Middle East & North Africa Archives - Page 214 of 633

Whither the Party Line on Egypt?

by Jack Ross | Feb 3, 2011

Revolutions of world-historic potential, such as we are presently witnessing in Egypt, only happen once in a generation. There is enough awkwardness among the Washington establishment—bewildered at the sight of an uprising against a client state—that they are completely helpless to do much of anything in the face of the tumult on the Egyptian street. But no one is confronting a more awkward comeuppance, and responding to it more erratically, than the neoconservatives.

Fear of the Muslim Brotherhood Trumps Western Wishes for Democracy in Egypt

by Ian Williams | Feb 3, 2011

Neither should we underestimate Israel’s support for Mubarak as a motive for protesting Egyptians.

Egypt: Back Against the Wall, a Tyrant Embraces Anarchy

by Lieven De Cauter | Feb 2, 2011

When tyranny is threatened by internal turmoil and uproar, it sometimes stoke the forces of anarchy.

Regime Change Redux

by Abena Ampofoa Asare | Feb 2, 2011

The lesson of Tunis, Sanaa, and Cairo is that democracy rhetoric is more than a strategy for the assertion of American dominance. On the contrary, it is a language that fuses moral and political power into a radical claim that every human being deserves a voice in the decisions that affect their daily lives. The United States tried to promote democracy through the barrel of a gun. It’s time now for Washington to support democracy in the Middle East by pressing its authoritarian allies to put their guns away.

Why Washington Clings to a Failed Middle-East Strategy

by Gareth Porter | Feb 1, 2011

We face the distinct possibility that the U.S. national security bureaucracy will continue to deny the disastrous consequences of our client-regime national-security strategy.

Two Cheers for the Brotherhood

by John Feffer | Feb 1, 2011

In the latest news out of Egypt, where people power is confronting regime rigidity, President-for-life Hosni Mubarak is doing what he can to maintain his perch. He has named a new cabinet, deployed more troops in the cities, and blocked al-Jazeera broadcasts. The opposition, meanwhile, hopes to bring a million people into Cairo’s streets to give the regime a final boot.

Will Computer Virus Stuxnet Sow Not Only Destruction, But Death?

by Russ Wellen | Feb 1, 2011

A computer virus might seem like the perfect way to stop Iran’s nuclear program. But it could spin out of control.

Sexual Prey in the Saudi Jungle

by Walden Bello | Feb 1, 2011

He was an officer in the Saudi Royal Navy assigned to the strategic Saudi base of Jubail in the Persian Gulf, and he wanted to hire a maid. She was a single mom from Mindanao in the Philippines who saw, like so many others, employment in Saudi Arabia as a route out of poverty. When he picked her up at the Dammam International Airport last June, little did she know she was entering not a brighter chapter of her life but a chamber of horrors from which she would be liberated only after six long months.

Tunisia’s Spark and Egypt’s Flame: the Middle East is Rising

by Phyllis Bennis | Jan 31, 2011

The breadth and depth of the spreading protests, the helplessness of the U.S.-backed governments to stop them, and the rapidly diminishing ability of the United States to protect its long-time clients, are resulting in a level of revolutionary fervor not visible in the Middle East in a generation.

U.S. Policy Exposed by Mid-East Protests

by Rob Prince | Jan 31, 2011

For Washington, London, Paris and Berlin, the current upsurge of region-wide protests in the Middle East falls somewhere between a setback and a debacle.