Author Archives: Richard Whelan

Talking with Islamists the Only Route to a Lasting Peace

This article first appeared in the 4 April 2008 edition of The Irish Times and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

In the Middle East you don’t make peace with friends , you make it with distasteful enemies, writes Richard Whelan.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

With almost 2,500 candidates for parliament barred from running, the result of election is preordained

Note: Click here to view a shorter version of this article (originally published in the 12 March 2008 edition of The Irish Times).

To understand why Ahmadinejad has already won this month’s parliamentary election you need to understand recent Iranian history, writes Richard Whelan. Continue reading

Tagged , , , ,

Iran’s Hardliners Ensuring They Keep Grip on Power

This article first appeared in the 12 March 2008 edition of The Irish Times and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

Note: Click here to view an extended version of this article.

Iran’s parliamentary election on Friday has been fixed in advance and the West is doing nothing to help democrats. Continue reading

Tagged , , , ,

Intolerance Begets Intolerance

This review first appeared in the Spring 2008 edition of Studies and is reproduced here with their kind permission. Continue reading

Tagged , , ,

Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad

WAHHABI ISLAM
FROM REVIVAL AND REFORM TO GLOBAL JIHAD
NATANA J. DELONG-BAS
I.B. TAURIS LONDON
370 PAGES STG £14.99

Continue reading

Tagged , , , ,

Bhutto’s Death a Blow for Secularist Cause

This article first appeared in the 28 December 2007 edition of The Irish Times and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

Benazir Bhutto’s assassination eliminates an obstacle to the sustained success of al-Qaeda, writes Richard Whelan.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , ,

Iran Remains on Target for Nuclear Weapons Despite US Intelligence Mistakes

The public heaved a sigh of relief at the recent US intelligence announcement that Iran was not pushing its nuclear weapons programme in 2003 despite claims to the contrary , mixed with exasperation that yet again, the United States had misread the Middle East. Continue reading

Tagged , , , ,

China’s Military Might Reaches the Final Frontier

When a Chinese medium-range ballistic missile fired from the Xichang space centre in Sichuan Province destroyed an old Chinese weather satellite in low earth orbit at an altitude of 864km a few minutes later, there was a subtle shift in the balance of power which is only now beginning to be understood. Continue reading

Tagged

China’s Age-Old Problem

This article first appeared in October 2007 in The Irish Times and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

With a rapidly aging population will China seem such a good investment in 15 years?

Richard Whelan says the demographic challenges facing China are a fact of life already for France, Germany and Japan.

Continue reading

Tagged , , ,