What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.
By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEA member of al-Qaida’s Nusra Front fighting with other Sunni Islamists in support of the Syrian opposition pose on a tank near Aleppo in November 2014.(photo credit: REUTERS)The extremist opposition in Syria Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, April 6I’ve recently come across a video of a young Syrian journalist documenting Syrian opposition forces entering the city of Idlib, following a fierce battle against troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. One of the scenes depicts several of Assad’s soldiers caught underneath the rubble, crying for their lives. The rebels seemed to be satisfied by the troops’ suffering, and despite their begging, abandon the latter to have “a taste of their own medicine.” No one is arguing that Assad’s forces are peaceful individuals with benign intentions. But this scene does raise an important question: could there exist a midpoint between two extremes? The Syrian opposition itself, more often than not, acts very cruelly. Its spokespeople often dismiss criticism pointed out against its practices by arguing that “this is the Middle East, not Sweden.There is no room for a peaceful opposition here.” But in reality, without denouncing the inhumane practices of Assad, the Syrian opposition becomes no different than its sworn enemy. By propagating extremist behavior it acts no different than Assad’s forces. It must not forget that while the opposition forces are not Swedish, neither are the troops stuck in the rubble.Both sides are part of the same country and the same problem. They have both been brought there by the dire circumstances of their country. By adapting extremist practices, the rebels no longer fight for the Syrian people; they only fight for themselves. – Diana MaqladNaval warfare between Egypt and Iran? Al-Watan, Egypt, April 10A naval confrontation between Egypt and Iran seems to be becoming more and more likely. Two days ago, the Iranian defense minister announced that his country mobilized several navy vessels towards international waters in the Red Sea, in the area surrounding Yemen. What the minister did not mention was the fact that Egypt had already launched four navy ships to the same region several days earlier, backed by helicopters and fighter jets. The Egyptian Navy is the most powerful and capable in the region. With over 245 vessels and significant experience in the battlefield, it is surely capable of containing the Iranian one. But from the Egyptian standpoint, there is no interest in escalating tensions in the region. So the real question remains: does Iran have such an interest? The logical answer is no, because of the June 30 nuclear deadline.Iran would not like to upset the US while such an agreement is being negotiated. There is the moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on one hand, and the extremist Revolutionary Guards, on the other. In between them is the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is playing a waiting game until the very last minute.Iran ought not to test Egypt’s naval capability by trying to smuggle weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.If it does so, Egypt will react. And in such a case, no one knows what would happen. – Emad al-Din Adib Pakistan rejects Turkish-Iranian deal Al-Hayat, London, April 11Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army commander Gen. Raheel Sharif both rejected an Iranian offer to form a coalition with Turkey, aimed at countering the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Even though Iranian officials have traditionally not visited Pakistan, this week saw the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Islamabad. According to several reports, Zarif met with Prime Minister Sharif and tried to convince him to join a coalition against Saudi Arabia, who has been fighting – alongside Egypt and with the implicit support of the United States – against the Houthi rebels. This visit came only several days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Tehran to meet with the supreme leader. This comes as a surprise, as Turkey, which is a NATO member, outspokenly supported Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Yemen.Now, it appears, an attempt to arrange a secret deal was conducted behind the scenes. On Friday, the Pakistani parliament voted against a Saudi request to join the fighting in Yemen, citing the need to “remain neutral.” Gulf states have since excoriated Islamabad for not helping the Sunni effort, describing it as “cowardly” and “exploitative.” – Jamal IsmailObama sits back and watches Al-Rai, Kuwait, April 11Most people do not know this, but Kuwait is currently engaged in two wars: the first against the remnants of Islamic State gangs on the border with Iraq and the second against Houthi rebels in Yemen. We have become an altruistic nation that steps up to defend its neighbors, and we do not settle for anything short of victory. But there are still some who don’t appreciate our efforts. Today, following four years of the Syrian crisis – during which Iran and Russia gave backing to the genocide carried out in our region – US President Barack Obama chooses to neglect our contribution to a more peaceful region. In a recent interview, Obama claimed that the United States has a “great desire” to see a brighter future for the Syrian, but does not, unfortunately, see “any Arab state do something about it.”From the convenience of his interview room, Obama is preaching to us that we are not doing enough. Unfortunately, he failed to mention that his own ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, resigned from his position after claiming that the American foreign policy in Syria “was all wrong.” He did not make reference to the lack of any American effort to support the Syrian opposition. It is time for us Arabs to take the historic opportunity to save our brothers in Syria, without the help of the United States. It will not be an easy task, but, God willing, we will cleanse the region from Iran’s evils and bring unity to the Arab people. – Wael al-Hassawi
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