Iranian Presidential Election 2013

What is happening: 

Tomorrow, Iran is going to have an national election for their next president, which is being considered a turning point. Since 2005, the country has been headed up by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a previous mayor of Iran’s capital, Tehran, and only the sixth ever president of this nation. Ahmadinejad is globally known for his vehement hostility towards countries such as the United States and the UK and has not been received very well in his home country for these beliefs, as well as human rights abuses and a poor economic standing nationally. Now, you may be thinking, “how has such an unpopular guy managed to win two terms in a row?” Well, my friends, he used an ancient technique that has been utilized by numerous powerful leaders for centuries upon centuries: cheating. Yep, that’s right, Ahmadinejad used his presidential powers to fudge the numbers in his most recent election back in 2009. Although this hasn’t been officially confirmed by the Iranian government, it’s fairly safe to say that there was a abundant amount of vote rigging 4 years ago that managed to cause huge national, and international protests.

“Who rigs elections AND abuses his people? This guy!” (kattiemay.ru)

The reason why this information is relevant and why exactly this election is getting so much attention is because this generally unpopular leader who has finagled his way into a second term, cannot run for president this election season (due to term limits). For the first time since the election in 2005, Iranians have a shot at a fair election and a chance to elect a president to represent their nation more positively on a global scale, as well as creating a better environment with Iran itself.

Why you should care: 

As we mentioned earlier, Ahmadinejad is not America’s biggest fan, and the US definitely is not a big proponent of his. Whether it’s through United Nations sanctions or just general speech and press, the United States makes it obvious that is no friend to Iran. But when we critically look at where this animosity stems from, it really goes back to rhetoric from Iran’s past leaders and oligarchs, not necessarily the views of the Iranian population or the Iranian people in general. Americans may not, as a whole, see completely eye-to-eye with Iranians, but this hostility doesn’t really need to exist. It’s just based on the views of the leaders whose voices could be heard the easiest.

Yeah, we did that (www.alarab.co.uk)

And that is why you should care. With Iran seizing an opportunity to elect a leader with less animosity towards the Western world, the United States is also given a chance at an unprecedented neutral relationship with Iran’s government. To say that the US and Iran have a shot at a positive symbiotic relationship would be hyperbole, but there is a chance that they could dissolve the extreme hostility they’ve maintained for years. This could mean dropping sanctions, more oil through opening up trade, and just a better relationship with the Middle East as a whole. It is still a long shot to have THIS good of a relationship, but with a new president elect coming in tomorrow, there’s a lot of hope for a more positive relationship with Iran.

Where you can read more: 

HufPo’s 5 Things To Know About This Election: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/iran-presidential-election-5-things-to-know_n_3412334.html?utm_hp_ref=iran-election-2013

Interesting Read on Iran’s Presidential Vetting Process: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/201352395840316274.html

AWESOME Graphic on the Presidential Candidates: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/who-will-be-irans-new-president/174/

Protests in Turkey

What is happening:

It all started less than two weeks ago with a demonstration you would think would only ever make the local news. In the metropolitan capital of Turkey, Istanbul, the Turkish government was in the midst of planning for a new “urban development project” to be placed where the current Taksim Gezi Park stands. Not totally surprisingly because Istanbul is already a highly urbanized city, a sit-in protest at the park involving mostly college students began. Should have been your typical young-person-protecting-the-environment demonstration, right?

Two days later though, escalating the situation in a zero to sixty manner, police commenced using tear gas and water cannons to attack the non-violent protest of 100. The police also went on to burn down the demonstrators things and tents. All of this being the first formal effort to get the activists out of the park.

Bandanas and clapping totally seem tear gas deserving to me. (kplr11.com)

Of course, after the police went to ridiculous extremes, victims of the violence called for help across Turkey, and soon there were thousands of people joining this once minor demonstration.

