AL

Hi everyone, Hope you guy are all doing well! I just wanted to give you some quick updates about conference as well as go over some of the details on how committee will proceed. First, good job on position papers! I have uploaded the grades and your graded papers onto Huxley so you can go ahead and take a look at them to see if there is anything additional preparation you guys want to do before conference. Please do not be discouraged if your grade is low! We did grade somewhat harshly, and there was definitely no expectation for you to get an A or B. Next, I wanted to reveal some of the basic details of procedure in CRISIS. There a couple of different motions that are available to you guys over this weekend: 1. Default will be a moderated caucus with one minute speaking time. This time is really meant for you guys to discuss which direction or topics you guys should discuss in committee. 2. Moderated Caucus : You can motion for a moderated caucus on a specific topic and...

Hi all! Hope you're getting excited! This article is somewhat unrelated to counterterrorism, but I found it really interesting. It raises the questions of how religion and economic policy interfere with environmentalism. Here in the United States, we still struggle with bridging the divide between science and and politics, and it's interesting to think about how environmentalism comes into play in different parts of the world, especially in non-democracies. According to this article, one of the prominent environmental activists in Iran was arrested and died in prison last week. His death calls into question the economic issues in Iran that led to the state of their environmental concerns and civil society. I recommend giving it a read! https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/world/middleeast/iran-environmentalists-spies.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmiddleeast&action=click&contentCollection=middleeast&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=la...

Based on your knowledge right now, what do you know about women in the Middle East? When you see others wearing hijabs, what do you think? Are they unfamiliar? How does it impact your perspective of Arab culture and politics? Some strange questions for a Monday night, huh? Manal Al-Sharif, one of the most renowned women advocates in the Middle East,  ​​ draws ​ ​ upon ​ ​ existing ​ ​ gender ​ ​ inequality ​ ​ within ​ ​ Saudi Arabia ​ ​ on ​ ​ a ​ ​ completely ​ ​ new ​ ​ level ​ ​ – ​ ​a few years ago,  she ​ ​ unintentionally ​ ​ sparked ​ ​ a ​ ​ women ​ ​ rights’ ​ ​ social movement ​ ​ by ​ ​ posting ​ ​ a ​ ​ Youtube ​ ​ video ​ ​ of ​ ​ herself ​ ​ driving. ​ ​ As you may know,  ​ Saudi ​ ​ Arabia ​ ​implements numerous limitations on women, including the right to drive.  Although ​ ​ creating ​ ​ a ​ ​ divergence ​ ​ between ​ ​ Saudi ​ ​ Arabian ​ ​ ruler ​ ship and ​ ​ her ​ ​ own ​ ​ personal ​ ​ freedom, ​ ​ Manal ​ ​ Al ​ ​ Sharif ​ ​ has become ​...

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a good start to the week. I wanted to bring attention to an escalating conflict in the Middle Eastern region involving Israel, Iran, and Syria. While tension between Israel and Iran has existed for quite some time now, the recent incidents between the two countries may be bringing the conflict to a high boil. Essentially, an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace and was shot down by an Israeli helicopter. Israel proceeded to launch an airstrike into Syria where the drone was dispatched by sending in eight F-16 planes. Syrian antiaircraft shot one of these F-16s down, but the pilot and navigator were able to escape unharmed through successful ejection. The implications of this skirmish should not be understated. Iran has been building up its military forces and establishing strongholds in Syria for years now. While Israel has been doing its best to strike Iranian/Syrian targets in Syria in order to try to contain the ballooning presence of Iran,...

Hi all! I hope your preparation for BMUN is going well and that you're all excited for conference in less than a month! This NY Times article came out last week, and I thought it was really interesting. It discusses the alliance between Israel in Egypt, through which Israel has been able to target jihadists in Egypt with airstrikes. Israel and Egypt have had notable historical tension and differences, and it seems that experiencing this common threat has assisted in uniting them. Egypt previously attempted to navigate these threats of attack but later agreed that Israel could step in. The article noted that although this "alliance" is definitely heartening, it's certainly a complex issue with much underlying tension; critiques of Israel say that it may be acting out of defense for itself in order to prevent issues in Egypt from moving north, and Egyptian media have continued to denounce Israel, despite its aid to them. I'm curious to know what you think, a...

Hey guys! I hope you're hard at work preparing for BMUN since it is less than a month away! We would like to emphasize that it is super important to stay up to date on the current affairs in the region as the regional dynamics are constantly changing on a daily basis. Case in point: Yemen. Now, the Yemeni Civil War has been on since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels took control of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 and helped the internationally recognized Hadi government take back control of Yemen's second city, Aden. However, since then the war has pretty much been stalemated, with both sides making incremental gains at best. This held true until last week, when a secessionist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), took control of Aden and surrounded the presidential palace, with the Prime Minister and other key aides holed up inside. As a movement, this group has existed for more than a decade but due to the chaos of ...