the short-term timeline of daily struggles, the medium-term timeline of geopolitical shifts, and the long-term timeline of sociocultural transformation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2014
The spawning of Islamic State
It took just two years for Syria to descend into a Somalia-style failed state under the weight of the international jihad against Bashar Assad. This helped the Islamic State not only to flourish but also to use its control over northeastern Syria to stage a surprise blitzkrieg deep into Iraq this summer.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2014
When Europe slowly surrenders to intolerance
One unfortunate truth to emerge about the nature of the global anti-Israel movement this summer is that many protesters are challenging Israel's very right to exist, not its policies in the territories that it came to occupy in 1967.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2014
Danger from loose nukes in volatile countries
The inherent danger in possessing nuclear assets becomes far more acute in a combat zone, such as today's Middle East, where nuclear materials and weapons are at risk of theft, and reactors can become bombing targets.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2014
The less Muslims and Jews know each other, the more hatred grows
The memory of Jews has been rubbed out through much of an Arab world that has become less cosmopolitan in the past half-century. So when an imam calls for 'death to Jews' these days, it is a call most easily pronounced by those who know nothing of those they wish to see dead.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2014
Christian Arabs forced to flee
There were still about 60,000 Christians in Mosul when the U.S. and its sidekicks invaded Iraq 11 years ago. Only two months after the arrival of ISIS extremists, there are none. How did these and other Christian Arabs lose their place in the Arab world?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2014
Safe alternative rites to female circumcision
New rites of passage to replace the traditional practice of female genital mutilation offers hope of protecting woman from bodily harm and helping them to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives in Africa and the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2014
No letup in the inhumanity
Where are the peacemakers hiding? In China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East, leaders have dug in and are picking at old sores and animosities, even trying to celebrate them.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2014
World needs to right Israel's wrongs
The Israeli bombardment of the Palestinians has proven a policy failure, demonstrated by the Israeli government's resumption of bombing. The Israelis tried to give up, but failed.
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2014
No winners in Israel-Hamas conflict
The zero-sum mentality of Israel and Hamas is fueling a cycle of violence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2014
The return of the caliphate
Propagandists for the Sunni 'Islamic State' (aka ISIL) have produced a map in which this group of jihadis lay claim to Spain and Portugal — because they were once ruled by Muslim conquerors — Iran, most of India, the Balkans and half of Africa. So much for fantasy while it lasts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 2, 2014
Palestinian teen killed in possible revenge attack
The discovery of a body in a Jerusalem forest on Wednesday raised suspicions that a missing Palestinian youth had been killed by Israelis avenging the deaths of three abducted Jewish teens.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2014
History moves, but not always ahead
Victors of World War II find themselves unable to win the wars they wage against peasant societies. They combine self-righteousness with the perception of failure and decline.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014
Stop trying to reorder the Mideast
U.S. military intervention has broken pottery all over the Middle East. It is time for Washington to practice humility and to stop trying to micromanage the affairs of other nations.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014
Who'll pay for the Iraq sins?
Will the purveyors of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq ever do penance for their sins of warmongering?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2014
U.S. Mideast policy crumbles
The Middle East has been torn apart by American invasions and attacks, and careless ideas about how to remake other peoples' lives. Iraq and Syria, as they exist today, may never recover from it.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2014
China turning its attention to the Middle East
Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent invitation to Arab states to upgrade their strategic relationships with China reflects Beijing's broader goal of rebalancing its focus westward in response to America's 'pivot' toward Asia.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2014
U.S. may have to 'drink poison' on Iran
President Barack Obama and the overstretched U.S. may have to decide whether to settle with Iran on the nuclear issue because that would be better than watching the Middle East descend into chaos.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2014
Egypt is back on track toward stability, ambassador assures Japan
Hisham El-Zimaity, the Egyptian ambassador to Japan since 2011, expressed hope in changing Japanese people's "negative" view of his country into a much more "forthcoming" one, now that Egypt is striving to restore economic and social stability following the recent turmoil.
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2014
Egypt's new pharaoh
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the former head of Egypt's Army, won a landslide victory in presidential elections held last month. The retired field marshal was sworn in Sunday as Egypt's new president. His job now is to forge unity in a country deeply divided, and restore trust in a political system that has demonstrated extraordinary flaws. Only then will he be able to get the Egyptian economy back on track, an absolute precondition to stability in one of the Middle East's most important countries.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores