Adel Darwish
Encyclopedia
Adel Darwish is a British journalist, author, historian, broadcaster and political commentator, specialising on Middle Eastern politics.
Darwish is a veteran Fleet Street
foreign correspondent
and has written for The Daily Telegraph
and The Independent
, as well as maintaining his online blog
and publishing several books.
He is also a regional contributor for The Middle East.
Despite the similarity in some translated Arabic names, Darwish is often wrongly placed with Arabic Journalists. This is a common error because of his expertise in the Middle East. Darwish is not an Arab
, but understood to be of Eastern Europe
an origin from the Balkans, the Macedonian parts. "Adel", as well as being common in Arabic
(as عادل) and the correct format of it is 'al-adel' , is also a male name of Germanic
origin, meaning brave. The surname "Darwish" is commonly held in the Levant
, most famously by the Palestinian
poet Mahmoud Darwish
. However, its popularity meant that many Balkan
immigrants
to the Ottoman Empire
adopted the name to blend into their new environments. In this context, Darwish may be a corruption or Arabization
of the Slavic
name Darvic, pronounced "dar-vitch".
, Egypt, to Eastern European family from the Balkans
. His parents were Albanian Macedonian
but are also believed to have held British citizenship
or had strong links with Britain. His father, Menem Effendi
, was postmaster
in Alexandria when the local postal service
was run by the British.
After attending British schools in Alexandria, Darwish moved to Britain in 1959 where he studied. He graduated in 1974, having also spent four semesters in the academic year 1971-1972 at Alexandria University
as part of his study of Middle East history
.
After university, Darwish began his journalistic career in Africa, as a correspondent for several British Fleet Street newspapers, before moving to the Middle East to cover events there. Darwish reported on the Dawson's Field hijackings
of several aircraft by the Palestinian radical group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP), in 1970, and the ensuing Black September
clashes in Jordan
.
Darwish was also sent to Egypt
, Lebanon
, Libya
, Sudan
and Iraq
between 1970 and 1972. While in Iraq, he met Saddam Hussein
, at that time still relatively unknown in the West and just beginning his political career as shadow
deputy leader
of the local Baath Party
and vice-chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council
. In 1973, Darwish moved permanently to the Middle East, and went on to cover that year's Yom Kippur War
, in which Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria
invaded Israel
to recapture land lost in the 1967 Six Day War.
Group, based at the Parliamentary Press Gallery http://www.pressgallery.org.uk/ at the House of Commons United Kingdom in Westminster.
A prolific writer, Darwish covered the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the Lebanese Civil War
(1975–1990), the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
(1980), the assassination of Egyptian President
Anwar Al Sadat (1981) and his state funeral
, and the Gulf War
(1991).
Darwish was the first journalist in the world to expose
Saddam Hussein's missile
programme after an explosion
in al-Hella, a facility south of Baghdad
, killed over 800 people in August 1987. Darwish, together with Pierre Salinger
, also had a scoop
when he obtained the transcript
s of the meetings between United States' Ambassador
April Glaspie
and Saddam Hussein a week before the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait
, in which Hussein made clear his aggressive intentions without any objections from Glaspie. Darwish's story was printed in The Independent in August 1990 with an agreement from Salinger that ABC News
would air
the story a few hours later. The day before, Darwish had published a story on the meeting
between the American chargé d'affaires
, Joseph C. Wilson
, and Saddam Hussein on 6 August 1990, when the Iraqi President
offered to give America oil
below market price
if he were to annex
Kuwait
.
Strengthening Darwish's position as a leading regional investigative reporter during his time at The Independent (1986–1998), Darwish published numerous exclusive
stories, including his exposé on Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
's chemical weapons factory at Rabta
; the attempt on al-Gaddafi's life during a visit
by the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
; and the Libyan leader's efforts to buy a nuclear-powered
submarine
from a Russian captain. Darwish also revealed secret talks between Syria and Israel; the 1988 secret missile deal between Saudi Arabia
and China; and the role of the United States Navy
and Air Force
in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War and Hussein's long-standing relationship with the United States' Central Intelligence Agency
.
