AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

Iraq and Lebanon: A tale of two nations

25 Oct 2020

Last October Iraqis and Lebanese rose up against misrule, corruption, rampant unemployment and the lack of essentials like water, electricity and decent health care and education. Demonstrations in Iraq have...

Armed and dangerous

22 Oct 2020

During the first US presidential campaign debate Donald Trump was asked about the “Proud Boys,” a white supremacist militia, he said he knew little about them but called on them...

October Revolution has stalled but not failed

18 Oct 2020

Thousands of Lebanese returned to the streets and squares across their country on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that has begun to reshape their country. Wearing...

An ironic appointment

15 Oct 2020

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a Muslim, an immigrant and a proud Moroccan with Belgian and US citizenship has been chosen to head Donald Trump’s fast-track effort to develop and distribute a...

Trump brings hardship to many distressed families

11 Oct 2020

“Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” is a version of an ancient saying which appears to apply to Donald Trump. His decision to end bipartisan negotiations over...

A short-lived stint

08 Oct 2020

Mustapha Adib is an honest man ihn a land where honest men are not in politics. Shortly after being confirmed as prime minister by 90 of Lebanon’s current 120 parliamentary...

An ‘October surprise’ may hit a beleaguered Kadhimi

04 Oct 2020

Ever since the US installed a pro-Iran Shia fundamentalist-dominated regime in Iraq in 2003, Baghdad has struggled to balance ties with Washington and regional rival Tehran while striving for independence...

A conservative choice

01 Oct 2020

Donald Trump has, as expected, nominated arch-conservative Amy Coney Barrett to replace assertive liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court. Trump’s intention is to hold hearings on her...

Trump could strong-arm rivals over poll results

27 Sep 2020

Following the death of celebrated, liberal Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the already heated US general election campaign has become frenetic. Instead of observing a decent pause to respect...

The race to win

24 Sep 2020

The death of iconic, liberal US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has heightened tensions in an already tense presidential and Congressional election campaign. Fighting pancreatic cancer Ginsburg, 87, had...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.