Middle East

World News

In Support For Kurds, Does Turkey Hope For A Redrawn Middle East Map?

7:08pm June 18, 2014

One actor with an eye on Iraq's ongoing violence is Turkey. For more on Turkey's complex relationship with Iraq, as well as its interests in Iraqi Kurds, Robert Siegel speaks with Hugh Pope.

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Teens Disappear In The West Bank, And Israel Blames Hamas

8:20pm June 16, 2014

by Emily Harris

The Israeli military is searching the West Bank for three Israeli teens who were kidnapped last week.

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Iraq's Army Is Ineffective Against Islamist Insurgents

9:30am June 13, 2014

by Alice Fordham

There are reports of Iraqi government troops just fleeing, dropping their weapons and shedding their uniforms. The U.S. spent a lot of time and money training Iraqi forces.

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Using Social Media, Jihadi Groups Stay On Message

7:58pm June 05, 2014

by Dina Temple-Raston

The Bowe Bergdahl exchange video released by the Taliban is the latest propaganda coup for jihadis on social media. Social media benefits jihadi groups because it is all about immediacy, not accuracy. Social media is changing the nature of jihad for young fighters as well. Some jihadis boast thousands of Twitter followers and are broadcasting their jihad for all to see.

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford covers his nose from the smell of dead bodies during a visit to a mass grave in the country in 2011. Ford has criticized the U.S. failure to back opposition forces early on.

Ex-Ambassador To Syria: Civil War Could Drag On For Years

7:18pm June 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

Robert Ford resigned as U.S. ambassador to Syria earlier this year. He tells NPR's Robert Siegel that it became impossible for him to defend the Obama administration's policies in the country.

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U.S. Policy In Syria Could No Longer Be Defended, Ex-Ambassador Says

8:32am June 04, 2014

by Deborah Amos

Robert Ford served as the U.S. ambassador to Syria until late February. Ford says as the uprising became a civil war, he was frustrated by limited U.S. support for rebel forces.

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Is Syria A Training Ground For A New Generation Of Terrorists?

8:03pm June 03, 2014

According to Richard Barrett, the senior vice president of the Soufan Group, the number of foreign fighters in Syria has surpassed the number of those who have gone to Afghanistan.

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U.S. To Work With Palestinian Unity Government Despite Hamas

7:57am June 03, 2014

by Emily Harris

The new Palestinian government includes Hamas, which the U.S. says is a terrorist organization. In spite of that, and Israel's objections, the U.S. says it will continue to fund the government.

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Israel Furious Over U.S. Decision To Work With Palestinians

7:57am June 03, 2014

Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer tells Steve Inskeep that the U.S. should have no relations with the new Palestinian government, which includes Hamas.

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Political Division Over Effect Of Swapping 5 Detainees For POW

7:04pm June 01, 2014

In exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. transferred five detainees from Guantanamo to Qatar. NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Kabul correspondent Sean Carberry about the swap.

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