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While there is a broad range of Arabic language media outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable and reliable means for English speakers to gain access to this content. As a result, many English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.

Mideastwire.com aims to close this gap by offering a daily menu of translations covering some of the key political, cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries and the Arab Diaspora. Through this effort, we hope to address at least one aspect of a global disconnect that continues to threaten a wide spectrum of socio-political and economic relationships, both here in the region and beyond.

It is also important to note that, since our founding in 2005, Mideastwire.com is wholly funded by the content license fees paid by individuals and organizations. As such, there is no government, commercial or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides a relatively independent platform for better understanding.

Our Corrections Policy: We adhere to an honest and open corrections policy. Please email info@mideastwire.com if you notice any typo or if you disagree with our translation choices. Since we do not produce our own content, we only will consider corrections that highlight typos or dispute our translations, not the veracity or accuracy of the original content. Accepted corrections are applied directly to the relevant translations as soon as they are approved by the editor and our database is updated accordingly for all subscribers.

TODAY’S DAILY BRIEFING

12-Feb-2018

Egypt

Opinion

“Questions surrounding comprehensive war on terrorism” (Al-Mesryoon, Egypt)

Terrorism

On February 10, the independent Al-Mesryoon newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Chief Editor Gamal Sultan: “When the army of the homeland is engaged in a battle with terrorism, the trenches are clear and there can be no middle-ground or reluctant positions, as all Egyptians support their country’s army against terrorism, which is threatening Egypt among many other countries in the region and around the globe. Hence the wide support earned by the comprehensive campaign announced by the Egyptian Armed Forces against terrorism in North Sinai, the western desert and other parts of the country... Nonetheless, this did not prevent many Egyptians from asking questions, which I believe are legitimate in this context, and the most important and common of which being: Why now? Indeed, in 2013, President Abdul Fattah es-Sisi asked for a popular assignment to confront any potential terrorism… (Read More)

Politics

“The Sinai liberation battle has started…” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Military and Security - Terrorism

On February 12, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “…In an important development at the level of the Egyptian state and the Takfiri groups, the Egyptian army has been proceeding with an operation that was launched on the dawn of last Friday under the name of “the comprehensive operation to confront terrorism – Sinai 2018… (Read More)

Iraq

Politics

“Post-election alliances: Sadr grows closer to Hakim, Maliki agrees with Kurds and Sunnis...” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Democracy and Party Politics

On February 12, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report from Baghdad by its correspondent Mashrek Rissan: “Head of the State of Law Coalition Nouri al-Maliki intends to reach understandings and hold dialogues with Sunni and Kurdish political sides, to ally with them following the May 12 elections, as revealed by a source close to the secretary general of the Islamic Dawa Party. The source thus assured Al-Quds al-Arabi on condition of anonymity: “The alliances have been sealed with the creation of three main Shi’i alliances (the Victory Alliance led by Haider al-Abadi, Al-Fatah Alliance led by Hadi al-Amiri, and the State of Law Coalition led by Al-Maliki). However, there are talks taking place to ensure the creation of alliances following the elections.” And according to the source, “Al-Maliki has reached understandings with Sunni and Kurdish sides, but is keeping them a secret and not revealing them” to the members of his Coalition… (Read More)

Israel

Opinion

“Between submission and obstinacy: Will Israel risk refusing the new equations?” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Military and Security

On February 12, the Al-Akhbar daily carried the following piece by Yehya Dbouk: “Israel and its military and security approach of the Syrian arena has stepped into a new phase, one that will pave the way for a new and different equation and rules of engagement between Israel and its enemies… The downing of the Israeli jet and the general confrontation both in form and in contents is revealing of the two sides’ positions, their decisions, and their capacities where Israel appeared to have limited options. This could also be paving the way for an upcoming phase as well as for new equations that have started to emerge based on the Syrian decision to confront and curb the Israeli attacks… (Read More)

Jordan

Politics

“Is silence still an option on Jordan’s northern borders…?” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 11, Farah Maraka wrote the following report in the electronic Rai al-Youm daily: “Once again, a northern Jordanian city has been rocked as a result of an attack and a counter-attack, only this time between the Israelis and the Syrian army and its allies, which naturally affected the Jordanian atmosphere and cast shadows on the town of Malaka in the governorate of Irbid to the south of Amman. The town received the rest of a rocket among its people while no “higher word” was heard from the Jordanian side… (Read More)

Middle East

Politics

“Moroccan, Algerian air forces will be affected by Israeli F-16 and Russian Su-25 crashes” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Military and Security

