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Raghida Dergham
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Raghida Dergham is Columnist and Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for the London-based Al Hayat, the leading independent Arabic daily, since 1989. She writes a regular weekly strategic column on International Political Affairs.

Ms. Dergham is also a Political Analyst for NBC, MSNBC and the Arab satellite LBC. She is a Contributing Editor for L A Times Syndicate Global Viewpoint and has contributed to: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune and Newsweek Magazine.

Ms. Dergham was featured in PBS Documentary "Caught in The Crossfire." She is quoted in several books in many languages.

As one of the few women political commentators, Ms. Dergham has been a frequent guest PBS's "Charlie Roseā€ and "The News Hour", CNN, FOX, "ABC, CBS, Canada's CBC, Al-Jazeera as well as a radio guest on NPR and the BBC.
A Lebanese-born American Citizen, Ms. Dergham is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations. She was co-chair of the Council's 1997 conference: "In the National Interest: Does diversity make a difference?ā€

She serves on the Board of the International Women's Media Foundation, and has served on the Advisory Council of Princeton University's Institute for Transregional Studies of the contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. She was also a member of the Women's Foreign Policy Group.

Ms. Dergham is in SUNY's Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Alumna and has received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 2003.

Dr. Dergham is a frequent participant in Policy conferences and is a regular participant in The World Economic Forum at Davos and WEF at the Dead Sea.

She addressed UN General Assembly on the World Press Freedom Day when President of The United Nations Correspondents Association for 1997 and was appointed to the Task Force on the Reorientation of Public Information by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. She moderated a roundtable of 8 Presidents and Prime Ministers for UNCTAD at Bangkok in 1991. Ms Dergham served as Chairman of the Dag Hammarskjold Fund Board in 2005.

She also served as a Juror on the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Novartis Prize for Excellence in International Journalism.

In addition to covering the crucial American-Soviet Summits in the 80s and the 27th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Ms Dergham has done exclusive Interviews with over 20 Statesmen including: Jordan's King Abdallah and the late King Hussein; Pakistan’s President Parviz Musharref, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak; Palestinian Presidents Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat; Iraq’s Jalal Talabani, Yemen's President Abdallah Saleh; Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir; Russia's President Boris Yeltsin, and Lebanon’s PM Fouad Siniora.

Other Presidents and Prime Ministers include a variety of countries such as:, Turkey’s Ozal, Indonesia’s Soharto, France’s D’Estang, Argentina’s Minem, Cambodia’s Sihanouk, India’s Ghandi, Afghanistan’s Najibullah, Iran’s Bani Sadr, Sweden’s Palme, Japan’s Ohira, Philippines' Marcos.

She conducted exclusive interviews with over 50 Foreign Ministers.

Ms. Dergham has Interviewed US President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and her predecessor Colin Powell.

Besides breaking major news stories, such as the Oslo secret talks, she was the only Journalist to interview Ramzi Youssef, the alleged mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing.

Ms. Dergham is based at the United Nations. Her assignments have included:

The Madrid Middle East Peace Conference; Islamic Summits; Nonaligned Summits; The Casablanca Economic Summit; The Denver Summit of Eight and the Extraordinary Amman Summit. She has accompanied UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on his tours of the Middle East.

Ms. Dergham is a frequent lecturer at Universities, Think Tanks and Business Councils throughout the United States.

Member of the International Media Council of the World Economic Forum, composed by 100 of the most respected and influential media figures worldwide.

Entries by Raghida Dergham

Western Powers Appease the Iranian Regime

(0) Comments | Posted May 24, 2013 | 4:14 PM

The ambiguity of Western attitudes towards the Islamic Republic of Iran raises many questions about whether it is the goal of the United States, Britain, and France to enable Tehran to prevent the victory of the armed opposition in Syria, or to further involve Iran and its ally Hezbollah in...

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The Priorities of Russia's Stance on the Syrian Crisis

(1) Comments | Posted May 17, 2013 | 3:52 PM

However high-ranking an individual might be, or however "full" the powers they might be entrusted within the process of political transition in Syria, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain in Russia's opinion, president with full powers, as a "wartime president." This could be an issue of disagreement or one of...

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Washington and Moscow Bargaining Over Syria's Ruins

(3) Comments | Posted May 10, 2013 | 3:05 PM

The Americans and the Russians have agreed to revive the Geneva agreement and work towards a second iteration, after modifications have been made to the military balance of power on the ground in Syria, and after Iran and Israel entered as direct players in the Syrian conflict. Terrorism using chemical...

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The Resistance's Weapons Being Used to Prevent the Fall of the Syrian Regime

(4) Comments | Posted May 3, 2013 | 5:12 PM

US President Barack Obama's "Will Not" has come across as half-baked compared to the Hezbollah secretary general's retort with an arrogant "Will Not" of his own. Both men made threats, each at his own pace: the first with hesitation and fear of implicating his country directly in the war in...

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The Dangers of Election Seasons "Bordering" Syria's Flames

(1) Comments | Posted April 26, 2013 | 3:49 PM

Elections in the Middle East have become a blood-spattered means of exclusion that voids democracy of its core values, as well as a blatant way to monopolize the hold on power. From Egypt to Iran, through Syria and Lebanon, election seasons bring one innovation after another that maintain individuals in...

