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- Ghiath Bilal
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Launching the Reconstruction in Syria
Between Illusion and Reality
During the last year, the Syrian regime managed to regain control over most of the Syrian territories that rebelled against it, particularly in the southern region and the hinterland of Damascus (Ghoutas). This gave rise to a general feeling that the battle had been resolved in favor of the regime; and that the next step would be to start the reconstruction process and to normalize the Assad regime’s relations with east and west. Furthermore, this general feeling prompted many countries wishing to participate in the reconstruction to activate their back channels in order to communicate with the regime.
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- Ghiath Bilal
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How can waste-to-energy technology help the developing countries?
In the last two years, I have been in India, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. I saw firsthand, how these countries struggle with accumulated mountains of municipal waste and all related problems: hatefully stench, rodents, insects, diseases, etc.
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- Ghiath Bilal
How can global conglomerates survive and thrive in the era of fast changes?
122 years ago, Edison founded GE, which was the last to be founded in the original Dow Jones. However, last June, GE had to exit the Dow Jones index, to be replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance. This move reflects a structural change in the global economy.
Read more: How can global conglomerates survive and thrive...
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- Ghiath Bilal
Are we going to defeat ISIS and bring the end of this phenomenon?
ISIS, the dynamics of its rise and decline
The elimination of al-Qaeda’s leaders such as Bin Laden and al-Zarqawi did not end the organization which they created and led. Despite causing serious damages, the theatrical elimination of the leaders actually helped the rise of a new generation of international Jihadi organizations that are more violent and brutal. During the last three decades, the trend that we can observe is the transformation of radical organizations that started as small groups in the mountains of Afghanistan and Yemen into large multinational organizations; from a non-state structure into a state structure; and from secretive and simple mode of operation into an open and complex one.
If we want to face the Islamic State (ISIS, or Daesh) and defeat it, we need first to understand the social and political dynamics that led to its rise and allowed it to continue and thrive.
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- Ghiath Bilal
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ISIS: Disintegration or Metamorphosis
From State back to Guerilla Warfare
As the year 2017 nears its end, the governing structures which ISIS has erected in the past three years are also nearing a complete destruction under both the blows of the international coalition and its own internal fissures. The last audio message by ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, titled “Our Lord is our Sole Guide and Support” and disseminated by ISIS’s official media agency, al-Furqan, on the evening of September 28, 2017 confirms these suspicions.
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- Ghiath Bilal
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Disruptive Strategies in Globalized World
Incumbent companies facing the challenges of globalization
Globalization emerged to many Western business conglomerates as a long sought-after opportunity that they have been eagerly waiting for. In the 80’s and 90’s, globalization was the main contributor to the reduction of manufacturing costs for the Western companies who sought to transfer low-tech manufacturing to the Asian region; and at a later stage Eastern Europe to have a very broad manufacturing footprints. On the other hand, it's also been an opportunity for those countries that were eager to build their infrastructure and to enter a world of competition and growth.
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- Ghiath Bilal
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Will the Syrian Opposition Reach Damascus Soon?
Repercussions of Recent Military Developments in Syria
On May 27, 2015, only eight days after its announcement the freeing of al-Mastouma city in Idlib’s Countryside, “al-Fath Army” announces the freeing of the Areha, the second big city in the province of Idlib. “al-Fath Army” is an umbrella of several Syrian opposition factions that fighting against al-Assad Regime in Syria.
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- Ghiath Bilal
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A Perspective on the Syrian Conflict
A Structural and Cultural Approach
At the last meeting of the representatives of Group of Friends of the Syrian People, I had the pleasure to present my views on the Syrian conflict. I used that opportunity to suggest a new approach to deal with the Syrian wicked issues. My main focus was public and civil society organizations instead of the usual disproportionate focus given to international stakes.
This approach depends on attacking root causes at the paradigmatic and philosophical (or cultural) level through a well-planned intervention at the societal level using educational rather than political institutions.