Tunisia’s largest party rejects proposed government
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party rejected on Monday a proposal to form a government that excludes other parties and said it was ready to contest new elections. The remarks risk upending a second attempt to create a coalition government since October elections in which Ennahda came in first but failed to impose its candidate for prime minister. Tunisian President Kais Saied instead named former Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh to the post last week. Fakhfakh has said he wants to replace recent unity coalitions with a Cabinet of parties “aligned with the values of the revolution,” including Ennahda.
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reuters.com
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party rejected on Monday a proposal to form a government that excludes other parties and said it was ready to contest new elections. The remarks risk upending a second attempt to create a coalition government since October elections in which Ennahda came in first but failed to impose its candidate for prime minister. Tunisian President Kais Saied instead named former Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh to the post last week. Fakhfakh has said he wants to replace recent unity coalitions with a Cabinet of parties “aligned with the values of the revolution,” including Ennahda.
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reuters.com
Tunisia names ex-finance minister as new prime minister
Tunisian President Kais Saied named former Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh as prime minister on Monday in a bid to end political deadlock in the country. Fakhfakh is tasked with forming a government “as soon as possible,” according to the presidency. Tunisia’s parliament rejected Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli's proposed government earlier this month. Tunisia’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party had nominated Jemli after coming in first in the Oct. 6 elections.
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dailymail.co.uk
Tunisian President Kais Saied named former Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh as prime minister on Monday in a bid to end political deadlock in the country. Fakhfakh is tasked with forming a government “as soon as possible,” according to the presidency. Tunisia’s parliament rejected Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli's proposed government earlier this month. Tunisia’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party had nominated Jemli after coming in first in the Oct. 6 elections.
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dailymail.co.uk
Iran’s man in Yemen and the al Houthis
Katherine Zimmerman | AEIdeas
The Washington Post’s revelation of a second US military operation targeting an Iranian commander in Yemen the same night as the air strike that killed Qassem Soleimani has received far less attention than the spectacular Soleimani strike. But Abdul Reza Shahlai deserves some media love.
Katherine Zimmerman | AEIdeas
The Washington Post’s revelation of a second US military operation targeting an Iranian commander in Yemen the same night as the air strike that killed Qassem Soleimani has received far less attention than the spectacular Soleimani strike. But Abdul Reza Shahlai deserves some media love.
Erdoğan's 'Make-Turkey-More-Islamic' Campaign Is a Failure by Burak Bekdil
The Gatestone Institute
January 15, 2020
https://www.meforum.org/60310/erdogans-make-turkey-more-islamic-campaign
The Gatestone Institute
January 15, 2020
https://www.meforum.org/60310/erdogans-make-turkey-more-islamic-campaign
From Russia with love: Turkish and Syrian spymasters meet in Moscow
The Moscow meeting between the Turkish and Syrian intelligence chiefs could suggest that a normalization process has finally kicked off between Ankara and Damascus.
The Moscow meeting between the Turkish and Syrian intelligence chiefs could suggest that a normalization process has finally kicked off between Ankara and Damascus.
Mehdi Khalaji writes: The danger of concentrating so much power in Khamenei’s hands is obvious: what happens when he is gone? Soleimani was an unparalleled alternative authority, someone who likely gave Khamenei peace of mind that the regime could remain stable when the time for transition came around. Even authoritarian regimes benefit from having such safety valves—figures who can offer guidance during times of crisis and expect it to be followed without resorting to coercive measures. Now the prospect of succession likely seems more unnerving to Tehran, and the regime’s future less certain. – Washington Institute
Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou writes: Thus, it seems that the only real effective strategy in Iran’s “harsh revenge” campaign is to increase the human and financial costs of the U.S. presence in the Gulf. To this end, Iran will likely leverage its extensive network of sympathizers and proxies in neighboring countries and beyond to carry out attacks against U.S.-only targets. Not only would this approach be in line with the regime’s ultimate objective, it would also allow the Iranian leadership to make good on its threats incrementally, at the time and location of its choosing. – Middle East Institute
Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou writes: Thus, it seems that the only real effective strategy in Iran’s “harsh revenge” campaign is to increase the human and financial costs of the U.S. presence in the Gulf. To this end, Iran will likely leverage its extensive network of sympathizers and proxies in neighboring countries and beyond to carry out attacks against U.S.-only targets. Not only would this approach be in line with the regime’s ultimate objective, it would also allow the Iranian leadership to make good on its threats incrementally, at the time and location of its choosing. – Middle East Institute
Ali Alfoneh writes: On January 20, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appointed Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hossein-Zadeh Hejazi as deputy chief of the Qods Force following Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani’s elevation to the top post. Who is Hejazi, and what was his background prior to his relatively recent involvement with the Qods Force? – Washington Institute
Alexa Santry writes: Today looks remarkably similar to that pivotal Obama moment. ISIS’s territorial caliphate is gone and al Qaeda is quiet. So we’re back to the “not worth it” arguments. But a US abandonment of the region would be catastrophic for American allies, credibility, and power. […]Looking back on US involvement in the Middle East over the past several decades, has American policy been flawed? Yes. Have US presidents been “incapable of mustering a consensus or pursuing a consistent policy” in the region? Also yes. But to argue that “few vital interests of the US continue to be at stake” is a misconception that Americans must not accept. – American Enterprise Institute
Anthony H. Cordesman writes: After all, almost all current U.S. and other international peace efforts lack a clear strategy that goes beyond military victory or conflict termination. […]There is no clear effort or plan to produce a stable peace and create both a workable and lasting structure in any country’s governance, security, or economy. Looking for a hidden motive in the lack of a meaningful peace strategy for Afghanistan can easily end in discovering that a motive does not even exist. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Baghdad. DaqDuk: visiting Nasrallah in Lebanon. [Ali Mussa Daqduq (علي موسى دقدوق) is a senior Hezbollah leader and senior advisor to Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali.] DaqDuk is afraid now that he knows he’s a target; is hiding hither and yon. A slew of upper Iraqis are trying to blame ISIS or Ba'athist remnants for the rocket attack on the US embassy compound. DaqDuq is keeping all the militia leaders & Nasrallah from killing each other. Mohandas had primacy over Iraqi operations, but with him gone, you see sporadic attacks around Iraq.
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