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"Strategic Concern" in Syria Has Ended, but the "Season of Surprises" Continues

(3) Comments | Posted April 19, 2013 | 3:46 PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made it perfectly clear what he has in mind in an interview with Syrian News Channel Al-Ikhbariya this week. He said that the period of "strategic concern" has ended, and declared, "We have no choice but victory; if we don't win, Syria will be finished". This...

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Summer in Lebanon: Prudence vs. Recklessness

(3) Comments | Posted April 12, 2013 | 10:02 AM

Every time signs of a political dƩtente appear in the country, people in Lebanon like to ask, "And what will the summer be like?" The question is not at all superficial, but rather one that touches directly on the dire need to save the economy from collapse by reviving tourism,...

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Syrian Refugee Crisis Takes Its Toll on Neighboring Countries

(0) Comments | Posted April 5, 2013 | 4:05 PM

The major regional and international players would do good to pause and consider the future of countries neighboring Syria, given the continued influx of refugees across the border. The issue represents as much a time bomb as it is a matter with major ethical and political consequences. The tragedy of...

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Stances on the Syrian Crisis Redraw the Map of the Region

(0) Comments | Posted March 29, 2013 | 2:54 PM

Headlines describing the 24th Arab Summit held in Doha this week reflect profound division over Syria and Qatar's role in effecting change in the Arab Region. Doha has taken over the presidency of the Arab league for what could be one of the most important years of the transitional period....

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The Second Obama Administration Crushes the Hopes of the First

(0) Comments | Posted March 22, 2013 | 3:23 PM

The Middle East region looks at President Barack Obama from the perspective of his relations with three "I's", namely: Islamists, Iran and Israel. For some, the US President seems to adopt an overt policy based on isolationism and on avoiding engagement beyond the borders of the United States, and a...

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Political and Military Tracks Inseparable in the Battle for Syria

(2) Comments | Posted March 15, 2013 | 3:12 PM

The wavering stances of President Barack Obama's second administration saw settled this week on the following:

* A reversal of the stances taken by the first administration regarding the interpretation of the Geneva Agreement among the five permanent members of the Security Council, in terms of the role to be...

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U.S. Prevarication Prolongs Syria's Tragedy

(2) Comments | Posted March 8, 2013 | 1:26 PM

Positions expressed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ranged from flexibility towards the Syrian and Iranian leaderships at the beginning of his tour in Europe, to militancy vis-Ć -vis Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian role in Syria, near the end of his Middle Eastern tour, in Qatar. Kerry's...

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Obama Clings to his Three No's on the Syrian Crisis

(0) Comments | Posted March 1, 2013 | 1:03 PM

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has dispelled some of the ambiguity surrounding the second Obama administration's policy towards Syria during his European tour this week, and his meetings with European Foreign Ministers as well as with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In parallel to this, in Kazakhstan's former capital...

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What will John Kerry Hear on his Tour of the Middle East?

(3) Comments | Posted February 22, 2013 | 2:20 PM

New US Secretary of State John Kerry may wish for his tour of Europe and the Middle East to be a "listening tour", but he will nonetheless find in the capitals he shall visit similar enthusiasm for hearing what the second Obama Administration has in store in terms of policies,...

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The State of the Union: A Shortsighted Transitional Policy

(3) Comments | Posted February 15, 2013 | 12:40 PM

In the State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama presented an outline of his administration's priorities for the next four years. The address makes for some essential reading for emerging leaders in the Arab region, who had taken office on promises of change towards fulfilling the people's right...

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The Reduced Role of the United States Worries its Allies

(1) Comments | Posted February 8, 2013 | 3:09 PM

It is well known that having an overt part and a covert part in U.S. foreign policy is not a new phenomenon. Rather, both represent longstanding traditions and a cornerstone of the United States' long-term strategy. Each administration leaves its mark in terms of the relationship between the two poles,...

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Syria an Arena for Proxy Wars and International Trade-offs

(2) Comments | Posted February 1, 2013 | 2:02 PM

In-depth analysis of the interview given by Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria, to Al-Hayat on Wednesday indicates that the only means to save Syria from "the wound festering", as well as from fragmentation and disintegration, resides in an American-Russian agreement that would lead to...

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Developments in the Middle East May Drive Obama to Get Implicated

(1) Comments | Posted January 25, 2013 | 1:45 PM

The main concern from the United States to China, as well as to Russia, Europe, the Arab region and the Middle East, to Africa, South America and all parts of the world, remains the same: Most individuals seek after employment, a decent life and safety and stability. They seek after...

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Fears of American Isolationism Dominate the Davos Forum

(6) Comments | Posted January 18, 2013 | 12:25 PM

The gathering of heads of state and global leaders of both the public and private sectors at the World Economic Forum next week in Davos will be focusing on resilient dynamism, as optimism regains its place after the pessimism of the past year. This year, which marks the forum's 43rd...

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An Ambiguous Policy by the New US Administration towards Damascus and Tehran

(2) Comments | Posted January 11, 2013 | 11:09 AM

All indications point that the foreign policy of the second Barack Obama Administration will carry two aspects, one implicit and one explicit, moving together and in parallel in order to satisfy and contain radical contradictions within the US public opinion. Indeed, the majority of the American people does not want...

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