To the Middle East.

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Pentagon Sends Floating Base

Threaten to block main Middle East oil shipping route.

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Iran Warns Arabs On Sanctions

Will shrink troops, make them more agile in Asia and Middle East.

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Obama Unveils ‘Leaner’ Military Plan

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators will meet in Jordan on Tuesday in an effort to revive moribund peace talks, although none of the sides involved suggested any reason to view the meeting as a sign of significant progress.

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Palestinians and Israelis Will Talk This Week

This article, written by Summer Nasser, appeared on Comment Middle East on December 30,2011 As the Arab Spring sweeps throughout the Middle East, it proves the strength of each country’s citizens. However, many do not show women in the frontlines of mass marches, with one notable exception: Yemen.

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The Women of Yemen: Breaking Barriers

The Obama administration on Thursday hailed a new $30 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia as both a hedge against Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf and an economic windfall that could create thousands of U.S. jobs over the next decade. The agreement to sell 84 top-of-the line F-15SA fighter jets to the Saudi air force also provided a needed boost to U.S. relations with the oil-rich kingdom after months of strain over the White House’s response to the Arab Spring uprisings, U.S. officials and Middle East analysts said. Read full article > >

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U.S. touts Saudi Arabia fighter jet deal as a foreign policy, security and economic boon

The belligerent tone between the U.S. and Iran escalated over an Iranian vow to close a vital Middle East waterway for oil tanker traffic, if Western powers attempt to stifle Iran’s petroleum exports.

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Noise Level Rises Over Iran Threat to Close Strait of Hormuz

This article written by Samir Amir Setti, appeared on Comment Middle East on December 27, 2011

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The French Have no Right to Comment on Genocide

Pope Benedict XVI, appearing frail and tired, prayed for peace in the Middle East and Horn of Africa in his annual message, “Urbi et Orbi,” or “to the city and world,” from St. Peter’s Basilica.

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Pope Benedict Offers Prayers for Peace on Christmas

IT WAS a year ago Saturday that fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself aflame in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, improbably providing the spark for what has become a regional revolution. The Arab Spring acquired its name in part because early commentators likened it to the upheavals that brought an end to dictatorship in other parts of the world — including the former Soviet bloc, East Asia and Latin America. It seemed logical that Middle Eastern states would, at last, follow the same path that led in other places from dictatorship and economic stagnation to free elections, free markets and integration into a global economy. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board:
Keeping the Arab Spring alive

President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met Monday at the White House to discuss the future contours of the American relationship with Iraq as the long U.S. war ends in a country that serves as a strategic bridge between the Arab Middle East and Iran. Obama announced in October that he would bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq by the end of the year, declaring that “after nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.” Read full article > >

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Obama, Maliki meet at White House to discuss future U.S.-Iraq relations

Since the start of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square, protesters around the United States and the globe have cast attention on the notion of corporate greed by the top wealthy 1% at the expense of 99% of the population. The Occupy Wall Street movement is modeled after the leaderless revolution in the Middle East and North Africa, utilizing social media and grassroots organization to spread their message and create meet ups in different cities. This November 17 was designated Mass Day of Action. Occupy Together was created to be “a hub” for international events within the Occupy Wall Street movement.

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Keeping the World Occupied

With Europe roiled by a debt crisis and the tumult of the Arab Spring creating opportunities for Turkey to wield new clout, Turks are weighing walking away from the European Union.

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Memo From Istanbul: For Turkey, Lure of European Union is Fast Fading

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta spoke sternly to America’s closest ally in the Middle East, telling Israel it must take “bold action” — diplomatic, not military — to mend ties with its Arab neighbors.

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Panetta Says Israel Must Mend Ties With Arab Neighbors

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta prodded Israel on Friday to do more to reverse its deepening isolation in the Middle East, and suggested that Israeli leaders bear significant blame for a stalled peace process that he said “has been effectively put on hold.” Panetta’s admonishment came in a speech in which he also pledged an “unshakable” commitment to the security of the Jewish state and reiterated a promise to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons — including by military force, if needed. He said the Defense Department had contingency plans for a “wide range of military options, should they become necessary.” Read full article > >

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Panetta chides Israel over stalled peace process