Middle East
“Moderate” cleric wins Iranian presidential election
By Peter Symonds, 17 June 2013
While Rouhini has called for moderation and dialogue with the West, the Obama administration will accept nothing less than complete capitulation to its demands.
Libya destabilised by factional and military infighting
By Jean Shaoul, 14 June 2013
The massacre of 31 people by the Libya Shield Force, an Islamist militia, was the worst single death toll since the end of the 2011 NATO-led civil war.
White House convenes meetings on Syria escalation
By Bill Van Auken, 11 June 2013
The Obama White House is convening meetings this week to discuss measures to escalate the US-backed war for regime-change in Syria.
Egypt: Supreme Constitutional Court invalidates Shura Council, Constituent Assembly
By Johannes Stern, 11 June 2013
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court has ruled that the upper legislative house and the Constituent Assembly lack any legal foundation.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 June 2013
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Turkey at the crossroads
By Bill Van Auken, 6 June 2013
The massive protests of the past week have deep roots in the growth of social inequality that has accompanied Turkey’s closer integration into the capitalist world market.
Turkish police round up young protesters for use of social media
By Bill Van Auken, 6 June 2013
Dozens of people ranging in age from 18 to 24 have been rounded up in the Turkish port city of Izmir on charges of “encouraging rebellion” through the use of Twitter and other social media.
Turkish clashes continue as Erdogan brands protesters “extremists”
By Bill Van Auken, 4 June 2013
Confrontations between demonstrators and riot police continued Monday in Istanbul, Ankara and cities across Turkey.
Syrian opposition forces launch rocket attacks in Lebanon
By Thomas Gaist, 4 June 2013
US-backed Syrian opposition forces pummeled Shia targets in Lebanon as Hezbollah fighters continued massing near Aleppo.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
31 May 2013
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European powers lift embargo, move to arm Syrian opposition
By Johannes Stern, 28 May 2013
On Monday the foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) met in Brussels and agreed not to renew the arms embargo against Syria.
Settlements authorised as Kerry tries to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks
By Jean Shaoul, 28 May 2013
Benyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has begun the legal process to retrospectively authorise four outposts as settlements in the Occupied West Bank.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
17 May 2013
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Video shows US-backed opposition fighter cannibalizing Syrian soldier
By Alex Lantier, 16 May 2013
The video makes clear the barbaric character of the Islamic fundamentalist forces the US has mobilized in its proxy war against Syria.
Nationwide protests against austerity in Israel
By Jean Shaoul, 16 May 2013
The budget aims to cut the deficit that reached US$11 billion in 2012.
Reports suggest Syrian opposition involvement in Turkish bombings
By Thomas Gaist, 14 May 2013
Despite evidence that groups involved in the campaign against the Syrian regime were behind the bombings, Turkish leaders are pushing to use them as a pretext for war.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
10 May 2013
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British imperialism’s return to “East of Suez”
By Jean Shaoul, 8 May 2013
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, got the full treatment on his state visit to Britain last week.
UN says US-backed opposition, not Syrian regime, used poison gas
By Alex Lantier, 7 May 2013
UN investigator Carla del Ponte’s statements explode the propaganda lie that the US is preparing to attack Syria to defend its people from chemical weapons.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
26 April 2013
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US finalises arms deals with Israel, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
By Jean Shaoul, 25 April 2013
The United States is flooding the Middle East with armaments, a further sign that the preparations for military intervention against Syria are ultimately aimed at Iran.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 April 2013
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Syrian opposition militia declares allegiance to Al Qaeda
By Niall Green, 16 April 2013
The leading fighting group in the US-backed war against the Syrian government has announced its loyalty to Al Qaeda.
Washington escalates Syria intervention
By Bill Van Auken, 4 April 2013
The US and Jordanian militaries have stepped up a program to train thousands of armed fighters to send into Syria with the aim of carving out a buffer zone in the south of the country.
