History certainly does not repeat itself, but the regimes of some countries duplicate failed past experiences they themselves arose with the aim of getting rid of, only to thoroughly repeat them with all of their flaws and their dangers. What calls for such talk are the large-scale military maneuvers being currently carried out by Iran in the Arabian Gulf – maneuvers aimed at testing its ability to control navigation in the Hormuz Straight, which were accompanied by threats to stop the influx of oil through the Gulf if its oil exports were to be subjected to sanctions.

When the Arab ministerial council decided to dispatch observers to Syria, it did so in the context of a political initiative to appease the deteriorating security situation and prepare the general climate in the country for dialogue to resolve the crisis, while maintaining the right of the regime’s oppositionists to stage peaceful protests.

Members of the ruling parliamentary majority in France erred by voting in the National Assembly for a law to punish the denial of the massacres against the Armenians for a number of reasons. First, the vote took place for purely electoral reasons, since the Armenian vote in France’s presidential elections in around four months’ time, followed by legislative elections, is some 400,000-strong. It comes at an inopportune time because it goes against France’s diplomatic efforts with Turkey.

The end of a year prompts us to make comparisons, especially if it is the type of year that eventually turns into a historic one. In this sense, 2011 was a historic year by excellence, not only because it was the year of the Arab Spring – which is not a minor thing – but also because the Arabs, for the first time since a long while, can pride themselves in being the exporters of the dreams of change to other places on earth, places that should have served as examples for them.

It is only natural for a political party’s newspaper to express the party’s principles and goals, and for its readers to realize when reading it that the opinions it puts forward express a certain political orientation, that the topics it addresses have perhaps been formulated in a manner that does not contradict the party’s ideas or goals, and that some news are not featured because they would be harmful to the party’s stances or popularity.

If the Iraqis do not manage their current crisis in a good way, their first prophecy regarding the fact that the Americans’ withdrawal will undermine the existing balances and fuel the conflict over who will fill the vacuum that will be caused by this pullout will become true. This will also apply to their second prophecy which says they will not be spared by what is happening on the arenas of the close neighbor Syria.

In front of me are photos of the old Lebanon, dating back to the 1960s and earlier; all of them remind me of the Lebanon that was.

There is a group of photos of Emir Majid Arslan, the country’s minister of defense for decades. I looked at his imposing figure and mustache, and Arab headdress, and remembered my grandfather.

Moving beyond the stage of cooperation to the stage of union so that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries form a single entity, speeding up the process of reform, achieving greater participation of all citizens and consolidating national unity based on equality of all citizens, men and women, before the law and in rights and duties, is some of what was featured in the Riyadh Declaration that was issued following the recent 32nd Gulf Summit.

The mission of Arab League observers in Syria opens up a new phase of that country’s crisis, since the period prior to the work of this team will not resemble the period to come afterward.

I will always remember 2011 as the year in which we bade farewell to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the late Saudi Crown prince, and the year that saw the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, and his subsequent brutal death.

Prince Sultan left us on 22/10. All the Saudis, and the Arabs and Muslims with them, mourned him, for he, beyond being Prince and the Heir Apparent, was also known as the Sultan of Charity, having been a one-man charitable organization throughout his life.