On February 12, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report from Madrid by its correspondent Hussein Majdoubi: “The crash of a sophisticated combat jet such as the American F-16 marked a global military turning point affecting numerous states and regional balances, including Morocco, which relies on such planes. So, the latter incident undoubtedly earned the Moroccan Air Force’s attention, in light of Algeria’s acquisition of sophisticated S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. Likewise, Algeria is paying close attention to the crash of Russian aircrafts in Syria, seeing as how its military arsenal includes such planes… At this level, the Algerian Air Force followed with concern the crash of two Russian jets in the Syrian war, the first, a Su-24 jet, was downed two years ago, in November 2015, at the hands of the Turkish Air Force, while the second, a Su-25, was downed last week by fighters opposed to Bashar al-Assad’s regime… (Read More)

Sudan

Politics

“Salah Gosh: Al-Bashir’s strongman returns to intelligence chairmanship...” (Website, Middle East)

Democracy and Party Politics - Terrorism - USA Europe

On February 11, the official Turkish Anadolu News Agency carried the following report from Khartoum by its correspondent Adel Abdul Rahim: “After more than 9 years spent away from the chairmanship of Sudan’s security apparatus, General Salah Mohamed Abdullah (Gosh) returned today on Sunday to his post as general director of the National Intelligence and Security Service. On August 15, 2009, without giving any reason for his decision, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had issued a presidential order by which he ousted Gosh (61 years old) from his post at the head of the Intelligence and Security Service, which he had been leading since 2004, and appointed General Mohammed Atta al-Moula in his stead. In that same order, Gosh was named the president’s security advisor. But in 2011, Al-Bashir again expelled him without giving any reason, and in November 2012, Gosh was arrested with 12 officers from the army and the Intelligence and Security Service, on charges of attempting to stage a coup, which was thwarted by the Sudanese authorities… (Read More)

Syria

Opinion

“Al-Assad, the enemy of the Syrians’ enemy” (Al-Hayat, United Kingdom)

On February 12, the Saudi-owned London-based Al-Hayat newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Hazem al-Amin: “The downing of the Israeli plane created wide confusion among the Syrian and non-Syrian oppositionists of the Syrian regime. Indeed, they claim to love the downing of an Israeli plane, but are not comfortable with the fact that the Syrian regime was the one that downed it. Their enemy’s enemy is not their friend, rather their enemy as well. And this is a predicament that must be taken apart to reach results. The opposition is saying that the Ba’th regime’s hostility towards Israel is fake, and that the regime does not want to fight Israel as much as it wants to fight the Syrian people, which is very true and confirmed by countless pieces of evidence. However, there are other pieces of evidence revealing the existence of hostility between the regime and Israel, as shown by the downing of the F-16 jet two days ago… (Read More)

“What does the downing of the Israeli F-16 mean…?” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - USA Europe

On February 10, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily carried the following editorial: “What does it mean for Israel to have officially acknowledged the downing of an F-16 fighter jet that was returning from a raid it performed in Syria while the two pilots managed to evacuate after having suffered from wounds…?… (Read More)

Politics

“...Kurdish National Council to decide on relationship with Coalition” (Website, Middle East)

Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process

On February 11, the Syrian opposition Al-Hal [The Solution] news website carried the following report from Qamishli by its correspondent Jouan Ali: “The relationship between the Kurdish National Council and the Syrian Opposition Coalition is deteriorating against the backdrop of the Council’s rejection of Operation Olive Branch, which it is dubbing an aggression, knowing that the Kurdish Council is expected to issue a final decision in regard to this relationship today on Sunday. A source from the Kurdish National Council thus said on condition of anonymity that the relationship between the Council and the National Coalition for Syrian Opposition Forces “has deteriorated due to the Kurdish Council’s position towards Operation Olive Branch. Indeed, it called the operation an aggression, and accused the opposition elements partaking in it of engaging in ISIL-like practices… (Read More)

Tunisia

Politics

On the next Tunisian municipal elections (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Democracy and Party Politics

On February 12, the Al-Akhbar daily carried the following report: “The debate in Tunisia has started to expand regarding the municipal elections that are expected to take place on May 6, knowing that these will be the first elections since eight years. Although the general view regarding these elections is unified in terms of considering the elections to be a plus and an urgent need, some of the organizational measures raise questions on them possibly leading to giving the upper hand to the large parties on the expense of the small parties and the independents… (Read More)

Turkey

Politics

“What is the meaning of the Kurds’ downing of a Turkish helicopter in Afrin?” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security - Peace Process - USA Europe

On February 10, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following report: “The announcement made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday about the downing of a Turkish helicopter in Afrin and the subsequent death of its two pilots constitutes a bad piece of news for the Turks since this confirms their fears regarding the possible prolonging of this war and the rise in the numbers of the human and physical losses… (Read More)

Co-Founder: Nicholas Noe

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