Trial of political activists underway in United Arab Emirates
By Jean Shaoul, 3 April 2013
The despotic United Arab Emirates regime has begun a trial of 94 pro-democracy activists.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
29 March 2013
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Obama talks “peace” in Israel while preparing war
By Bill Van Auken, 22 March 2013
In a speech delivered in Jerusalem Thursday, Obama identified US interests unconditionally with Israel, while reiterating war threats against both Syria and Iran.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
22 March 2013
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
15 March 2013
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
8 March 2013
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French government promotes pseudo-left opposition parties in Tunisia
By Kumaran Ira, 7 March 2013
After Chokri Belaïd’s assassination, Paris is seeking to advance the petty-bourgeois Popular Front to advance its imperialist interests in Tunisia.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
1 March 2013
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France-Qatar tensions rise over Mali war, Tunisia
By Jean Shaoul, 28 February 2013
Tensions between France and its Qatari ally are rising amid accusations that Qatar is funding Al Qaeda-linked militants fighting France in Mali.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
22 February 2013
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Mass strikes and protests shut down Port Said in Egypt
By Johannes Stern, 19 February 2013
Renewed strikes and protests have swept Egypt since January 25, the second anniversary of the outbreak of the Egyptian revolution that toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
15 February 2013
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Pentagon chiefs reveal divisions over Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 12 February 2013
Tactical differences have emerged within the Obama administration over how best to prosecute its strategy for regime-change in Syria.
Tunisian government begins to unravel
By Antoine Lerougetel, 12 February 2013
The murder last Wednesday of anti-Islamist politician Chokri Belaïd has undermined the government coalition, whose main component is the Islamist Ennahda Party.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
8 February 2013
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
1 February 2013
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With death toll rising, Egypt’s opposition calls for talks with Mursi
By Bill Van Auken, 31 January 2013
With the death toll in Egypt’s protests having climbed to near 60, the head of the main bourgeois opposition coalition has called for talks with President Mursi.
Revolutionary Socialists offer their services to the Egyptian bourgeoisie
By Chris Marsden, 31 January 2013
With the eruption of the mass movements against Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the RS came forward as the chief advocate of a united movement of the Islamists and liberal bourgeois parties to block social revolution.
Jordan on the brink of disaster
By Jean Shaoul, 29 January 2013
Last week’s elections in Jordan resulted in a large majority for tribal leaders, pro-monarchy loyalists and businessmen.
Israel’s elections augur deepening political instability
By Jean Shaoul, 24 January 2013
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing electoral alliance, Likud-Beiteinu, and his religious coalition partners won a much-reduced majority in Tuesday’s elections, resulting in a hung parliament.
Fatal accidents fuel discontent with Egyptian Islamist government
By Johannes Stern, 18 January 2013
Only days before the second anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution on January 25, protesters denounce Islamist President Mursi after a series of deadly accidents.
The rotten foundations of US policy in the Middle East
By Bill Van Auken, 16 January 2013
The death of 13 migrant workers in a labor camp fire in Bahrain comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s beheading of a Sri Lankan maid.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
4 January 2013
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 December 2012
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US, Arab allies call for intervention in Syria after bombing of Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp
By Jean Shaoul, 20 December 2012
All media reports of the bombardment of Yarmouk stress that the Syrian government is guilty of a crime and must pay a price.
Israel considering attack on Syria
By Jean Shaoul, 18 December 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has twice asked Jordan for its support to bomb Syria’s alleged chemical weapons facilities.
Syria in the crosshairs
By Joseph Kishore, 15 December 2012
The US and its imperialist allies are building up to a direct intervention in Syria, with the deployment of Patriot missile batteries in Turkey and the official recognition of the opposition.
Australian pseudo-left backs imperialist intervention in Syria
By Patrick O’Connor and Nick Beams, 14 December 2012
The overt shift by Socialist Alternative into the imperialist camp is bound up with the new political requirements of the Labor government.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
14 December 2012
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“Friends of Syria” meeting demands Assad cede power to Islamist opposition
By Alex Lantier, 13 December 2012
Representatives of 130 governments, led by the US and the European powers, officially recognized the Islamist Syrian opposition as the sole representative of the Syrian people.
Washington discovers terrorists in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 12 December 2012
In branding one of the principal anti-Assad militias as a terrorist organization, Washington is exposing the character of the US-backed war in Syria.
Syrian “rebels” establish unified military command
By Oliver Campbell, 10 December 2012
The composition of the new council exposes the reactionary character of the Syrian opposition, dominated by Islamists, lacking any popular base and reliant on the major powers.
Mounting evidence of US plans for military intervention against Syria
By Chris Marsden, 8 December 2012
Unsubstantiated claims that Syria intends to use chemical weapons are as transparent a pretext for military aggression as the lies a decade ago about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction.”
