FILE PHOTO YASSER ARAFAT.
Arab heads of state meet on Sept. 27, 1970, at the Nile Hilton in Cairo to put an end to the civil war in Jordan between Palestinians and the government of King Hussein. From left to right: Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi, PLO chief Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and King Hussein of Jordan. Palestinian and Israeli officials steeled themselves on November 4, 2004 for the possible death of the veteran Palestinian leader as Arafat lay critically ill in a Paris hospital. While Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei tried to play down in public the seriousness of Arafat's condition, French doctors and Palestinian officials privately acknowledged that the man who has led the nationalist struggle for some 40 years was critically ill. (UPI photo/HO )
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Yemen has been a battleground between the West and al-Qaida for years. It's also torn by what amounts to a three-way civil war.
Baby steps. As U.S. President Barack Obama has conceded, the chance for a grand plan when it comes to the federal budget appears to be dead. And last week, he indicated a comprehensive plan for peace in the Middle East appears to be a distant hope as well.
It was surprising to observe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a diehard Islamist, conduct himself as a man of compassion.
UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013.
Since World War II, the Middle East in particular and the Arab world in general is a kaleidoscope of wars, revolutions, coups, counter-coups and assassinations.
Egypt, the heart of the Arab world and its most populous country, goes to the polls Wednesday and Thursday to elect a new president, a leap into the unknown after 60 years of military coups and stage-managed elections.
Some see Syria as an alternative gateway for oil pipelines to the Mediterranean.
Israeli defense contractors have been ordered to observe a "compliance program" intended to eradicate corruption on defense deals.
Western powers are becoming nervous about Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons, primarily the possibility that they could fall into the hands of militant groups.
UPI Almanac for Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.
