As anti-government protests in Syria showed no sign of abating, the U.S. State Department Monday denied that it was seeking the regime’s ouster.
U.S. Denies It Is Trying to Undermine Assad
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Middle East & North Africa
Gulf of Mistrust: Iran and the Gulf Protests
Relations between Iran and the Gulf Arab states have always been marked by hostility and mistrust about mutual intentions. This mistrust has locked these states in a Cold War-like security dilemma. The Gulf elites who run the Gulf Cooperation Council have largely framed the recent popular protests in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as Shi’a conspiracies backed by Iran intended to instigate instability and internal strife.
The Economics of the Arab Spring
There’s no doubt the ongoing Middle Eastern revolutions make ample use of democratic slogans, encouraged by the civic spirit of millions that have marched for liberty and equality. Though many factors are contributing to the historic changes that are sweeping across the region, a combination of decades of aggressive economic liberalization and political repression has played a crucial role in mobilizing the masses against the hand of autocracy.
Al Qaeda Has Its Own “Superusers” and “Badges”
Al Qaeda uses the same web gimmicks as games and social networks to rally its base.
Taking R2P to the Next Level
Done properly, the U.N.’s Responsibility to Protect entails deployment of peacekeepers, provision of food and shelter, and democratic elections.
Enhanced Drone-Strike Accuracy Makes Accidents Look That Much More Suspicious
If U.S. is improving drone-strike accuracy in Pakistan, what happened on March 17 when 41, including women and children were killed?
From Baghdad’s Own Tahrir Square to Mosul: The Friday of the Free
“Iraqis have broken the chains. But the world is silent and apparently deaf and blind. Where is the free Western press?”
Tunisian Jews Resist Pressure From Israel to Emigrate
For the most part untroubled by anti-semitism, Tunisian Jews have little interest in emigrating to Israel.
Postcard from…Libya
Sixty years after the conclusion of World War II in North Africa, destroyed European weaponry once again litters Libya’s coastal roads as the civil conflict there enters its second month. But Europeans are not fighting on the ground in the former Italian colony. Rather, their arms are. In Libyan hands, European-made arms are part of a proxy battle that demonstrates the unintended consequences of the international arms trade.
Robert Kaplan Continues to Flog His Tribal Ruler Meme With Gaddafi, Gbagbo and Saleh
You might think that the poor critical reception he received for his book about tribal politics would make Robert Kaplan think twice before resurrecting the “warrior” leitmotif in relation to Gaddafi, Gbagbo, and Saleh.