Mideast Brief for May, 2008

The Rebellion Within
Lawrence Wright
New Yorker - June, 2008
Fadl was one of the first members of Al Qaeda's top council. Twenty years ago, he wrote two of the most important books in modern Islamist discourse; Al Qaeda used them to indoctrinate recruits and justify killing. Now Fadl was announcing a new book, rejecting Al Qaeda's violence.

Jihadi Suicide Bombers: The New Wave
Ahmad Rashid
New York Review of Books - June, 2008
Jihad, which means struggle, is "recommended" rather than obligatory for all Muslims, but its interpretation is literally an open book-the lesser jihad to purify one's soul and perform good deeds for the community, the greater jihad to defend Islam when it is under attack.

Resistance Beyond Time and Space: Hizbullah's Media Campaigns
Pete Ajemian
Arab Media and Society - May, 2008
While the reach of Hizbullah's media apparatus has grown with its integration into Internet-based platforms, the group has also become adept in the creation and presentation of its political media content.

The Spectacle of War: Insurgent Video Propaganda and Western Fesponse
Andrew Exum
Arab Media and Society - May, 2008
This paper focuses on the evolution of insurgent media operations in support of political-military objectives. Groups like the Taliban and Hizbullah did not start off, from the beginning, as sophisticated manipulators of popular perception. They learned, over time, how to shape the way in which military operations are perceived, and in the process, have taught Western militaries a valuable lesson in the nature of war itself.

Sunset for the Two-State Solution?
Nathan Brown
Carnegie Endowment - May, 2008
The next U.S. administration will face a series of bleak choices on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, of which a two-state solution remains the most attractive. But the framework to support a two-state solution has collapsed. A two-state solution will require a more viable and unified Palestinian leadership and less intrusive Israeli security in the West Bank.

Lebanon's Brush with Civil War
Jim Quilty
MERIP - Middle East Report - May, 2008
There are optimists among the pundits who see this brush with civil war as a means for both sides to make the concessions needed to end the 18-month deadlock. With the gunmen off the streets, the army declaring its intention to enforce the peace more strenuously and the government forced to rescind its attack on Hizballah's communications infrastructure, it is reasoned, now is the time for the opposition to end its downtown sit-in.

Hizbollah Attempts a Coup d'Etat
Paul Salem
Carnegie Endowment - May, 2008
Hizbollah's immediate goals are clear: to break the authority of the March 14 government, forcing it to rescind the two controversial decisions, and to bring about the establishment of a new national unity government in which the opposition has a significant say. Such a government would not be able to take decisions Hizbollah opposes, including decisions relating to UNSC 1701 that it interprets as gradually leading to its disarmament.

Lebanon: Hizbollah's Weapons Turn Inward
International Crisis Group - May, 2008
To minimize the risks of a more dangerous conflagration, renewed efforts pursuant to the Arab League agreement are needed to settle on a new president and national unity government that accepts for now Hizbollah's armed status while strictly constraining the ways in which its weapons can be used.

Iran's Tool Fights America's Stooge
The Economist - May, 2008
This division is often defined, for simplicity's sake, as a split between Hizbullah, backed by Syria and Iran in the interest of confronting Israel and blocking American influence, against the Western-backed, democratically elected government of Fuad Siniora, the Sunni prime minister. The reality is more complicated.

Iraq: Will We Ever Get Out?
Thomas Powers
New York Review of Books - May, 2008
A Deadly Miscalculation in Lebanon

Sami Moubayed
Asia Times - May, 2008
Implementing the Palestinian Reform and Development Agenda

World Bank - May, 2008
What is at Stake in Kuwait's Parliamentary Elections?
Nathan Brown
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - May, 2008

A Roadmap to Nowhere
Joharah Baker

Bitter Lemons - May, 2008
The Roadmap Revisited

Naomi Chazan
Bitter Lemons - May, 2008

Selling the War with Iran
Nir Rosen
The Washington Note - May, 2008

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