Now, the protest has become a nation-wide youth movement. People are gathering in Istanbul by the thousands and already police have upped their presence and have started intimidating protesters again. Along with other issues the Turkish people have already been struggling with with their government, this once small protest may be in the beginning stages of a domestic uprising.

Why you should care:

Despite the ridiculous response to early protesting in Taksim Gezi Park, the Turkish government has not done much to resolve the situation. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for the unnecessary force used by the police, but that’s pretty much all that’s been done. Police still have a presence in the protest and the Prime Minister still plans to go through with the original plans for the park. Needless to say, people are maintaining their animosity and the movement has not been stifled in the slightest.

See that, kids? That’s a man who’s about to lose his political power. (www.atlasinfo.fr)

The question of “what happens next” is being answered in a variety of ways. Sources like Al-Jazeera continue to allude to a potential anti-government uprising to be born out of this protest. Inversely, The New York Times argues that this protest will not end in an attempt to oust the current Prime Minister or to overthrow the current government. Plenty of other places have given mixed reports and because the protest is in its early days, there are still multiple outcomes, ranging from minor results to extremely significant changes for the country.

So why should you care? Turkey could become the next country in the domino effect that is the Arab Spring (with a 99.8% Arab population, it very easily qualifies to be the next link in that chain). The United States has continued to ignore these hugely important uprisings in the Middle East and Africa, despite the fact that there has been at least one protest happening since the end of 2010. With increasingly severe situations continuing in these countries, like Syria and now Turkey, it’s going to be harder for the Obama administration to look away from these problems. You should care because if the situation in Turkey becomes an uprising, the US is going to have to deal with these movements that it’s been dreading to face.

Where you can read more:

Interactive Timeline of the Arab Spring (only goes to 2012, but still highly recommend): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

The Chain of Events Leading to the Protest at Present: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/06/20136513414495277.html

In Depth Information on the Protest Now: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkish-protest-leaders-meet-erdogan-deputy-as-turmoil-continues/2013/06/05/6f0e955a-ce21-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html

Escalation of the Protesters: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/world/europe/turkey-protests.html

Israeli Election January 2013

What is happening: 

For the past four years, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been the prime minister of Israel after over two decades of high ranking service in the Israeli government (Leader of the Opposition, Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc.). He’s an ex war hero, an ex ambassador to the United Nations, and actually served as Prime Minister in previous years (1996-1999). But despite being a major global political player, has gained fame through some not so glamorous ways. He’s created an immense amount of tension between his administration and the Obama administration (even though the US and Israel are considered close allies) and has an extreme stance on how to handle Palestine, even for Israel. He occasionally puts out an emotional tweet about the situation, similar to that of a thirteen year old girl fighting with her best friend. Plus, he comes out with the goofy diagram that makes it hard to take him seriously.

“The red line represents how close I am to destroying my credibility” (twicsy.com)

But even with these silly mis-haps, Netanyahu has maintained a decent strong-hold in the Israeli parliament. He has been intimidating to not only his own government, but to the entire world. That was, until last Tuesday.

Like the United States, Israel holds midterm elections for their parliament (the equivalent of Congress), and last week, Netanyahu’s party, the Likud Party, got hit really hard. The party that has held a vast majority of parliament for what seems like forever, only maintained the majority by the skin of their teeth. Which is a drastic change from previous elections where barely any other party could even voice an opinion. Now, with his party slimming down within the Israeli government, Netanyahu is seeing that his power is slipping away, and he may have to move to a more moderate position on pretty much everything Israel gets involved in. Again, a drastic change.

Why you should care: 

It’s no secret that the US and Israel have strong political ties and have been for years, but right now, that relationship is seriously on the rocks. Even though the US has always been a friend to Israel, they continue to promote peace between Israel and Palestine, holding meetings with global leaders and with Israel and Palestine individually, talking exclusively about the conflict. And ever since Obama has taken office, the American stance has become far more pro-Palestine, much to the dislike of one far-right, anti-Arab Netanyahu.

