Middle East and North Africa

There is no shortage of evidence of how in the past Western-supplied goods became tools of repression.

Saudi Arabia is an affront to anyone who has regard for basic human rights and our silence in the face of such violations is a ghastly disgrace.

Ultimately the odds were never in Mr Blair’s favour. He took on an impossible and thankless task

Israelis appear to be the most incompetent genocidaires to ever walk this earth and are responsible for the only large-scale annihilation campaign in history where the victim population actually increased.

Due to the structure of the International Court of Justice it is unlikely that any case will be brought before it as both states would need to award the Court jurisdiction over the matter.

Neither side really wants a full-scale war, but unintended escalation is very much possible.

In the end a moderate pact of Libyans — and a united and forceful international response — is needed to save the country from the ledge from which it is currently leaning. It will take time, it will cost money and it will require long term planning. But inaction now will only lead to the need for action later.

Sunni Wahhabism or Shi’ite fundamentalism paired with nuclear weapons or access to nuclear material is a nightmare scenario of the worst sort.

The U.S. has been clear that it will not coordinate its operations against IS in Syria with the Assad regime. And most proponents of various strategies to address the Syrian situation stipulate that Assad must go. He isn't after all a highly imperfect force for stability, his actions in the last three-years have proven from the start to have very destructive and destabilizing effects. His pounding to rubble of Syria's cities has caused a giant refugee crisis in the region and burdened neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.

On the 21st of August 2013, the biggest chemical weapon attack since the tragedy of Halabja, in 1988, occurred in Syria. The US had detailed evidence of strategic planning on behalf of the Assad forces, leading up to the attack. A report released by the White House on the 30 August 2013 stated that the Assad regime was keeping track of all those targeted in the chemical weapons attacks from the East Ghouta region of Damascus, which lead to the deaths of 1,400 people.