He was among the first writers to use the term "Islamists
" to refer to Islamic extremists employing violence.
Personally acquainted with most Middle Eastern leaders and statesmen, Darwish also had close ties to British Arabist
s and Foreign Office officials active in the region, known as the Camel Corps
. The many obituaries
he has written for The Independent, numbering more than 200, give a unique insight into a century of Middle Eastern history and the interaction of the British Empire
and the Arab world
.
For a period of approximately nine months and until December 2008, Darwish was director of the UK-based research organization Just Journalism
. He resigned citing disagreements with the organisation's chairwoman and founder, on the issue of neutrality.
As well as The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, Darwish has worked for The Times
and his articles have been printed in The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Scotsman
, The Washington Post
and The Economist
magazine. He frequently appears as a commentator on the BBC
, Sky News
and ITN, as well as major American and Canadian networks and Arabic-language television stations, including Nile TV
and Kuwait TV.
and at the Young Vic and several Fringe theatre
s in London during the 1970s. Most of his plays are adaptations
of poems and short stories
from Africa, especially from Egypt.
's International Council for Press and Broadcasting
media council awards, for his contribution to better understanding both in and towards the Middle East.
Darwish is a veteran Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
and has written for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, as well as maintaining his online blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
and publishing several books.
He is also a regional contributor for The Middle East.
Name
Darwish also writes under other Pennames like Alex Darwin and Alexander T Darwin and A Adel A.Despite the similarity in some translated Arabic names, Darwish is often wrongly placed with Arabic Journalists. This is a common error because of his expertise in the Middle East. Darwish is not an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, but understood to be of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an origin from the Balkans, the Macedonian parts. "Adel", as well as being common in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
(as عادل) and the correct format of it is 'al-adel' , is also a male name of Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
origin, meaning brave. The surname "Darwish" is commonly held in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, most famously by the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
poet Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
. However, its popularity meant that many Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
adopted the name to blend into their new environments. In this context, Darwish may be a corruption or Arabization
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...
of the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
name Darvic, pronounced "dar-vitch".
Early life
Darwish was born in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt, to Eastern European family from the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. His parents were Albanian Macedonian
Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia
Albanians are the largest ethnic minority in the Republic of Macedonia. Of the 2,022,547 citizens of Macedonia, 509,083, or 25%, are Albanian according to the latest national census in 2002. The Albanian minority lives mostly in the north-western part of the country...
but are also believed to have held British citizenship
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
or had strong links with Britain. His father, Menem Effendi
Effendi
Effendi, Effendy or Efendi is a title of nobility meaning a lord or master.It is a title of respect or courtesy, equivalent to the English Sir, which was used in Ottoman Empire...
, was postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
in Alexandria when the local postal service
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
was run by the British.
After attending British schools in Alexandria, Darwish moved to Britain in 1959 where he studied. He graduated in 1974, having also spent four semesters in the academic year 1971-1972 at Alexandria University
Alexandria University
Alexandria University is a university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fuad University , becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as Farouk University until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 when its name was changed to the University of Alexandria...
as part of his study of Middle East history
History of the Middle East
This article is a general overview of the history of the Middle East. For more detailed information, see articles on the histories of individual countries and regions...
.
After university, Darwish began his journalistic career in Africa, as a correspondent for several British Fleet Street newspapers, before moving to the Middle East to cover events there. Darwish reported on the Dawson's Field hijackings
Dawson's Field hijackings
In the Dawson's Field hijackings five jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine...
of several aircraft by the Palestinian radical group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
(PFLP), in 1970, and the ensuing Black September
Black September in Jordan
September 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events." It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the militancy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country. The...
clashes in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
.
Darwish was also sent to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
between 1970 and 1972. While in Iraq, he met Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, at that time still relatively unknown in the West and just beginning his political career as shadow
Shadow government
Shadow government may refer to:*An opposition government in a parliamentary system, see Shadow Cabinet*A term for plans for an emergency government that takes over in the event of a disaster, see continuity of government...
deputy leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
of the local Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
and vice-chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council
Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council
The Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council was established after the military coup in 1968, and was the ultimate decision making body in Iraq before the 2003 American-led invasion. It exercised both executive and legislative authority in the country, with the Chairman and Vice Chairman chosen by a...
