This video (to watch the video click below on “READ MORE”) compliments my latest article: This will also be the theme of my upcoming  North American Tour – February 7 – March 27, 2017. If you would like to invite me to speak to your community please email me at avi@avimelamed.com. Thank you, and as always, I hope you find this video…

Click here for PDF of this Article January 19, 2017     A Growing Whirlpool of Violence: The Middle Eastern Legacy of Barack Obama by Avi Melamed   On June 4, 2009 the President of the United States, Barack Obama, delivered a speech at Cairo University entitled “A New Beginning” in which he called for the opening of a new…

August 23rd, 2016 Jabhat Al-Nusrah Disembarking from Al-Qaeda by Avi Melamed Background: Jabhat al-Nusrah li-Ahl al-Sham (The Front for the Support of the People of Sham) is Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. Like Al-Qaeda, Jabhat Al-Nusrah is a Sunni Salafi-Jihadist organization. The word “Salaf” means the past of something, its origin, its roots, its primal source. The origins of Salafi thought are deep in the sands of…

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March 20, 2015 Pax Amer – Iran by Avi Melamed At the peak of its power and influence, the United States’ foreign policy was described as Pax Americana. That description was inspired by the term Pax Romana –”The Roman Peace” – the term that describes the period of time between 27 BC and 180 AD known as the “Golden Era”…

December 6, 2014 by Avi Melamed The Middle East continues to constantly provide dramatic events in different areas – in Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and other places. However, I would like to divert your attention for a while from the dramatic events in those arenas and take a pause to explore some very interesting processes taking place for a significant player in the region – The Muslim Brotherhood movement. Following the outbreak of events in the Arab world known as the Arab Awakening, the Muslim Brotherhood has succeeded in attaining their primary political goal in two Arab countries. In the elections held in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood won by an overwhelming majority in the Egyptian parliament, and its candidate Mohamed…

 October 24, 2014 Sixty-Six Egyptian Fishermen, Yemen and Instability in the Middle East Pay attention to the recent developments in Yemen, an Arab State with a population of 23,000,000 people. Yemen is located on the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait (sometimes called the Mandab Strait) which flows between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, and connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Yemen chronically suffers from weak governments, endless violence and enormous economic and social challenges. Yemen is a member of a “not so complementary” club of the poorest nations in the world. Yemen’s society is based on tribes and demographically it is 60% Sunni and 30% Shiite. All the above factors…

March 2, 2014 Navigating the Iraqi Labyrinth by Avi Melamed The Al-Anbar Province is the western part of Iraq. It begins in Bagdad and its borders are Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Area-wise it is the largest province in Iraq with a total population of about 2 million people – mostly Sunni, whose society is based upon large tribes. Clashes have been taking place in Al-Anbar since December 2013. The combat is mostly taking place in the district’s two major cities – Al-Ramadi, 70 miles southwest of Bagdad and Al-Fallujah, 40 miles southwest of Bagdad. In addition, sporadic fighting is also taking place in the area of the Al-Khalidiya Peninsula located in central Iraq, as well as on the northern…

******* Intelligence Bulletin Information Date:          February 6, 2014 Event Date:          February 3, 2014 Information Item:          Al-Qaeda announces it has no connection to ISIS Information Platform:          Osint Source:          Web Source Reliability:          Reliable Spring:          As-Sahab Media Spring Reliability:          Reliable Relevant Information:          Al-Qaeda announced that it has no relationship with the Militant Islamic organization known as The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), a group also known in Arabic by the initials DA’ESH. Isis has heretofore been identified as Al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq. The announcement was published in Al-Qaeda’s main media platform known as As-Sahab (The Cloud). Evaluation:          Reading in-between the lines hints that the reason for this announcement has to do with the growing discontent of Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership –…

A New Middle East Requires a New Understanding. Events of an historic scale are rocking the Middle East. I have spent many years of my life in the streets of the Arab world.  I have watched the Arab Awakening evolve and erupt from the inside. The Middle East in changing before our very eyes, the landscape is shifting and changing every day, and can drastically change any minute now. My upcoming US lecture tour will help you understand the present and navigate the future. Egypt, the biggest and most important Arab State, is embroiled a fierce battle over its identity. Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are disintegrating in a bloody and violent process. Lebanon, once known as the Paris…

******* Intelligence Bulletin Information Date:                October 26, 2013 Event Date:                            October 25, 2013 Information Item:                 Leader of Jabhat Al- Nusrah killed in Syria? Information Platform:         Varied Source:                                    Vary Source Reliability:                 Unknown Spring:                                     Syrian National TV Network Spring Reliability:                  Unknown Information Validity:            Unconfirmed Relevant Information:         The Syrian TV News network (SANA) associated with the Assad regime, reported that Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, the leader of the Jabhat Al-Nusra organization, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Syria, was killed on October 25, 2013. Jabhat Al-Nusra rushed to deny the report, announcing that Al-Joulani, as well as Abu Anas Al-Sahabh, another senior leader of the organization, were safe and sound. It should be mentioned that the news item was removed from SANA’s website shortly after it was published. It also…

******* Immediate Intelligence Bulletin Information Date: March 20, 2013 Event Date: March 2013 Information: Iraq is on the verge of a violent Sunni–Shiite confrontation Information Details: According to varied neutral sources, the Sunni tribal leaders in the Al-Anbar province in western Iraq ordered their members to arm themselves immediately in order to confront Iraqi military forces heading towards the Al-Anbar area. Information Platform: Varied Platform Reliability: Varies Source: Neutral, Varied Source Reliability: Unknown Information Validity: Unknown Relevant Information: The majority of Iraqis are Shiites. The Al-Anbar region in western Iraq is the major stronghold of Sunnis in Iraq. Sunni-Shiite relations in Iraq are characterized by a long history of animosity and violence. Accumulating information indicates a growing rage among Iraqi…

Ask A Senior Analyst – Mr. Avi Melamed   Mr. Avi Melamed Editor’s Note: Wikistrat’s Facebook followers recently engaged in a 24-hour exclusive Q&A drill with one of Wikistrat’s Senior Analysts – Mr. Avi Melamed. Mr. Avi Melamed, former Israeli Senior Official on Arab Affairs and is an independent Middle East Strategic Intelligence Analyst and lecturer specialized in the current affairs of the Arab and Muslim world, as well as their impact on Israel and the region more widely. Mr. Melamed provides intelligence analysis, briefings and tours to diplomats, Israeli and foreign policy makers, international media outlets and a wide variety of organizations as well as private clients on a range of Israeli and Middle Eastern affairs. Miguel Nunes Silva: …

March 15, 2012      by Avi Melamed   According to recent reports, at least fourteen teenagers – some argue that the number is actually much higher – were murdered inIraq.  Most of the youths were stoned and others were shot.  They were targeted because they were labeled as “Satan worshipers.” These teenagers are known in Arabic as “emo” – a shortcut for the English word “emotional.”   Their apparel and codes of dress are clearly inspired by Western heavy metal music and culture. An anonymous entity entitled “The Rage Companies” published a leaflet which included the names of twenty-two other Iraqi teenagers.  The “Rage Companies” demand that these twenty-two individuals sever their connection with the “emo” group otherwise they too will be…