Summary: roughly a quarter of countries in the Arab League, including currently suspended member Syria, are suffering from currency depreciation, a US dollar shortage and rising debt levels. Issues are being compounded by surging inflation, while in some countries (in)formal capital controls and sanctions are impacting trade and debt repayments.
Chatham House Iraq expert Renad Mansour joins Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss the impact of America and the UK’s 2003 decision to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. Faulty assumptions, false claims and the decision to dismantle the armed forces and the civil service coupled with the imposition of a sectarian governance structure led to chaos, corruption and violence that scars Iraq to this day.
Summary: the renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a win that takes down the temperature in the region and one that represents a setback for Netanyahu and a message for Biden.
Summary: the 2003 war lasted less than a month but the fall-out has reverberated violently for two decades leaving Iraq divided and Iraqis impoverished, fearful and uncertain about what the future will bring.
Summary: Iraq has a deep and enormously rich history that was heavily damaged by the 2003 war and occupation, the insurgency that followed and by the brutal predations of ISIS; a new minister of culture is working to try and set things right but he faces daunting challenges.
Summary: as the death toll from the 6 February earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria rises past 35,000 the situation of getting humanitarian aid to Syrian survivors is deeply compromised by internal and external rivalries created by Syria’s 12 year civil war.
Kurdish-American journalist Sirwan Kajjo joins Arab Digest editor William Law in this week’s podcast. Sirwan is just back from the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) and he brings to the table his analysis of the current situation, including tensions between Erbil and Baghdad over oil revenues and the ongoing struggle for supremacy between the two families who control the KRI, the Barzanis and the Talibanis.
Summary: 2023 promises to be a very difficult year for many MENA countries with only the Gulf states escaping the long shadow of a deep economic slowdown.
Summary: with candid and often brutal honesty the Lebanese writer Amal Ghandour digs deep into her own past, all the while excavating the landscape of a failed state, seeking answers for why Lebanon has abandoned its people to the invidious greed of an entrenched elite.
Sami Hamdi, the CEO of The International Interest, joins Arab Digest editor William Law for a wide-ranging, fast-paced and thought-provoking review of a tumultuous year for the MENA region as alliances shifted and fissures emerged with new tensions flaring up even as old ones eased. The podcast wraps up with Sami’s take on what to look for in 2023.