. In 1973, Darwish moved permanently to the Middle East, and went on to cover that year's Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, in which Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
invaded Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to recapture land lost in the 1967 Six Day War.
Journalistic career
Adel Darwish is currently the Political Editor of the The Middle East (magazine)The Middle East (magazine)
The Middle East is a London-based monthly magazine which covers news, business and culture in the Arab world....
Group, based at the Parliamentary Press Gallery http://www.pressgallery.org.uk/ at the House of Commons United Kingdom in Westminster.
A prolific writer, Darwish covered the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
(1975–1990), the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on the 26th of March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords, which were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter.The peace...
(1980), the assassination of Egyptian President
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Anwar Al Sadat (1981) and his state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
, and the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
(1991).
Darwish was the first journalist in the world to expose
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
Saddam Hussein's missile
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
programme after an explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
in al-Hella, a facility south of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, killed over 800 people in August 1987. Darwish, together with Pierre Salinger
Pierre Salinger
Pierre Emil George Salinger was a White House Press Secretary to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...
, also had a scoop
Scoop (term)
Scoop is an informal term used in journalism. The word connotes originality, importance, surprise or excitement, secrecy and exclusivity.Stories likely considered to be scoops are important news, likely to interest or concern many people. A scoop is typically a new story, or a new aspect to an...
when he obtained the transcript
Transcript
Transcript may refer to:* Transcript , a copy of a student's permanent academic record* Transcription , the process of creating an equivalent RNA copy of a sequence of DNA* Transcript , a record of all court proceedings...
s of the meetings between United States' Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
April Glaspie
April Glaspie
April Catherine Glaspie is a former American diplomat, best known for her role in the events leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991.-Early life and career:...
and Saddam Hussein a week before the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait
Invasion of Kuwait
The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...
, in which Hussein made clear his aggressive intentions without any objections from Glaspie. Darwish's story was printed in The Independent in August 1990 with an agreement from Salinger that ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
would air
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
the story a few hours later. The day before, Darwish had published a story on the meeting
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
between the American chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
, Joseph C. Wilson
Joseph C. Wilson
Joseph Charles Wilson IV is a former United States diplomat best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent "outing" of his wife...
, and Saddam Hussein on 6 August 1990, when the Iraqi President
President of Iraq
The President of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution." The President is elected by the Council of...
offered to give America oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
below market price
Market price
In economics, market price is the economic price for which a good or service is offered in the marketplace. It is of interest mainly in the study of microeconomics...
if he were to annex
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
Strengthening Darwish's position as a leading regional investigative reporter during his time at The Independent (1986–1998), Darwish published numerous exclusive
Exclusive
Exclusive typically means not with other things or not including other things.The terms inclusive and exclusive are contrasting terms, and often appear in the same context to describe contrasting things.Exclusive may refer to:...
stories, including his exposé on Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
's chemical weapons factory at Rabta
Rabta
Rabta is a town and commune in Bordj Bou Arréridj Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 10,529.-References:...
; the attempt on al-Gaddafi's life during a visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
by the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
; and the Libyan leader's efforts to buy a nuclear-powered
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
from a Russian captain. Darwish also revealed secret talks between Syria and Israel; the 1988 secret missile deal between Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and China; and the role of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War and Hussein's long-standing relationship with the United States' Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
.
He was among the first writers to use the term "Islamists
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
" to refer to Islamic extremists employing violence.
Personally acquainted with most Middle Eastern leaders and statesmen, Darwish also had close ties to British Arabist
Arabist
This is an article about the western scholars known as Arabists, not the political movement Pan-Arabism.An Arabist is someone normally from outside the Arab World who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, and often Arabic literature.-Origins:Arabists began in medieval...
s and Foreign Office officials active in the region, known as the Camel Corps
Camel Corps
Several military units bore the name of Camel Corps:*The U.S. Camel Corps, a mid-nineteenth century experimental unit that used camels for transport*The Imperial Camel Corps, an Allied unit that fought in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I...
