January 25, 2021
Special Dispatch No. 9151
Russian Middle East Expert Magid: Corrupt System That Iran Installed In Iraq And Elsewhere Breeds Economic Chaos And Resentment, And Will Eventually Erode Iran s Influence
January 25, 2021
A Rosbalt article, featuring an interview with the Russian Middle East expert Mikhail Magid and titled Things Are Heading Towards Arab Spring 2.0 , argues that while the world is focused on the turbulence in the United States and the fight against Covid-19, the Middle East is headed towards another blowup. The blowup will be caused by class conflict rather than religious or national differences. A paradox has been created, the Iranians have outplayed the United States politically, but the corrupt system that they have installed in Iraq creates economic desperation that will find an outlet in violent protest and even in nostalgia for Saddam Hussein.
Close to the wounds, but even closer to hope
The second volume of “Mit den Augen von Inana” (Through the Eyes of Inanna) is an impressive collection of purely female perspectives on modern Iraq, from the Saddam era through to the contemporary Tahrir Revolution. Christopher Resch spoke to three of the authors
Anyone who prevails over the patriarchy will not be deterred by coronavirus. In view of the ongoing pandemic, the fact that these three Iraqi writers and a German journalist are on a reading tour of Germany is nothing short of a quiet sensation. Amal Ibrahim, Azhar Ali Hussein, Rola Buraq and Birgit Svensson are presenting the second volume of their “Inana” anthology – a hugely fascinating window on Iraq, as seen through the eyes of women and women alone.