|
News
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to the MESI Analysis
|
|
|
|
Media Point-Counterpoint
|
|
|
|
Multimedia
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday, Jul 25, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
Strategic Context
Islamic 'Bugs Bunny' Programme 'Spreads Extremism'
Assud the rabbit vows to "kill and eat Jews" and glorifies the maiming of "infidels" on the Palestinian children's show Tomorrow's Pioneers. In one episode, Assud admits stealing money and is seen begging for mercy after young viewers and parents phone in demanding to cut off his hands as punishment. At that point, Saraa, the 11-year-old presenter, intervenes and rules that the bunny should only have his ears severed because he has repented.
(The Telegraph)
|
MPs Urge the Quartet to Bring Hamas into Peace Talks
Allegra Stratton
A cross party group of MPs has called on the Quartet mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to open a dialogue with Hamas, saying "until now there has been no engagement between the Quartet and Hamas, but now we think it is time".
(The Guardian)
|
'Attack By al-Qaida Westerners Possible'
Yaakov Katz and Herb Keinon
Information recently obtained by the Mossad and Military Intelligence indicates that global jihad elements are working to recruit European and American nationals who have been indoctrinated with radical Islamic ideology to carry out attacks inside Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
(Jerusalem Post)
|
Regional Affairs
Arab Media Praises Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Following Robert Mugabe's triumph in Zimbabwe's June 27, 2008 presidential election, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra published an article by columnist Dr. Ibrahim Za’ir expressing satisfaction with the election outcome. The article called Mugabe a "patriot with a sacred mission," and claimed that the Western countries had, fortunately, failed in their attempt to incite the Zimbabwean people against him and to remove him from power.
(MEMRI)
|
Sunnis Rejoin Iraqi Cabinet
Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc has rejoined the Shia-led government in a breakthrough for national reconciliation. Parliament approved six Accordance Front candidates for several vacant cabinet posts on Saturday. Getting the Accordance Front to return after it quit a year ago over power-sharing has been seen as vital to healing divisions between Shia and Sunni Arabs in the country.
(Al Jazeera)
|
Commentary
Islam Body for the UK
Dominic Casciani
The Islamic theocracy in the UK has been forever divided - and some thinkers say it needs unity and strength to counter ideologues who tell youngsters it's impossible to be both British and a Muslim. This proposed theology board may help answer questions about citizenship (although it may struggle along with the rest of us to easily define what it is to be British) by bringing together a range of thinkers to push the debate.
(BBC News)
|
Walid Moallem, Fear, and the Prisoners
Michael Young
Walid Moallem came to Beirut on Monday, proving that absence doesn't necessarily increase a sense of longing. In his short time in town the Syrian foreign minister reminded us of the kind of regime he works for, something forgotten in the bout of amnesia that overcame the world media last week when Syrian President Bashar Assad visited Paris. The first thing the Lebanese government should do is appoint an independent investigator to prepare as accurate a list as possible of the detainees. That list should then be placed on the table whenever Lebanon and Syria discuss anything - bearing in mind that both Christians and Muslims are languishing in Syrian jails, meaning a cross-sectarian consensus on resolving the problem is achievable. That list should also make its way to Paris, Washington, Berlin and Brussels, so that every time a foreign official lands in Damascus, the names should be in his or her briefcase, hopefully alongside the names of the many Syrian political prisoners whose misfortunes have been generally ignored in the West.
(Daily Star - Lebanon)
|
Brammertz Will Prosecute Karadzic. But Whom Will Bellemare Prosecute?
Randa Takieddine
With the arrest of Karadzic, we hope that the head of the international investigation into the killing of Hariri and his comrades, Canada's Daniel Bellemare, will speed up the completion of his investigation to create an international tribunal by the end of 2009. Despite all of the political developments in France and the US and the two countries' openness to Syria and Iran, hope remains that Bellemare is keen to remain distant from politics and conduct his investigation in a professional fashion.
(dar Al Hayat)
|
|
|
MESI Issue of the Week
|
|
Talking to Terrorists: The Myths, Misconceptions and Misapplication of the Northern Ireland Peace Process
John Bew and Martyn Frampton
16/07/2008
In some instances, the willingness of a state to negotiate might encourage the terrorists to believe that their opponents are ready to concede – even when this is not the case. In June-July 1972, for example, top IRA operatives were flown to London in order to meet senior British politicians, leading the IRA to believe its violent campaign had forced the British to the negotiating table. After the talks failed, on 21 July 1972, the IRA exploded 22 bombs in Belfast in the space of 75 minutes – killing 9 and injuring another 130 on what became known as “Bloody Friday.” By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Republic of Ireland had become a force for stability and peace in Northern Ireland and worked in close cooperation with the British government in the search for a settlement. The same cannot be said of Israel’s neighbors. On the contrary, Iran and Syria continue to support Hamas and encourage its violent campaign, offering it arms, funding, training, and sanctuary. For the British government, formal negotiations with the IRA could only occur in a context in which republican violence had been brought to an end. With the IRA in a position of declining military and political fortunes, it sought to extricate itself via the peace process. The perception of the republican leadership had become – rightly – that IRA violence had held back the political prospects of Sinn Fein. The aims of the IRA posed no existential threat to the British. This is not the case where Israel and Hamas are concerned, however. The objectives of Hamas require the destruction of the State of Israel. Moreover, whereas the political goals of the IRA were confined locally to the future of the island of Ireland, Hamas, by its own admission, is part of a global Islamist movement, known as the Muslim Brotherhood. Thus, diplomatic engagement with Hamas has broader international implications.
More...
|
|
|
|
Key Articles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fundamental Documents
|
|
|
|
UK Policy Statements
|
|
|
|
MESI Map
|
|
|
In Quotes
|
|
|
|
New Publications
|
|
|
|
|