The Red Velvet Lawyer

Where is the Middle East Headed  After the Killing of Solemani Tonight I attended an event sponsored by the Al Jazeera Center for Studies focused on the topic: " Where is the Middle East Headed After the Killing of Solemani ." The program -- held on January 8, 2020 at the Al Jazeera Media Institute Auditorium -- featured four speakers: Mahommaed Cherkaoui, Senior Researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. Liqaa Maki, Senior Researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. Haoues Taquia, Researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. Majoob Zweiri, Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University.  The translation services were again disappointing because of a variety of technical issues.  Half the audience left after 30 minutes.  I stuck around for intermittent translation services and the chance to talk with people at the reception afterwards.  Accordingly, my notes are very incomplete.  So, any summary here is given with a very big caveat. The

Iran's Islamic Revolution at 40 Regional Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges By Dr. Kamal Kharazi Last night, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies .  I have attended prior programs offered by the Centre and found them intellectually stimulating.  They always offer points of view I have seldom heard in the West. I have blogged about them in a series of posts beginning here .  The invited guest, Dr. Kamal Kharazi , Chair of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of Iran, gave a lecture followed by a brief question and answer period at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.  The moderator introduced Dr. Kharazi as an "insider" to the Iranian Revolution .  That revolution celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019.  He spoke in English from prepare remarks. Before I start, I want to note that I am working from my notes and apologize in advance if my summary contains any errors or misstatements.  I am happy to make any nee

Political Stability or a New Wave of Change? On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 6: The Media During Times

Two-State Solution, Long Dead, is Now Buried On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 6: The Media During Times of Crisis Session 7: Where is the Gulf Headed? Session 5