Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Media ID: 55383786
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Kurdish people attend a rally to show their support for the upcoming September 25th independence referendum in Duhuk, Iraq September 16, 2017.

Kurdish Referendum : Thinking, Not Threats

by Robert Ford | Sep 23, 2017 | Opinion

I was the head of the political office at the American Embassy in Baghdad in 2005 during the long, difficult negotiations between Iraqi political leaders about the new Iraqi constitution. The negotiations centered on issues like decentralization, accountability and...

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Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool/European Pressphoto Agency)

Putin Depends on Analysis, Not Hope

by Robert Ford | Sep 5, 2017 | Uncategorized

The United States now aims to reduce Iranian influence in the Levant (Sham)- wrote former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford in an exclusive column to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. American media reports still say that Washington hopes Russia will compel Iran to evacuate its...

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Reuters/Jason Reed)

What Tillerson Didn’t Say Reminds Me of Obama

by Robert Ford | Jul 8, 2017 | Opinion

The July 5 statement from American Secretary of State Tillerson about Syria was the most detailed statement of the Trump administration’s goals in Syria. The Trump administration is often hard to understand, but this July 5 statement follows a cabinet-level meeting at...