. The many obituaries
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
he has written for The Independent, numbering more than 200, give a unique insight into a century of Middle Eastern history and the interaction of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
For a period of approximately nine months and until December 2008, Darwish was director of the UK-based research organization Just Journalism
Just Journalism
Just Journalism is a UK-based research organisation and pressure group whose stated goals are to focus "on how Israel and Middle East issues are reported in the UK media." The organisation publishes online analyses in response to news stories, reports on "long-term trends", and opinion pieces for...
. He resigned citing disagreements with the organisation's chairwoman and founder, on the issue of neutrality.
As well as The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, Darwish has worked for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and his articles have been printed in The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
magazine. He frequently appears as a commentator on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
and ITN, as well as major American and Canadian networks and Arabic-language television stations, including Nile TV
Nile TV
Nile TV International is a state-owned Egyptian television channel. It is the second Egyptian satellite television news network in Egypt, and the first Arab satellite channel to broadcast its programs in foreign languages: English, French, and Hebrew....
and Kuwait TV.
Theatre
As a playwright, Darwish has been involved in British theatre, with some of his plays performed at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
and at the Young Vic and several Fringe theatre
Fringe theatre
Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
s in London during the 1970s. Most of his plays are adaptations
Literary adaptation
Literary adaptation is the adapting of a literary source to another genre or medium, such as a film, a stage play, or even ace video game...
of poems and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
from Africa, especially from Egypt.
Awards
Adel Darwish recently in 2008 won the "Cutting Edge Prize for an outstanding new ideas and contribution to peace and understanding via Journalism" from the Next Century FoundationNext Century Foundation
The Next Century Foundation is an elite organisation that operates in various conflict zones across the globe. Originally established in 1990 to provide a forum for off-the-record discussions between Palestinians and Israelis, in addition to maintaining its original focus on the Middle East Peace...
's International Council for Press and Broadcasting
International Council for Press and Broadcasting
The council is a subsidiary body of the Next Century Foundation, an organisation which deals primarily with conflict resolution issues and holds an annual International Media Awards in London...
media council awards, for his contribution to better understanding both in and towards the Middle East.
Publications
- Alexander, Gregory and Darwish, Adel: Unholy Babylon: The Secret History of Saddam's War, (London: Gollancz; New York: St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, 1991). ISBN 978-0-312-06531-7. - Bulloch, John and Darwish, Adel: Water Wars: Coming Conflicts in the Middle East, (London: Gollancz, 1993). ISBN 978-0-575-05533-9.
- Darwin, Alex ( Darwish's Penname): The Edge of War, Kuwait's Underground Resistance, Khafji 1990-1991 http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/alex+darwin/george+h-+w-+bush/the+edge+of+war/8555434/ Can of Worms, London, April 2011. IBSN 987-0-956863-40-9
- Darwish, Adel: Halabja: whom does the truth hurt? at openDemocracyOpenDemocracyopenDemocracy is a website for debate about international politics and culture, offering news and opinion articles from established academics, journalists and policymakers covering current issues in world affairs. openDemocracy was founded in 2000 by Anthony Barnett, David Hayes, Susan Richards and...
. - Darwish, Adel:Showdown interview with CNN :http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0210/02/se.12.html
- Darwish, Adel: Anti-Americanism in the Arabic Language Media in Middle East Review of International AffairsMiddle East Review of International AffairsMiddle East Review of International Affairs is a quarterly journal on Middle East issues edited by Barry Rubin and published by the Global Research in International Affairs Center of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, which he also owns and directs.The GLORIA Center also publishes...
, 7, 4 (December 2003). - Darwish, Adel; On reaction to 9/11 in the Middle East:http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/adel-darwish-to-many-arabs-bitter-about-the-west-this-was-a-kind-of-justice-751951.html
- Water Wars. A lecture given by Darwish to the Geneva Conference on Environment and Quality of Life. (June 1994).
- Darwish, Adel: Middle East Water Wars, BBC. Updated 30 May 2003. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- Darwish, Adel; In the anniversary of Iraq's murder of Observer reporter Farzad Bazoft: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/march/15/newsid_3506000/3506460.stm