Some suggested reading for 9/13: A “Humanitarian War” on Syria? Military Escalation. Towards a Broader Middle East-Central Asian War? – Global Research Kremlin firmly opposes UN sanctions on Syria – Washington Examiner In Syria: 2,600 Dead So Far, UN Official Says – Boise State Public Radio Has the Libyan Insurgency Begun? – Wired Danger Room Libya’s new harvest: the … More NFAM Reading List 9/13/2011
There are many challenges to real reform in the Middle East. These are none of them Now that these longstanding rulers are no longer in power in the two countries, where do these seemingly leaderless Arab revolts take Tunisians and Egyptians, and how will they effect change to their systems of governance? Virtually all previous … More Stupid Reasons to be Skeptical of the Arab Spring
So far, the Arab Awakening has toppled two regimes, in Egypt and Tunisia. Obviously, both countries have fared far better than their bloodier counterparts in Syria and Libya, but serious problem remain. Both countries have postponed elections (both until October – though this is not necessarily a bad thing) and have experienced revolutionary flashbacks with … More What Does a Successful Arab Revolution Look Like?
Earlier this week, Robert Fisk wrote a piece in The Independent decrying the fundamental hypocrisy of America’s Middle Eastern policy: Obama rhetorically supports democracy in the region but has not followed through on his high talk when it came to the Arab Spring. The schism between what Obama says and what the United States does is pretty … More Does Obama Think That Arabs Are Stupid?
Despite the disingenuous fuss that has been made about the mention of 1967 borders in the President’s Cairo II speech, Obama really did not say anything, despite standing at the microphone for nearly 50 minutes. In many ways unlike his Cairo speech in 2009, President Obama’s beautiful rhetoric was generally empty of any real meaning, … More Obama’s Empty Words
It was a little more than a month ago, when the protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh were just beginning, when President Saleh order the Yemeni army to protect all demonstrators and urged all to avoid violence. The order came after the death toll of the uprising reached 15. Needless to so, things have gotten worse, … More Saleh’s Evolution
Seven more Syrians died yesterday at the proclaimed ‘Day of Martyrs’ throughout Syria, bring the total number of dead to 75 since the clashes began in earnest two weeks ago. Yesterday, protests were held in the Damascus suburb of Douma, Al Sanameen, Daraa, Latakia, Homs, Baniyas and Kamishli. Meanwhile, for the first time, the Kurdish communities … More The Day of Martyrs Answers No Questions
A main topic on this site over the last few weeks has, of course, been the intervention in Libya. I have been pretty adamant in my opposition to American involvement in the mission (and the mission in general). In short, my opposition stemmed from launching an expensive war in a third Arab country, possible delegitimization of what … More Did The Intervention Work?
The Foreign Policy website recently published a piece entitled “We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Conflict” that highlighted the growing tensions between Hamas and Israel and the possibility of another war between the two sides. While the possibility – or perhaps probability – of war is indeed something that should be discussed, yet the … More Quote of the Day: Democracy in Israel
As NATO takes control of the western intervention efforts in Libya and the Saleh regime in Yemen seems certain to fall any day, an increasing number of eyes have been turning to Syria where the largest protests since the 1982 Hama massacre have been stunning the country and the government. Tensions have escalated in the … More And Then There Was Syria
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