Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Media ID: 55380918
Caption:

Absent presence. Photograph: Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Merkel Wins by Not Being There

by Leonid Bershidsky | Aug 13, 2017 | Opinion

Germany’s September election is like no other the Western world has seen in the last two years. As the leading candidate, Chancellor Angela Merkel, relaxed on a three-week vacation, her top challenger, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, worked the campaign trail...

Media ID: 55380495
Caption:

Russians miss out on these delights. Photographer: Jean Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images

US Sanctions Are Another Gift to Putin

by Leonid Bershidsky | Aug 7, 2017 | Opinion

Russian President Vladimir Putin tends to respond to Western sanctions in ways its authors probably didn’t anticipate: by going after those Russians who could most help their own country and who want to build ties with the West. His order last week to US...

Media ID: 55379452
Caption:

How Do Weapons Reach Terrorists?

by Leonid Bershidsky | Jul 24, 2017 | Opinion

The permissiveness of US gun laws is not just a domestic problem. Judging from a new study of internet gun sales, it’s also making the country a source of illicit weapons in Europe. Following reports that guns for the 2016 Munich shootings and the 2015 Paris...

Media ID: 55379248
Caption:

The problem isn’t the boat. Photographer: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

An EU Rubber-Boat Ban Won’t Stop Migrants

by Leonid Bershidsky | Jul 21, 2017 | Opinion

If it looks as though Europe is clutching at straws to stop hundreds, sometimes thousands, of migrants from crossing the Mediterranean into Italy every day, that’s exactly what’s happening. On Monday, the European Union’s foreign ministers approved...

Media ID: 55378256
Caption:

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talks to US President Donald Trump during their bilateral meeting at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS

Putin Preferred Clinton? Let’s Test Trump’s Theory

by Leonid Bershidsky | Jul 17, 2017 | Opinion

In two recent interviews, President Donald Trump made the argument that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have preferred Hillary Clinton in the White House. Trump’s argument is that he “campaigned on strong military, strong borders, and low oil...