This excerpt is taken from my article originally published here on Al Monitor on Monday, June 18, 2012. I hope you find it interesting and I look forward to reading your comments.  Read more »

The Sandmonkey says Egypt’s revolutionaries suffer from Groupthink.

The BBC offers a Q&A on this week’s ruling by the Egyptian Supreme Court, explaining exactly what it means and what impact it might have going forward. Read more »

This article originally appeared here on ForeignPolicy.com on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. I hope you find it interesting and look forward to reading your comments.  Read more »

My friend, Karim Mezran, weighs in with a guest post today on an under-reported meeting between a prominent Libyan Islamist and members of Qaddafi’s entourage in Cairo.  What is going on Libya?

The recent meeting in Cairo between Ali Sallabi, an important figure of the Libyan Islamist circles, and Ahmed Qaddafi Eddam, cousin of the late Muammar al-Qaddafi and one of the most relevant members of the former strongman’s entourage, has provoked widespread controversy and criticism. The meeting threatens to become another divisive issue for the Libyan people.  Addressing this issue should be taken quite seriously, however, as it appears to highlight one of the largest problems facing the transition to democracy in Libya: the National Transitional Council (NTC). Read more »

Yesterday there were two interesting Syria pieces in the Sunday papers.  The Washington Post ran a story by Liz Sly—who, by the way, has been killing it on Syria for months—about the increasing capacity and coordination of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).  Apparently, Gulf money and weapons bought with these funds are now flowing to the FSA, with American assistance of some sort, after a slow start. Neil MacFarquhar weighed in at the New York Times with reporting detailing fissures within Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s Alawi community. Most of the reporting on Syria since the uprising began in March 2011 indicates that the country’s Alawis, which make up 12 or 13 percent of the country’s 22.5 million citizens, have coalesced around Assad out of fear for what might happen to them if the regime falls.  As MacFarquhar makes clear, reality is far more complex and nuanced.  Imagine that. Granted, he only had access to a dozen people, but along with Alawis who are deeply suspicious of the Sunni majority and are dismayed that Assad has not been tough enough on the rebellion, there are those who are profoundly ashamed of the crimes the regime has committed. Read more »

Before there was Mohamed Bouazizi there was Khaled Said.

The official “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page that helped instigate the January 25 uprising in Egypt and brought the issue of police torture to the forefront. Read more »

Yesterday, an Istanbul court ordered that the Israeli government be notified of Turkey’s indictments of four of Israel’s former senior most members of the country’s security establishment—Major General Gabi Ashkenazi, General Amos Yadlin, Brigadier General Avishai Levy, and Vice Admiral Eliezer Merom.  The charges against the Israelis stem from the infamous May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident when a flotilla of six vessels sought to run Israel’s naval quarantine of the Gaza Strip and dealt yet another blow to Turkey-Israel relations. Read more »

The verdicts in the trial of the Mubaraks, former Interior Minister Habeeb al Adly, and eleven senior Ministry of Interior officials came in on Saturday morning and like clockwork protesters are out in Tahrir Square again.  It’s no surprise why.  The Ministry of Interior officials were acquitted as were Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa.  The former president and al Adly were each given life sentences, but I’m told the acquittals of the others lay the legal groundwork for Mubarak and al Adly to be cleared on appeal.  Justice was not served. Read more »

Nathalie Tocci writes about the EU’s response to the Arab Spring after more than a year after its beginning.

Reidar Visser discusses Maliki’s consolidation of power. Read more »