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Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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MENASource

Apr 5, 2013

Mystery Meat at al-Azhar Shakes up Egypt’s Ideological Front Lines

By Kurt Werthmuller

Egypt’s social, political, and economic fabric appears this spring as fragile as it has ever been, between violent clashes near the Muslim Brotherhood’s Muqattam headquarters two weeks ago, repressive legal campaigns against Bassem Youssef and Ali Qandil, and a disturbing trend of radical Islamist vigilantism. Given this mess, it’s easy to overlook the messy aftermath […]

NATOSource

Apr 5, 2013

Russian bombers conduct practice strikes on U.S. missile defenses

By Bill Gertz, Free Beacon

From Bill Gertz, Free Beacon:  A Russian bomber recently carried out simulated cruise missile attacks on U.S. missile defenses in Asia, raising new questions about Moscow’s goal in future U.S.-Russian defense talks.

NATOSource

Apr 5, 2013

Cyber Necessity: Stopping companies from selling insecure software

By Marc Maiffret, New York Times

From Marc Maiffret, New York Times: Too much of the debate begins and ends with the perpetrators and the victims of cyberattacks, and not enough is focused on the real problem: the insecure software or technology that allows such attacks to succeed.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

NATOSource

Apr 5, 2013

U.K., U.S. cooperation strong in Arabian Gulf

By Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News

From Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News:  British and American forces have long cooperated in a variety of endeavors, but here in the Arabian Gulf, where both navies maintain sizable mine countermeasures forces, the bonds are especially strong against a common enemy: the sea mine.

United Kingdom

MENASource

Apr 5, 2013

Lebanon’s parliamentary consultations: Political breakthrough or deadlock?

By Faysal Itani and Sarah Grebowski

Despite media warnings of a political vacuum in Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Lebanon, many Lebanese politicians seem more relieved than worried. Although the government’s collapse does indeed raise the risk of destabilization as Lebanon grapples with the spillover effect of Syria’s war, the country’s current crisis is better described […]

Middle East

NATOSource

Apr 5, 2013

Bulgaria offers to host NATO cyber defense center

By Novinite

From Novinite:  President Rosen Plevneliev has spoken in favor of the creation of a NATO cyber defense backup center in Bulgaria.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 5, 2013

Connecting NATO Forces…and Minds

By Julian Lindley-French

“A thorough examination of the way our military is organized and operates will…highlight our inherent strengths.  Our strategic planning must emphasize these strengths, which include leader development, training, mobility and logistics, special operations forces, cyber, space, research and development.”

NATO Security & Defense

MENASource

Apr 5, 2013

Top News: Fire Destroys Offices at South Cairo Criminal Court; Judge Says Fires Were Deliberate

By Egypt Source

A fire has severely damaged the prosecution offices at the South Cairo Criminal Court in Bab El-Khalq. The fire, which broke out early on Thursday morning, destroyed everything inside and caused the ceiling to collapse, al-Ahram Arabic news website reports. 

MENASource

Apr 5, 2013

Implications of Egypt’s Sukuk Law

By David Mikhail

The Shura Council approved the Sukuk Law on March 19, 2013, sending it on its way to final approval by the presidency. As the first legislation to follow the FJP’s strong rhetoric on the subject of Islamic finance, the law seems to carry a dual-mandate: an addition to Egypt’s dwindling economic crisis-management tools that doubles […]

NATOSource

Apr 4, 2013

NATO praises British submarines for contributing to alliance’s nuclear deterrence

By Britain’s Ministry of Defense

From Britain’s Ministry of Defense:  Full text of letter from NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

United Kingdom