Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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US President Barack Obama flanked by US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrive to speak to the press following a meeting with the National Security Council (NSC) on February 25, 2016 at the State Department in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Did the US Even Get Involved in Syria?

by Leonid Bershidsky | Oct 10, 2017 | Opinion

A candid memoir by former US Defense Secretary Ash Carter provides a rare opportunity to better understand President Barack Obama’s Syria strategy before it recedes into the historical distance. His many valuable insights raise one big question, however: Why did...

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German Chancellor and CDU party leader Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive at a polling station on September 24, 2017 in Berlin during general elections. AFP photo

Germany’s Nationalists Join the 13-Percent Club

by Leonid Bershidsky | Sep 27, 2017 | Opinion

The Alternative for Germany’s 12.6 percent result in Sunday’s election wraps up an important political season for European nationalist populists. It’s a showing that has worried many both in and outside Germany; but, all things considered, it’s...

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Fading out. Photographer: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

The Future of the IPhone Is Boring

by Leonid Bershidsky | Sep 14, 2017 | Opinion

There are objective reasons why some of Apple’s new smartphones, to be unveiled on Tuesday, will sell for more than $1,000. The iPhones, including the top-of-the line X model — the 10th anniversary edition — will have some cutting-edge components,...

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Wavering. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi via Bloomberg

Brexit Is Beginning to Look Like No Brexit

by Leonid Bershidsky | Aug 30, 2017 | Opinion

“Brexit means Brexit,” British politicians have been saying for months. Now it seems like it may not mean anything at all. As the third round of Brexit talks commenced on Monday, it’s absurdly difficult to identify specific changes that would...

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British students hold UK and European Union flags in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Vidal

Brexit Reversal? The EU Should Say ‘No Way’

by Leonid Bershidsky | Aug 18, 2017 | Opinion

Though most UK politicians would have us believe that “Brexit is Brexit,” European leaders have recently spoken of a reversal of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union as a real possibility. That should be alarming to anyone who cares about...