In recent weeks, there has been a notable shuffle in the positions of key external players in the Syrian crisis.  Momentum has quite suddenly shifted from an all-out onslaught against the Assad government to a quiet investigation of exit strategies. The clashes between government forces and opposition militias in Baba Amr were a clear tipping […]

“Perception is 100 percent of politics,” the old adage goes.  Say something three, five, seven times, and you start to believe it in the same way you “know” aspirin is good for the heart. Sometimes, though, perception is a dangerous thing.  In the dirty game of politics, it is the perception — not the facts […]

I have been staring incredulously at my TV screen these past few hours as the story of Iran’s alleged assassination attempt of a Saudi diplomat in Washington unfolds in dramatic increments. Reporters keep repeating the theme “like out of a Hollywood script” as they eke out increasingly unlikely details about this “terror” plot. My immediate […]

Opportunistic Leb Tribunal changes indictment to now finger Syria.  Oh please.  http://bit.ly/jCNnIK #STL #Bellemare #Imperialism Sharmine Narwani is a Senior Associate at St Antony’s College, Oxford University.  Read her blog Mideast Shuffle at <mideastshuffle.com>.  Follow Narwani at <twitter.com/#!/snarwani>.  The text above is one of her tweets today.  Cf. Elias Muhanna, “Syria: Conveniently Vulnerable Once Again?” […]