Inside the Middle East – Intelligence Perspectives Intelligence Bulletin     March 14, 2017   A Prediction Materialized: Iranian Proxy Vows to “Fight to liberate the Golan Heights”   Information: In my January 2017 article “A Growing Whirlpool of Violence: The Middle East Legacy of Barack Obama “ I made the following prediction regarding the growing direct and indirect Iranian…

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 30, 2016   Avi Melamed on I24 News Lineup with Nurit Zunger talking about the WAR IN SYRIA Nurit Zunger interviewing Avi Melamed

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…

I am REPOSTING THIS POST IN LIGHT OF A MISTAKE IN THE PREVIOUS TITLE July 20, 2016 by Avi Melamed A military coup in Turkey (July 15-16, 2016) was oppressed and failed. Though crushed, the attempted coup, which was apparently led by some factors within the Turkish army, indicates the deep and dangerous crisis which Turkey is experiencing that stems from…

PLEASE NOTE I EDITED THIS POST DUE TO AN ERROR IN THE TITLE July 20, 2016 by Avi Melamed A military coup in Turkey (July 15-16, 2016) was oppressed and failed. Though crushed, the attempted coup, which was apparently led by some factors within the Turkish army, indicates the deep and dangerous crisis which Turkey is experiencing that stems from serious…

July 23rd, 2015 Vienna, Aden, Damascus By Avi Melamed The signing of the Vienna agreement on July 14, 2015 between Iran and the “Five Plus One” states, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom United States, plus Germany regarding the Iranian nuclear program was not surprising. The Mullah regime desperately needed an agreement and the United States President, Barrack Obama wanted – critics of the agreement add that he desperately wanted – an agreement. Some argue it is a bad deal, others argue it is a good deal; some see both positive as well as negative aspects of the agreement. There should have, and could have, been a much better agreement. The West had a much stronger hand than the Iranians.…

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” of the Great Roman Empire, a period characterized by prosperity and stability throughout the wide territory of the Roman Empire. *********** On June 4, 2009 the President of the United States, Barack Obama, delivered a speech at the University of Cairo entitled “A NEW BEGINNING” in which he called for the opening of a new page in the relations of…

August 3, 2014 Hamas Breathes a Sigh of Relief   by Avi Melamed The next line will probably astonish many people. When Israel formally announced that the IDF kidnapped Officer, Hadar Goldin, was pronounced dead – Hamas breathed a sigh of relief. This sentence seems totally crazy; it doesn’t make any sense. After all, Hamas’ strategic objective was, and is, to abduct an Israeli – preferably a soldier – that will be a bargaining chip for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas wishes to recreate the case of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was abducted and held in captivity by Hamas for more than 5 years (2006-2011) who was released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.…

Why was US Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest cease fire proposal rejected by Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia? Another misstep on the part of the US Administration stemming from a misreading of the Middle Eastern Map, results in the US government scrambling to do damage control. As the Middle East goes through increasing turbulence, stemming from the enormous challenges the region is confronting, it is critical that the West, especially the United States, understand how to foster and cultivate stability in the face of those that are determined to foment instability.   Avi Melamed, former Israeli Senior Official on Arab Affairs and former Intelligence Official and educator, is today an Independent Middle East Strategic Intelligence Analyst,…

May 7, 2014   The War in Syria – A Mutual Chokehold By Avi Melamed Pay attention to the Syrian town of Tfail. Tfail is a Lebanese enclave located in the Al-Kalmun mountain range in Syria about a mile away from the Lebanese border. It is a town of about 5,000 people – all Lebanese citizens (though the town is located inside Syria) – the majority of whom are Sunnis. Reportedly, following the recent battles in the region, dozens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the war in Syria found refuge on the outskirts of Tfail. Hezbollah argues that these refugees are not civilians, but rather Syrian rebels who fled following the recent fighting in the area of the Al-Kalmun. Reportedly,…

November 12, 2013 The Secret of the Spinning Wheels The Middle East is a complex structure of wheels which spin one another. Normally, a small wheel spins a bigger one.  In the Middle East however, sometimes it is the opposite. Sometimes a big wheel spins a smaller one. The following story demonstrates that well. The story begins in May 2012 when a group of eleven Lebanese Shiites described as “Pilgrims” were kidnapped in Syria on their way back to Lebanon from Iran. According to accumulating information evaluated as reliable, among the kidnapped were senior military and political activists of Hezbollah (read more about that incident in my article “Nasrallah Gets a Taste of his own Bitter Medicine” published on June…

September 16, 2011  by Avi Melamed Below is an article published on September 14, 2011 about Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s speech at the meeting of The Arab League on September 12, 2011.  The article was written by Mr. Tariq Alhomayed, the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the leading Arab language daily newspaper and the oldest and most influential in the Arab world. Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that position. Mr. Alhomayed has an acclaimed and distinguished career as a Journalist and has held many key positions in the field including; Assistant Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, Managing Editor of Asharq Al-Awsat in Saudi Arabia, Head of Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper’s Bureau-Jeddah, Correspondent for Al –…

   July 10, 2011                                                                             by Avi Melamed In my most recent article entitled The Freedom Flotilla or More Accurately – Flotil-LIEI made the following argument: The Flotilla is a cynical PR campaign disguised as “an initiative that aims to provide humanitarian aid to the people in the Gaza Strip.”  Its real purpose is to paint Israel black. That article, like most of my articles and briefings, was based upon Arab sources.  It was my goal to provide you access to primary Arab sources that supported the above thesis.  Therefore, I included links in the paper; links to independent articles and reports as well as links to the official Hamas web site that supported the claim that there is no humanitarian…