A set of proposed constitutional amendments may allow Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fourth term. Although details of the reform package are not yet known,”Bouteflika’s allies say it will contain clauses that limit the army’s role in politics.” Bouteflika ‘s intention to allow for a vice-president post has been interpreted as a way for Bouteflika to run again despite his poor health. Nouredine Boukrouh, a former Bouteflika minister was quoted as saying ”if Bouteflika is recovering from a stroke and really wants to run for a fourth term, he will definitely need a vice president to back him and probably campaign on his behalf” continuing, “the new constitution will include the position of a vice president to allow Bouteflika continue to rule, so that if his condition deteriorates, the vice president will do the job.” However, Bouteflika has been silent on whether he will seek a fourth term while questions about the state of his health have gone mostly unanswered.

Eurasia Group analyst Riccardo Fabiani agreed that “without a the creation of a vice presidency, the president would probably be unable to run again, while his health remains a wild card.” Reuters stated that  ”it would not be the …

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Egypt Assistance Reform Act out of committee this week in a bipartisan vote of 16-1. The bill, introduced by chairman of the Committee Senator Rob Menendez (D-NJ), is a stand alone bill similar to the amendment Menendez and Corker (R-TN) introduced to the National Defense Authorization Act. According to Reuters, ”Wednesday’s committee vote cleared the legislation for consideration by the full Senate, but it was not certain when it might get to the floor, or whether it would be considered as a standalone bill or as part of a larger appropriations bill.”

At the Committee markup on Wednesday, Menendez said, “This legislation reaffirms the enduring U.S. commitment to our partnership with the Egyptian government by authorizing continued assistance and endorsing the importance of ongoing cooperation,” according to John Hudson of Foreign Policy. The article also notes that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), the only member of the Committee to vote against the bill, argued that the Committee, ”voted to weaken existing law and give the president more authority to send billions in aid to countries who violently overthrow their governments and engage in violence against their own …

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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released their annual prison report and for the second consecutive year Turkey ranked as the world’s leading jailer of journalists with 40 journalists in jail as of December 1. Also in the top ten from the Middle East are Iran (35), Syria (12), and Egypt (5).

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon indicated, “It is disturbing to see the number of jailed journalists rise in countries like Vietnam and Egypt. But it is frankly shocking that Turkey would be the world’s worst jailer of journalists for the second year in a row.” The Coordinator for CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Nina Ognianova suggested, “As a NATO member and a regional leader, Turkey should not belong in the list of top press jailers. But from the failure to reform its legislation in a meaningful way to the crackdown on its journalists in the aftermath of the Gezi park protests, Turkey has grown increasingly repressive,” despite the modest decline in jailed journalists from the year before.

In total, 211 journalists are currently jailed across the world, but this number does not include journalists jailed and released throughout the year. CBC News …

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Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Morsi will stand trial on charges of conspiring to commit “terrorist acts” in Egypt, according to Al Jazeera. Morsi has been previously accused of allegedly inciting the killing of opposition protesters. He is set to face new charges include divulging “secrets of defense to foreign countries” and “funding terrorism for militant training to fulfill the goals of the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.” The article suggests that the prosecutor said Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood allegedly planned “an alliance with the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.”

Meanwhile, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Uzra Zaya spoke about individual and human rights at the eighth annual Forum for the Future in Cairo. She argued that the Forum presented an opportunity to “affirm our commitment to empowering civil society, even as there are activists – including some in Egypt – who face criminal charges and intimidation for the peaceful exercise of their rights.” She also noted that the “carnage” of recent conflict “serves as a reminder that when governments suppress the rights of individuals and minorities- even when doing so is popular or done in the name of patriotism,” …

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The Washington Quarterly published a new report titled “Bringing the United States Back Into the Middle East” by Shadi Hamid and Peter Mandaville. Shadi Hamid is a POMED board member, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and a fellow at the Saban Center for the Middle East at the Brookings Institution. Peter Mandaville is a professor at George Mason University and a former member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff.

The article argues that while criticism of the Obama administration is valid, it is time to “move beyond critique and articulate not just a bold vision, but one that policymakers can realistically implement within very real economic and political constraints.” Hamid and Mandaville argue that to do this, the administration must reconsider counterproductive policies such as “turning a blind eye” to Arab countries so long as regimes assist with “regional security interests.” These policies, as well as the doctrine of “leading from behind,” have acted to confirm the belief that U.S. influence is in decline. The authors argue that the United States has more influence than it believes, and can use that influence by developing a new strategy.

Mandaville and Hamid propose that the …