democracy

Posted on Tue, March 22, 2011 at 17:34 pm CET

WikiLeaks: Yemeni insiders Increasingly Frustrated with Saleh Clan

President Saleh is more interested in enriching his family than in making the strategic choices necessary to lead Yemen into the future… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, March 21, 2011 at 23:57 pm CET

Middle East on Fire: March 21, 2011

Events are happening so fast that I can only summarize, trying to add some analytical depth to each development. So here goes… Continue reading

Posted on Fri, March 18, 2011 at 23:58 pm CET

No Wonder Hillary Resigned! Mr. Burns Explains U.S. Middle East Policy

For a comprehensive statement of current U.S. Middle East policy you can’t do better than the testimony of Undersecretary of State for… Continue reading

Posted on Fri, March 18, 2011 at 18:24 pm CET

Yemen Declares ‘State of Emergency’ after Protest Massacre

President Saleh announces state of emergency after dozens are killed in a crackdown on anti-government protests. Witnesses… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, March 17, 2011 at 21:52 pm CET

Egyptian Politics Get Dangerously Messy

The issue now is a March 19 referendum on the constitutional changes proposed by a small army-appointed panel. The panel was… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, March 17, 2011 at 00:59 am CET

Deadly Crackdown on Bahrain Protesters, Iran Rattled by Saudi Military Intervention

The contest between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the Sunni-Shiite split in the Arab world were ramped up to a dangerous level… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, March 15, 2011 at 22:56 pm CET

Egyptian Revolutionaries Ungrateful to Obama Administration

Who’d possibly have thought it? Answer: Anybody who understands the Middle East. You see, the Obama Administration rushed… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, March 15, 2011 at 18:54 pm CET

What Should U.S. Policy be Toward the Current Middle East Situation?

People ask me what the United States should be doing toward the upheavals in the Middle East. Here’s a short, quick list of themes… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, March 14, 2011 at 01:16 am CET

Iran: Ministry of Intelligence steps up Activities as Opposition Demonstrations Resume

Last Thursday (March 3), Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei held a brief visit to the Ministry of Intelligence headquarters in Tehran. Khamenei visited… Continue reading

Posted on Sun, March 13, 2011 at 01:57 am CET

Turkey Remains an “Angry Nation” but could still serve as a Democratic Inspiration

Turkey remains an “Angry nation”, tormented by the many ghosts of its history, some of which still lurk in the shadows. Its political system… Continue reading

Posted on Sat, March 12, 2011 at 19:31 pm CET

Arab Political Upheavals: Obsession with Israel Blinded Westerners to the Real Middle East

As we consider the lessons of the dramatic upheavals in Arabic-speaking countries one of the main ones is this: the overriding obsession with… Continue reading

Posted on Sat, March 12, 2011 at 01:17 am CET

Squaring the Circle: The PKK Return to Violence and Turkey’s Intractable Kurdish Problem

On February 28, 2011, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it was abrogating its unilateral ceasefire first declared on… Continue reading

Posted on Fri, March 11, 2011 at 19:36 pm CET

Amr Moussa: Meet Egypt’s Next President?

It’s now official. The Egyptian presidential election will pit Amr Moussa against Muhammad ElBaradei. It’s hard to see a… Continue reading

Posted on Fri, March 11, 2011 at 00:28 am CET

Why Does the Media Report the Opposite of What’s True in the Middle East?

Here’s one of a thousand examples of how Middle East reality is being misrepresented. I’m told by people that the deputy head of… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, March 10, 2011 at 01:49 am CET

Ending Turkey’s nightmare

The arrest of prominent journalists in Turkey on March 3, among them a recipient of the International Press Institute’s “World Press Freedom Hero” award… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, March 10, 2011 at 00:49 am CET

Palestinian Leaders’ Response to Democratic Upheaval: Fire the Honest Guy

The Palestinian Authority doesn’t have to worry about democratic upheavals since it has the nationalist and anti-Israel cards to play… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, March 9, 2011 at 22:27 pm CET

Bahrain Opposition Cleric: We Want Sharia Law State

Not everyone in the opposition movements in Arab countries are Islamists, of course, but at least outside of… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, March 9, 2011 at 21:55 pm CET

Hamas Applauds anti-Israel Position of the New Egyptian Foreign Minister

Hamas applauded Nabil al-Arabi’s statements. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called his positions “honorable” and said he… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, March 9, 2011 at 20:40 pm CET

Egypt and the Middle East: Romanticism Meets Reality

The projected million-women march turned out just 400 and they were harassed and in some cases attacked. Meanwhile, thousands of Muslims and Christians… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, March 9, 2011 at 18:27 pm CET

Egypt: Women Suffer Assault and Derision at Tahrir March

The romanticism of the Egyptian Revolution meets the reality of Islam dominated society. Read this report by Ali Abdel Mohsen about the Million Women March… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, March 9, 2011 at 17:30 pm CET

Gaddafi: The Libyan People ‘will take up Arms against Western Powers’ if Attacked

The Libyan people will take up arms against Western powers if they seek to enforce a no-fly zone in their country’s airspace… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, March 8, 2011 at 17:09 pm CET

Iran: Rafsanjani Loses Key Post, Mahdavi Kani New Assembly of Experts Chairman

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been replaced as head of the Assembly of Experts committee constitutionally tasked with… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, March 7, 2011 at 20:27 pm CET

Arab Liberals Worry About an Islamist Egypt; Western Observers Claim There’s No Threat

while Western observers ridicule the fear of an Islamist Egypt, a lot of Arab writers are very worried. In fact, here are three articles that display such concerns… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, March 7, 2011 at 00:07 am CET

Iran to Ban Keeping Pet Dogs, Considered a “Blind Imitation” of Western Culture

Keeping pet dogs, considered to be unclean (Najes) in Shi’ite law, is viewed as an expression of the corrupting influence of the West… Continue reading