Frenemies (zionstrumpet.com)

The important thing to recognize is that there has been tense strain on the US-Israel relationship. And with this recent election, we could see that strain get a little more relaxed. Benjy will be forced to move further to the center on issues important to the US (read: all conflict with Palestine), favoring Obama’s platform on the issue and making strides towards peace in general. Despite this election, on its surface, seeming standard and not of particular importance, it will create a more moderate Israel and will make better, friendlier allies between the United States and one of it’s most important strong holds in the Middle East.

Where you can read more: 

Effect on Netanyahu: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israelis-vote-in-national-election-that-stirred-little-enthusiasm/2013/01/22/8507efb0-6494-11e2-b84d-21c7b65985ee_story.html

The Slim Win: http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/01/israels-election-0

More On This New Political Player: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/new-israeli-political-star-champions-middle–class/2013/01/23/83b17ff0-6589-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html

The Conflict in Syria

What is happening:

So, for the past year and a half, Syria has been in an all out civil war between its government and its people. Yeah, a year and a half. Since the conflict officially began in March of 2011, Syrian rebels have been attacking (and been attacked by) the Syrian government in an attempt to overthrow the dictatorship held by Bashar al-Assad, one of the bloodiest, and probably the bat-shit craziest dictators the world has ever seen. As far as bloody goes, Assad has already seen to the death of over 8,000 fighters and 32,000 civilians. As far as insanity goes, he was quoted saying, “Only a crazy person would kill his own people.” Do we catch the irony here?

Ha ha! Bombs are fun! (www.lettera43.it)

The United Nations tried to send in “peacekeepers” who were essentially babysitters with no weapons, no power, and no ability to stop any sort of violence from happening. Time, energy, and money well spent, amirite? So, obviously, those did nothing. Several countries from around the world sent small batches of troops into the country to try to maintain peace, but again, they couldn’t do enough to make a difference. And, finally, very few diplomatic attempts were made to try to stop the violence from Assad, but, you guessed it, not enough to make any sort of real change to the situation! Which brings us to where we are today. Rebels are fighting the government (and losing, aside from a few successful attacks) and the government is continuing to bomb its people. Yay modern humanity.

Why the fuck you should care:

This one is tricky. Typically, you should care because of what America is doing about a world problem and the money being spent and the diplomacy and troops being used. But this time, you should care for a different reason. This time, you should care because of what little the U.S. is doing.

Take pretty much any (oil-filled) country in the Middle East or Africa that has had an uprising like this. Egypt, Libya, etc. The bloodshed wasn’t even a tenth as bad as in Syria and the conflict lasted less than half the time, and yet, the good ol’ US of A got itself involved. In Egypt, the U.S. sent weapons, in Libya, the U.S. had a goddam airstrike within the first few weeks. But now, with the death count passing 30,000 the U.S. has had absolutely no involvement with Syria. The United Nations has, frankly, done a half-assed job of trying to keep violence down, but the United States has continued to stay directly out of the entire conflict.

Nope, no thanks. (haber.gazetevatan.com)

Now, this is not an argument of whether or not the United States should intervene. Everyone is free to their own beliefs and opinions and there are definitely strong arguments for and against either side. But the point is that THIS SHOULD SEEM STRANGE. America gets involved in pretty much anything it can get its hands on, when there will at least be some mild benefit.

But, since Syria isn’t going to necessarily bring anything to the table as far as giving the US a hand at home (read: WEAPONS, MONEY, OIL), the US is abstaining from getting involved in the messy, seemingly unsolvable situation.

Essentially, you should care because this is one major global conflict that the United States is saying, “It’s cool; you guys got this,” to. And, even though they have their reasons (as self-interested as they are), it’s a bizarre thing to see.

Where you can read more:

Timeline of the Civil War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Syrian_civil_war

Human Cost of the War: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/10/daily-chart-3

Economist Projections of What Will Happen Next: http://www.economist.com/news/21566341-it-will-be-worse-it-gets-better-syrias-agony