Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:09:24 +0000,
Middle East
Paul R. Pillar The political inanity about what was said or not said in the first hours and days after the incident in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens continues, and it continues to move farther away from anything of importance to U.S. policy and U.S. interests. With the fixation on minutiae about the editing of some preliminary talking points, it moves farther away even from anything that makes sense in terms of competitive politics. ... More »
Paul R. Pillar The political inanity about what was said or not said in the first hours and days after the incident in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens continues, and it continues to move farther away from anything of importance to U.S. policy and U.S. interests. With the fixation on minutiae about the editing of some preliminary talking points, it moves farther away even from anything that makes sense in terms of competitive politics. ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:53:15 +0000,
Middle East
Alexa L. McMahon Several technology monitoring services and The Washington Post are confirming that the Internet has been completely shut off in Syria since early afternoon today. While Assad's government is crying terrorist, all signs point to it following the Libyan and Egyptian models of a government-induced blackout to stifle communication among the opposition. Perhaps the rebels' recent strategic victories are proving more troublesome to the Syrian autocracy than first thought. ... More »
Alexa L. McMahon Several technology monitoring services and The Washington Post are confirming that the Internet has been completely shut off in Syria since early afternoon today. While Assad's government is crying terrorist, all signs point to it following the Libyan and Egyptian models of a government-induced blackout to stifle communication among the opposition. Perhaps the rebels' recent strategic victories are proving more troublesome to the Syrian autocracy than first thought. ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:38:11 +0000,
The Middle East Channel
While the gradual meltdown of the Egyptian constitution-drafting process has been at center stage in Cairo over the past few months, the negotiations between the Egyptian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8 billion loan have rapidly become central to political conversations in Egypt. Egypt has a checkered past with the IMF. While it views Egypt as a success story for structural adjustment and privatization during the infitah, Anwar Sadat's economic liberalization, ... More »
While the gradual meltdown of the Egyptian constitution-drafting process has been at center stage in Cairo over the past few months, the negotiations between the Egyptian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8 billion loan have rapidly become central to political conversations in Egypt. Egypt has a checkered past with the IMF. While it views Egypt as a success story for structural adjustment and privatization during the infitah, Anwar Sadat's economic liberalization, ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:54:00 +0000,
The Middle East Channel
At 12:26 pm today in Syria, 92 percent of the country's networks went offline - shutting the country off almost completely from the Internet. (Update: 100 percent of Syrian networks are now offline.) The Internet blackout comes at a time when Syria's rebels are believed to be making significant gains around Damascus. This map provides a snapshot of the insurgents' gains (in red) around the capital's suburbs. The fear among opposition activists is that the shutdown ... More »
At 12:26 pm today in Syria, 92 percent of the country's networks went offline - shutting the country off almost completely from the Internet. (Update: 100 percent of Syrian networks are now offline.) The Internet blackout comes at a time when Syria's rebels are believed to be making significant gains around Damascus. This map provides a snapshot of the insurgents' gains (in red) around the capital's suburbs. The fear among opposition activists is that the shutdown ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:07:16 +0000,
The Middle East Channel
Palestine is likely to win "non-member state" status today in a vote by the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinian Liberation Organization believes it has support of 130 members of the 193-member body, and the bid only needs a simple majority to pass. If successful, the Palestinian status will be elevated from observer entity to observer state, equal to that of the Vatican. The bid has been strongly opposed by the Israel and the United ... More »
Palestine is likely to win "non-member state" status today in a vote by the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinian Liberation Organization believes it has support of 130 members of the 193-member body, and the bid only needs a simple majority to pass. If successful, the Palestinian status will be elevated from observer entity to observer state, equal to that of the Vatican. The bid has been strongly opposed by the Israel and the United ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:35:00 -0600,
The Week: Most Recent middle-east
At 5:26 a.m. New York time (12:26 p.m. in Damascus), Syria's internet went dark. According to two U.S. internet monitoring companies, Renesys and Akamai Technologies, Syria is now completely cut off from the e-world, with all internet connections down along with at least some phone service. "A smaller outage could be chalked up to an errant mortar shell," but the entire country? says Sam Biddle at Gizmodo. "Only the Syrian regime has the power to ... More »
At 5:26 a.m. New York time (12:26 p.m. in Damascus), Syria's internet went dark. According to two U.S. internet monitoring companies, Renesys and Akamai Technologies, Syria is now completely cut off from the e-world, with all internet connections down along with at least some phone service. "A smaller outage could be chalked up to an errant mortar shell," but the entire country? says Sam Biddle at Gizmodo. "Only the Syrian regime has the power to ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:08:19 EST,
CNN.com - Middle East
Thick, handsome mustaches have long been prized by men throughout the Middle East as symbols of masculine virility, wisdom and maturity. ... More »
Thick, handsome mustaches have long been prized by men throughout the Middle East as symbols of masculine virility, wisdom and maturity. ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:46:00 -0600,
The Week: Most Recent middle-east
As of Thursday morning, it appeared likely that the United Nations General Assembly would approve the Palestinian Authority's bid for recognition as a state. (Update: The General Assembly has indeed voted in Palestinians' favor.) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' plan to make a personal appeal to upgrade the Palestinians' status from an "entity" to a "non-member observer state" gained momentum this week as France, Spain, and other powerful nations ignored opposition from the U.S. and ... More »
As of Thursday morning, it appeared likely that the United Nations General Assembly would approve the Palestinian Authority's bid for recognition as a state. (Update: The General Assembly has indeed voted in Palestinians' favor.) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' plan to make a personal appeal to upgrade the Palestinians' status from an "entity" to a "non-member observer state" gained momentum this week as France, Spain, and other powerful nations ignored opposition from the U.S. and ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:34:44 -0500,
CFR.org - Middle East
After decades of fueling hunger for oil in the United States, Europe, and China, Blake Clayton says that the Middle East itself has developed a voracious appetite for energy. ... More »
After decades of fueling hunger for oil in the United States, Europe, and China, Blake Clayton says that the Middle East itself has developed a voracious appetite for energy. ... More »
Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +0000,
Middle East
James Jay Carafano At some point, Hamas and Israel will have had so many armed confrontations that they’ll have to stop naming the operations and just give them numbers. But don’t think these future conflicts will be indistinguishable from what’s happened so far. At some point, these flare-ups could get worse—a lot worse. Serious Standoff So far the duels between the Israeli military and Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza have been tactical skirmishes. ... More »
James Jay Carafano At some point, Hamas and Israel will have had so many armed confrontations that they’ll have to stop naming the operations and just give them numbers. But don’t think these future conflicts will be indistinguishable from what’s happened so far. At some point, these flare-ups could get worse—a lot worse. Serious Standoff So far the duels between the Israeli military and Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza have been tactical skirmishes. ... More »