The CIA under US President Dwight Eisenhower orchestrated a coup d’etat in 1953 against the Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mosaddeq, one of the first democratically elected leaders in the region. It took the US government half a century to admit any wrongdoing and offer a tepid apology to the Iranian people for meddling in their affairs. Too little, too late. Read more »
Of Arabs, Jews and an internet that never forgets
Technology doesn’t always work in one’s favour, which could be something very positive for governance in the Arab world as we lack even the basic understanding of transparency. For example, it may keep officials in check when they finally realise that their actions, intentional or not, are recorded for ever and can’t be undone. Who knows? Maybe, thanks to the internet, one-day corruption in the Middle East will once again become taboo, rather than practised in broad daylight. Read more »
The Return of the Nanny State
It was the stuff that dreams, or nightmares, are made of, depending which side of the fence you sit on. Kuwait finally caved in to the demands of hundreds of citizens to write off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loans that they have accumulated in mortgages, personal loans and car loans. To any GCC pundit, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Here’s why, Sultan explains in this article. Read more »
Kuwait’s eluding political stability
Sultan on why Kuwait needs political stability to boost its economic prospects.
Hopeless in Gaza: it didn’t have to be this way
In 1994, Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader, arrived in the Palestinian Territories for the first time in decades and declared that he would turn Gaza into the Singapore of the Middle East. Fifteen years later it couldn’t be more different. Arafat’s prediction of Gaza being used as an example will certainly come true, but not in the way he envisioned. Read more »
Hamas must step down as Gaza’s keeper
Regardless of the outcome of Israel’s barbaric “Operation Cast Lead,” one thing is certain: It is high time for Hamas to step down as keeper of Gaza. Read more »