Sharmine Narwani

Although the era of US global hegemony is coming to a close, the Middle East – more than most regions – is still reeling from the nasty last jabs of that Empire in decline.  It is little wonder, then, that…

On March 23, 2011, at the very start of what we now call the ‘Syrian conflict,’ two young men – Sa’er Yahya Merhej and Habeel Anis Dayoub – were gunned down in the southern Syrian city of Daraa.  Merhej and…

Hi folks, My interview with conservative Iranian publication Javan was published today.- it touches on the shifts in regional alliances as ground developments change the face of the Mideast. Iran and Russia – who would have thought? Tension on the…

In January, the Syrian government will – ostensibly – sit across the negotiating table from ‘the Syrian opposition’ to decide on the structure and make-up of a transitional government that promises to end the 5-year Syrian conflict. The ‘Syrian opposition,’…

The war drums are getting louder in the aftermath of ISIS attacks in Paris, as Western countries gear up to launch further airstrikes in Syria. But obscured in the fine print of countless resolutions and media headlines is this: the…

This week finds me in Vienna covering the P5+1 and Iranian nuclear negotiations, and I can honestly say that it’s hard to call the outcome of the talks right now. Don’t depend on the global media to help much either.…

Sharmine Narwani says: “If you want to understand what’s going on in the Middle East today, go back to see what the US Military was doing 4 years ago, as the ‘Arab Spring’ kicked off, and US-backed dictators were falling…

Hi folks, With ISIS’ takeover of Ramadi and Palmyra, many sat up and asked “where were the American bombers while this was happening?” Iraqis have now taken note that US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and others have refused to take…

This needs to be spelled out: The biggest threat to Middle East stability today is a Sunni one – and it comes not from its largely downtrodden population, but from the epicenter of current Sunni political and religious leadership. “The…

There is media confusion about what is going on in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Pundits are pointing out that the US is looking schizophrenic with policies that back opposite sides of the fight against al-Qaeda-style extremism in Iraq…