Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

An interview with Gilbert Achcar Pandemic and oil crisis could make second Arab spring return with a vengeance Related The seasons after the Arab spring

"The unique situation of a global pandemic reinforces the need to advocate for and amplify the voices of the marginalized and disenfranchised.  American-led wars and disastrous foreign policies have decimated health systems, through  war in Iraq  and  Yemen ,  sanctions in Iran  and beyond.  Millions of  refugees live in camps  and unsafe housing  without proper medical care and without the ability to stop the rapid spread of the virus.  Migrant workers in Gulf countries  without legal rights  are under lockdown in crowded facilities.   Vast inequality  decreases many people’s ability to access adequate medical care.  For these reasons, our mission is more vital than ever." —MERIP (Middle East Research and Information Project), 26 March 2020

From the archive We tried to help the "Libyans" get rid of a mad man and organise  the first 'free' elections. But, they didn't understand what 'democracy' mean. So, they started killing each other in a civil war. The disaster in Libya and Who said Gaddafi had to go? Book Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya

Predator drone: American foreign policy under Obama "Under Obama, drones became the weapon of choice for the White House, the Predators of “Task Force Liberty” raining Hellfire missiles on suspect villages in the Northwest Frontier, wiping out women and children along with warriors in the ongoing battle against terrorism: seven times more covert strikes than launched by the Republican administration. Determined to show he could be as tough as Bush, Obama readied for war with Pakistan should it resist the US raid dispatched to kill Bin Laden in Abbottabad, for domestic purposes the leading trophy in his conduct of international affairs.   Assassinations by drone, initiated under his predecessor, became the Nobel laureate’s trademark. In his first term, Obama ordered one such execution every four days — over ten times the rate under Bush. The War on Terror, now rebaptized at presidential instruction “Overseas Contingency Operations” — a coinage to rank with the “Enhanced Interr

"When Theresa May sets off to embrace the autocrats in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the other Gulf countries, the democratic opposition in these countries will be even less heard." — Anna Lehman, the Guardian, 18 December 2016 Ah, because this embrace is a new thing! Previous governments were champions of "human rights", trying to overthrow those autocratic families and were always supporting progressive oppositions until Brexit and Theresa came.