With tension building on both shores of the Gulf, the stakes are high for regional governments as well as the international community as they could threaten shipping in the Straits of Hormuz as well as create domestic turmoil in both the Gulf states and Iran.

WASHINGTON-In the western media's telling, the civil war in Syria began and continues as a morality play, good versus evil, and for good reason. The ...

The battle for Syria demonstrates that what started as a peaceful call for change can lead to the disintegration of an entire country, and creation of a new geopolitical reality. If it can happen in Syria, it can and will certainly happen elsewhere.

Although all of Syria's neighbors have been negatively impacted by the country's crisis, Iraq's sectarian tensions and the religious, historical and cultural bonds between Syrians and Iraqis connect the two states' political fates.

Since the Egyptian revolution, Sunni animosity in Egypt toward Shia Muslims has increased and gone public in a country where, in the past, doctrinal differences between the two Islamic sects were barely mentioned.

WASHINGTON -- Ten years and $60 billion in American taxpayer funds later, Iraq is still so unstable and broken that even its leaders question whether ...

"On the ground, the groups that President Obama has recognized as the "legitimate representatives of the Syrian people" have no say whatsoever, and not even a pretense of having, the allegiance of any segment of the Syrian public."

It will not be easy, but the uncertainty and plasticity in the region today offers an opportunity to secure a Kurdish homeland and remedy the capricious map-making of the early 20th century.

Rational actors of the West are not as rational as they always claim to be, and non-Western leaders are not as irrational as Western bias claims them to be.

If it is true that religion evolved to constrain violence and promote harmony, why is it such a blood-soaked institution? One reason: Although religion expands the circle of moral obligation, not even religions claiming universal reach guarantee decent treatment to all people.

Kurdish leaders in the north aim to defy Baghdad by exporting oil to Turkey through a new pipeline. Given simmering acrimony between the Kurdish government and Baghdad, that pipeline may be the tether that formally pulls Iraq in two.

Trying to explain the intricacies of the Lebanese quagmire is never a simple matter, especially to someone not well-versed in politics.

Without facts, the Syrian story does not stand a chance in overcoming the enmity and rancor felt by both sides. False narratives, even heartfelt ones, will only keep conflict buzzing. Kudos to Stratfor for underlining the importance of information transparency.

May 5, 2011 10:38:22 PM By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN, May 6 (Reuters) - Security forces have moved into central Syria and coastal areas ahea...

I'm not arguing that Shiites have a lot in common with rodents and insects. But you wouldn't know it by watching Bahrainis and Saudis snuff them out with barely a peep from Western and majority-Sunni Arab nations.

April 19, 2011 12:34:33 AM By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN, April 19 (Reuters) - Syrian forces fired shots at hundreds of protesters who had ga...

Three issues have plagued the region for decades and threaten to derail progress at every turn. I call them the Mideast's "Stink Bombs" -- hyper-divisive issues that inflame passions and serve a politicized minority only.

It will be a real problem if Assad's regime survives the threat to its power, and if Turkey continues to do business with them -- as usual.

The so-called sectarian divide of Bahrain is a manipulative simplification of a far greater divide: that of the colonially-installed government that has no connection with or compassion for the people of Bahrain.

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Military troops and security forces opened a large-scale assault Wednesday against hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying...

March 15, 2011 10:44:00 PM By Lin Noueihed and Frederik Richter MANAMA, March 15 (Reuters) - Bahrain's king declared martial law on Tuesday ...