What happens in SWANA will not Stay in SWANA by Ahmed Souaiaia Abstract: The ongoing crises in Syria and Turkey are deeply intertwined with broader regional dynamics, including the ongoing instability in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. This article analyzes these events through the lens of the Systems Thinking Framework (STF), which Read more
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By Ahmed E. Souaiaia * Peoples of the Islamic world are quite familiar with the doctrine of “Shock and Awe” as understood and deployed by Colin Powell, a General in US Military the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during the execution of US wars in Southwest Asia and North Africa, especially in Iraq Read more
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By Ahmed E. Souaiaia * By January 1, BRICS will become the GS-11, perhaps on the way to just the GS—the Global South. After meeting for two days in South Africa, leaders (or their representatives) of five developing nations, known until now as BRICS, invited six nation-states to join the group. Should they accept the Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia More than ten years ago, the BBC published a photograph, ostensibly supplied to them by activists, claiming that the photograph was depicting the Houla massacre, allegedly committed by the Syrian government. It turned out that the photo was depicting another massacre that took place in Iraq when the United States invaded Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Although human rights abuses occurred and continue to occur in time of peace, committing human rights crimes is more certain in armed conflict. In war, both sides are likely to commit human rights crimes in a premeditated way or in reaction to battle outcomes. Those removed from the battle fields, especially Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia Hybrid wars, or asymmetrical wars, did not start with the war in Syria. After all, the fall of the Soviet Union, some of whose effects are unfolding before us today, was due, in part, to the war in Afghanistan. Two nuclear powers in an intense competition to control the world, cannot Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Intrigued by a fake photograph used by the BBC in its coverage of the war in Syria ten years ago, our interest in qualifying and quantifying the media bias while covering events in Southwest Asia and North Africa took a life of its own. Over the span of ten years, we Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Most commentators would argue that Tunisia has been the only success story of the so-called Arab spring. The validity of such a statement would depend on the definition of success. The success that most people might have in mind could mean transition to representative governance without civil war and violence. To Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* About six months after the inauguration of the Biden administration, nearly 90% of the US fighting troops are pulled out of Afghanistan. The vacuum was filled immediately by Taliban forces who claimed that they now control 85% of the country. After having spent nearly three trillion dollars on the invasion of Read more
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