“Do you hear the people sing, singing a song of angry men, it is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.”-- Les Miserables 32 million Egyptians in the streets can’t all be wrong This time the Egyptian people did not wait 41 years to bring down what could...
From Egypt to Syria: Is the Gulf Cooperation Council the Tail That Wags the U.S. Dog?
For U.S. policy-makers, the annual allocation of 1.3 billion dollars provided to Egypt has been a vital tool for maintaining its sphere of influence with the Egyptian government. When I read that the Egyptian military had issued an ultimatum to the Morsi government to...
A New and Improved FPIF
This past week, as many of you have probably noticed, FPIF rolled out a brand-new redesigned website. We're still in the process of transitioning a few things, but it's my great pleasure to show you what we've done so far. Foremost of all, we've modernized our front...
Abbottabad Evidence of Pakistan’s ‘Governance Implosion Syndrome’?
In the wake of the American raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in 2011, the Pakistani government formed what came to be known as the Abbottabad Commission. Its mission: to investigate two security lapses, one more embarrassing and indicative of incompetence than the...
Egypt: Islamist Style of Governing Should Be Familiar to Americans
New York Times columnist David Brooks was rightly taken to task for his July 4th column about the current upheavals in Egypt. Writing about what happens when groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood assume the leadership of a nation, he makes sense at first. Democracy,...
Speaking Openly in Serbia
The situation in for the HIV and AIDS population in Serbia has marginally improved.
Burma President’s Dangerous Refusal to Condemn Buddhists for Violence Against Rakhine Muslims
If Thein Sein continues to support a campaign that preaches hate, he will effectively obliterate the nation’s chances of restoring peace and creating unity among its diverse peoples.
Poison Gas and Arabian Tales
Would the Assad government really “cross the red line” in order to kill 150 people?
Emphasis Added: the Week in Pieces (7/5)
From Edward Snowden to Taliban drug dealing to Stratfor’s ruined credibility.
Two Cheers for the Serbian Government
Danilo Vukovic has a more charitable view of the Serbian government than many of his colleagues from other NGOs.