US tightens military noose around Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 7 December 2012
Amid an escalating drumbeat about a supposed threat that Syria is preparing to use chemical weapons, Washington has deployed a naval armada off the country’s coast.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 December 2012
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Obama and Al Qaeda
By Bill Van Auken, 5 December 2012
As the US threatens to intervene in Syria on the pretext of countering chemical weapons, a sinister alliance between Washington and Al Qaeda comes ever more clearly into focus.
Washington floats chemical weapons charge as pretext for Syria buildup
By Bill Van Auken, 4 December 2012
The Obama administration and the media have cited unspecified “intelligence” about chemical weapons to issue new threats against Syria.
Jordan hit by protests against fuel hikes and Abdullah’s rule
By Jean Shaoul, 4 December 2012
For weeks, thousands of people in towns and cities throughout Jordan have taken to the streets in protest against the government’s decision to end fuel subsidies.
Israel to expand settlements after UN vote on Palestine
By Bill Van Auken, 1 December 2012
In a provocative response to the UN’s recognition of Palestine as a nonmember state, the Netanyahu government is pushing ahead with 3,000 new housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
After the elections: Obama escalates war drive in the Middle East
By Bill Van Auken, 30 November 2012
The Obama administration is escalating its intervention in Syria as part of a broader strategy of neocolonial conquest.
Israeli forces break Gaza ceasefire as Netanyahu outlines his political calculations
By Jean Shaoul and Chris Marsden, 24 November 2012
The ceasefire that brought to an end Israel’s eight-day blitzkrieg against Gaza is already under strain, after Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man on the border.
Bombardment of Gaza portends further criminal wars in Middle East
By Chris Marsden, 23 November 2012
For eight days, the Israel Defense Forces rained down devastation on Gaza that has left it in ruins. More than 150 Palestinian lives were lost, including 40 children.
US and Egypt announce ceasefire in Israeli assault on Gaza
By Jean Shaoul, 22 November 2012
After supporting a ceaseless bombardment for the last eight days of densely populated Gaza neighborhoods, the US was concerned that the conflict could threaten its broader agenda in the Middle East.
Israel continues blitz against Gaza amid truce talks
By Bill Van Auken, 21 November 2012
Israeli warplanes continued to pound Gaza Tuesday, inflicting mounting civilian casualties amid predictions that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire would soon take effect.
The Law in These Parts: Israeli military justice in the Occupied Territories
By Kevin Kearney, 21 November 2012
Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s documentary is a penetrating look at the Israeli military legal system in the Occupied Territories on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip over the last 45 years.
Stop the massacre in Gaza!
By Bill Van Auken, 20 November 2012
The Israeli leadership, the Obama administration and the corporate media all invoke the “right of self-defense” to justify the onslaught against Gaza that has already killed and maimed hundreds of Palestinian civilians.
Death toll mounts from Israeli air strikes in Gaza
By Patrick Martin, 19 November 2012
Israeli warplanes and gunboats intensified their attacks on Palestinian homes and institutions throughout the Gaza Strip over the weekend, bringing the death toll to more than 75.
Israel calls up 75,000 troops as bombing continues in Gaza
By Bill Van Auken, 17 November 2012
The Israeli military boasted of carrying out more than 500 air strikes against densely populated Gaza since launching its offensive on Wednesday.
Israel masses troops on Gaza border as bombardment intensifies
By Bill Van Auken, 16 November 2012
Israeli warplanes carried out hundreds of air strikes against the densely populated Gaza Strip Thursday as Israel mobilized troops on the Palestinian territory’s border.
Israel launches offensive against Gaza
By Bill Van Auken, 15 November 2012
In its most intense attack on Gaza since the Operation Cast Lead invasion of 2008-2009, Israel carried out a bombardment of the Palestinian territory, beginning with the assassination of a top Hamas leader.
After the US election, Syria war threats mount
By Bill Van Auken, 13 November 2012
One week after the reelection of President Barack Obama, the drumbeat for war against Syria has escalated sharply.
Israel launches missile strike against Syria
By Niall Green, 12 November 2012
With the US elections out of the way, Washington and its allies have stepped up their campaign for regime-change against Syria.
US claims Iran tried to shoot down drone
By Peter Symonds, 12 November 2012
The incident has the character of a US provocation designed to exacerbate the tense situation in the Persian Gulf.
