Atlantic Council blogs

Security in Libya Becomes a Political Bargaining Chip

By Mohamed Eljarh

After nearly two years since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime in 2011, the unstable security situation has become a political bargaining chip in a wider struggle for power in post-revolution Libya.  Libya’s Army Chief Youssef al-Mangoush resigned a day after deadly clashes between anti-militia protesters and a government-sanctioned militia, one that nominally fell under […]

This Week in Egypt – June 21, 2013

By Amira Mikhail

Catch up on the latest out of Egypt every week, with analysis, news updates, photos, videos, and more. Quotes of the Week "The new NGO draft law will close the door to Europeans and Americans who want to spread immorality in Egyptian society. NGOs that aim to play in politics or that want to promote […]

Tamarod: A First Hand Account

By Amira Mikhail

It was the first time on the streets that I was not met with aggression as I roamed around gathering signatures for Tamarod. I usually experienced distrustful glares or comments, angry remarks expressing how I was destroying the country or vows that I was not Egyptian and had no right to be on the streets […]

Turkey: Calm Returns – but Calm Before What?

By Ross Wilson

Tomorrow’s headlines could be different, but Istanbul seems to calming after the protests and violence that have wracked the city since late May.  Looking back, what took place is significant and in many respects unprecedented. 

US Secretly Providing Heavy Weapons Training for Syrian Rebels

By David S. Cloud and Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

Top News: Thousands Rally for ‘Legitimate’ Morsi in ‘No to Violence’ Rally in Cairo

 Thousands of Islamist supporters of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi gathered in Cairo after Friday prayers to show support for the elected head of state ahead of protests his opponents hope can force him from office. The pro-Morsi rallies, which were organized under the banner of ‘denouncing violence,’ come ahead of planned anti-Morsi protests on June 30. […]

Nostalgia Is Not Strategy

By Robert Manning

President Obama’s Berlin speech and trip to Europe came at a historical inflection point: The European Union (EU) has been in recession and financial crisis for more than four years. Youth unemployment is a staggering 25 percent. The very idea of Europe is being called into question. Moreover, NATO’s purpose leaves many scratching their heads, […]

C-Castration

By Julian Lindley-French

Winston Churchill once famously said, “We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all the other possibilities”.  Sadly, having just arrived in Washington I am not so sure. Dear old Johnny Yank seems to have invented an entirely new form of non-government called ’C-Castration’, or something such.  Now, […]