Recently added articles from APS Diplomat Fate of the Arabian Peninsula:
Pax Americana In Iraq Is Changing - Part 36 - The Wasat Party, A 'Secularising Force'.
Jun 15, 2009 ... Iraq's Shi'ite PM Nuri al-Maleki and his allies are building up a recently formed political party, al-Wasat (the centre). This is being positioned as a "secularising force" - somewhat similar to the Christian Democrats in Europe and close to the ruling Justice & Development Party (AKP) in ...
Al-Wasat.
Jun 15, 2009 ... Announced on June 7 in Le Meridian Hotel in central Baghdad by Muwaffaq al-Rubai'ie, al-Wasat has also been rumoured to be a front for Iraq's predominantly Shi'ite security establishment. It is said that the aim behind al-Wasat is to attract as many political parties in Iraq as possible, ...
Who's Muwaffaq Baqer Al-Rubai'ie.(Biography)
Jun 15, 2009 ... Dr Rubai'ie is Shi'ite of Iranian origin, often described by Sunni Arab critics as being a "Safawi". This is subtle a reference to the Safawite dynasty which in the 16th century AD ruled a Turkoman/Persian empire in control of much of the Greater Middle East (GME) including today's Iran ...
Maleki Drums Up US Pull-Out From Cities.(Nuri Kamal Al-Maleki)
Jun 15, 2009 ... PM Maleki and other civilian leaders on June 11 met with the 300 top Iraqi military commanders from around the country to discuss the withdrawal of US forces from cities by a June 30 deadline, and scarcely mentioned the US. Maleki said: "Foreign forces have to withdraw from the cities ...
Sunni Arab MP Killed.
Jun 15, 2009 ... Another reminder of the poor security record which Maleki is trying to change came on June 12 when Sunni Arab MP Hareth al-Ubaidi was shot dead as he was leaving a mosque after Friday prayers in West Baghdad. A 15-year-old male approached him, shot him from his pistol and threw a hand ...
Vote On The SOFA.(Status of Forces Agreement)
Jun 15, 2009 ... The government is pressing ahead with plans to hold a referendum on the SOFA a measure likely to lose if put to a popular vote with the outcome that American troops could be forced to leave as early as this summer, nearly a year and half ahead of schedule. Under the SOFA, all American ...
Neo-Salaifi Hits In Shi'ite South.
Jun 15, 2009 ... A car bomb on June 10 tore through a crowded market in al-Batha', a town almost 40 km west of the southern Thi-Qar province's capital Nassiriyah, killing more than 35 people and wounding 75 others. Thi-Qar, a Shi'ite province, had been relatively peaceful in recent the past 15 months. The ...