US-backed Syrian “rebels” in disarray at Qatar conference
By Bill Van Auken, 6 November 2012
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded a shakeup within Syria’s “rebel” leadership and revealed that the State Department had handpicked a group of new leaders.
Likud/Israel Beiteinu bloc prepares ground for war and savage austerity measures
By Jean Shaoul, 1 November 2012
The Likud party has overwhelmingly backed a planned bloc with the ultra-nationalist Israel Beiteinu in the January 22 election.
US sought use of British bases for war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 27 October 2012
US access to military bases on Cyprus, Ascension Island and Diego Garcia would significantly boost the Pentagon’s ability to wage round-the-clock air strikes against Iran.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
26 October 2012
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US-Israeli preparations for war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 25 October 2012
The US and Israel are currently conducting their largest-ever joint military exercise to ready Israel’s anti-missile systems for a conflict with Iran.
Lebanon bombings linked to civil war in Syria
By Niall Green, 22 October 2012
The two deadly bombings in Beirut point to the growing threat that the Syrian conflict will spread to Lebanon and throughout the region.
Turkey’s foreign minister demands war in the name of “human rights”
By Niall Green, 22 October 2012
Speaking with the Guardian newspaper, Ahmet Davutoglu employed the lie that a war against Syria was necessary to defend “human rights.”
Turkey leads US-sponsored military encirclement of Syria
By Chris Marsden, 18 October 2012
Despite concerns of blowback in Syria due to the arming of jihadist groups, a military build-up on Syria’s borders is proceeding apace.
New evidence that US invasion has produced epidemic of birth defects in Iraq
By Fred Mazelis, 17 October 2012
An extraordinary epidemic of congenital birth defects has affected Iraqi cities over the past decade, particularly in Fallujah and Basra.
US Defense Secretary warns of “Pearl Harbor” cyber attack by Iran
By Niall Green, 15 October 2012
In a speech in New York Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned that the US faced a threat from Iran equivalent to September 11 or the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Turkey’s hijacking of Syrian plane raises specter of wider war
By Bill Van Auken, 13 October 2012
Turkey’s forcing down of a Syrian passenger plane flying from Moscow has escalated tensions in the region and drawn a sharp protest from the Russian government.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 October 2012
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In preparation for wider war, Pentagon deploys task force in Jordan
By Bill Van Auken, 11 October 2012
In preparation for a wider war in the Middle East, the Pentagon has deployed a 150-strong task force in Jordan.
US, Israel plan joint strikes on Iran
By Jean Shaoul, 10 October 2012
The US and Israel are planning joint strikes against Iran, according to reports in the Israeli media and Foreign Policy magazine.
US wages economic war on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 6 October 2012
As in the case of Iraq, the US-led sanctions on Iran are designed to weaken the country in the lead-up to a military attack.
Mass protest against threatened Turkey-Syria war
By Chris Marsden, 6 October 2012
Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters gathered in Istanbul, Thursday evening, opposing military action against Syria.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
5 October 2012
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Turkey attacks Syria after stray shelling
By Bill Van Auken, 4 October 2012
Turkey’s military attacked Syria Wednesday after a stray shell from Syria killed five in a Turkish border town. With Ankara invoking NATO’s collective defense agreement, the danger is rising of a direct Western intervention.
Incumbent President Saakashvili’s party defeated in Georgian election
By Clara Weiss, 3 October 2012
Incumbent Georgian President Saakashvili conceded defeat in the parliamentary elections held Monday.
US removes Iranian MEK from terrorist list
By Peter Symonds, 3 October 2012
Whether Washington brands a group as “terrorist” or not is determined purely by whether it serves the interests of American imperialism.
Netanyahu’s war ultimatum at the UN
By Barry Grey, 1 October 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s belligerent and provocative speech last Thursday before the United Nations General Assembly underscored that plans for an unprovoked military attack on Iran are far advanced.
AKP government moves against Turkish army
By Jean Shaoul, 29 September 2012
Several generals were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on charges of plotting a coup against the Islamist AKP government.
Israeli prime minister lays out path to war with Iran
By Joseph Kishore, 28 September 2012
In a speech before the UN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded a “red line” for Iran’s nuclear program that would lead to military action in the spring or summer of next year.
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