Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to John Daniszewski, the Associated Press’s Senior Managing Editor for International News, unseen, during an AP interview at Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Opinion: Russia’s strategy is based on fear and fantasy

by Amir Taheri | Nov 15, 2013 | Opinion

What does Vladimir Putin want? In Western “think tanks” and chancelleries, the question has been making the rounds for almost two decades as “Tsar” Vladimir’s star has continued to rise. One answer may be that Putin sees post-Soviet Russia as a character in search of...

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Syrian protesters chant anti-President Bashar Assad slogans and wave a revolutionary flag in front of their embassy in Amman, Jordan, Friday, May 17, 2013 to condemn a May 10 massacre in Banias, Syria. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

Opinion: Wars within wars

by Abdullah Al-Otaibi | May 30, 2013 | Opinion

It is the fate of Syria and its people to be the crossing point between regional and international wars. Syria is the place where these wars and the interests of those fighting them meet, at the expense of the Syrian people, their future and their state. This is all...

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The Soviet Star and two doves of peace are painted on a floor of the former Soviet Army nuclear weapons depot near the village of Misov, 56 miles southwest of Prague, on May 16, 2013. One of the former communist Czechoslovakia’s most mysterious and secret spots, built to shelter for Soviet nuclear warheads, is being turned into a museum, inviting visitors to learn about the nuclear race in the Cold War. (REUTERS/Petr Josek)

Opinion: A New Cold War

by Abdullah Al-Otaibi | May 20, 2013 | Opinion

It seems like we are facing a new Cold War. There is a coming together of international powers; the world is divided between the United States and its European allies—who are coming down from the ecstasy of the unipolar New World Order of Bush senior—and the Russian...

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British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher turns to look at the crush of photographers in the Oval Office as President Reagan laughs during a photo session at the White House in Washington in this February 20, 1985 file photo. (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite, File)

Maggie’s Straight-Talking Diplomacy

by Nicholas Blincoe | Apr 17, 2013 | Profiles

More than 20 years after her resignation, the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher remains a global brand. A memorable line from her 1980 Conservative Party conference speech, “The lady’s not for turning,” became her sales pitch. Like the marketing slogans...

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In this June 23, 1982 file photo, Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gestures with her pen as she answers a reporters question during a news conference at the United Nations. (AP Photo/File)

Leaders Who Swim Against the Tide

by Amir Taheri | Apr 12, 2013 | Opinion

“A voice in the desert!” was the phrase that came to mind after I interviewed Margaret Thatcher in Tehran in April 1978. The new leader of the British Conservative Party was visiting as part of a foreign policy exploratory tour that included Washington, Paris and...