MENASource brings you up-close to a region at the epicenter of geo-political headlines. It is the Atlantic Council’s hub for in-depth commentary about breaking news, key topics, and trends from our team of experts on the Middle East and North Africa.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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A Libyan Solution to the Benghazi Affair

MENASource
Jan 14, 2026

Voices from Iran: As rejection of government reaches all-time high, Iranians also wary of foreign intervention

If Trump is serious about peace, stability, and a lasting legacy, the path forward does not run through air strikes or transactional deals with a failing theocracy.

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A Libyan Solution to the Benghazi Affair

MENASource
Jan 28, 2026

Trump’s National Security Strategy doesn’t downgrade the Middle East, it redefines it

By
Kristian Alexander

Trump’s strategy is a sophisticated refinement of “America First.” For the Gulf, the implications are significant, but manageable.

Middle East
National Security

A Libyan Solution to the Benghazi Affair

MENASource
Jan 13, 2026

Eight questions (and expert answers) on the SDF’s withdrawal from Syria’s Aleppo

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts unpack why violence erupted, what it means for Kurdish safety and integration in Syria, and how Washington is engaging.

Civil Society
Conflict

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Content

MENASource

Mar 12, 2013

A Libyan Solution to the Benghazi Affair

By Karim Mezran

John Brennan’s successful appointment as CIA director suggests that the Benghazi incident’s hold on US domestic politics may finally ease up, but its impact inside Libya, and on US-Libya relations, remains as strong as ever. On the eve of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan’s visit to the United States, there is a strong possibility that […]

Libya
United States and Canada

MENASource

Mar 12, 2013

Outsourcing Justice in the Sinai: Sharia Courts Thrive in the Shadow of a Weak State

By Mara Revkin

The declaration of a state of emergency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on March 9 in anticipation of planned jihadist attacks on government targets indicates the seriousness of a systemic security breakdown that threatens to destabilize not only Egypt but also its volatile borders with Gaza and Israel. With an estimated 1,600 extremists on the loose […]

MENASource

Mar 12, 2013

Top News: Egypt Will Not Sign “Emergency” IMF Loan, Shura Council to Draft New Election Law

By Egypt Source

An Egyptian parliamentary panel decided on Monday to draw up a new election law, aiming to avoid delays after a court cancelled President Mohamed Morsi’s decree calling for parliamentary elections in April. 

MENASource

Mar 12, 2013

Is Inflation Hurting Growth in the Arab Transition Countries?

By Mohsin Khan

Since 2011 several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have undergone significant political transitions, whether through regime change (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen) or through reforms undertaken by the existing governments (Jordan and Morocco). The central economic objective of all these countries is to create sufficient jobs for their young and […]

Middle East

MENASource

Mar 11, 2013

Syria’s Opposition: Ready or Not?

By Frederic C. Hof

As the Syrian uprising approaches its second year surely it is fair, with the passage of so much time, to pose a question: what good is an opposition that is not prepared to govern? 

International Organizations
Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 11, 2013

Top News: Islamist political parties form electoral alliance

By Egypt Source

 Seven Islamist political parties have launched the Umma Alliance (Nation Alliance) announcing their collaboration to protect the "achievements of the January 25 Revolution" and stand against those who interrupt the "constitutional path that allows people to choose their ruler."  GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Presidential source: Morsi to call for new national dialogue President Mohamed Morsi will […]

MENASource

Mar 9, 2013

Egypt’s Police Strike and the Need for Reform

By Tarek Radwan

A long-brewing battle within Egypt’s ministry of interior has culminated into a potentially indefinite countrywide strike by police officers. The build up to this massive breakdown in the command and control structure inside the government’s primary security apparatus began as a few scattered protests across the different governorates of Egypt. Some of the police conscripts […]

MENASource

Mar 8, 2013

Off the Egyptian Press: To Boycott or Not?

By Andrew Ver Steegh

Reactions to the National Salvation Front’s decision last week to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections – which have since been delayed due to legal wrangling – generally followed well-established rhetorical lines. Supporters of the boycott lamented President Morsi’s mismanagement, the ‘brotherhoodization’ of the country and saw a boycott as a way to deny the current […]

MENASource

Mar 8, 2013

Top News: Egypt Police Strike, Want ‘Out of Politics’

By Egypt Source

Policemen across Egypt staged a strike on Thursday to demand the resignation of the interior minister, saying they no longer wanted to be used as a political tool, security officials said.  GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Egypt’s opposition senses chance in election debacle To Egypt’s opposition, a court ruling throwing the electoral process into limbo offers an opportunity to […]

MENASource

Mar 8, 2013

Can Syria Be Saved?

By Frederic C. Hof

Syria’s descent into state failure now seems unchecked and inevitable. Nearly two years of turmoil have produced over a million refugees, with at least two million more internally displaced. Fighting rages on between a family-based regime willing to destroy the country rather than yield power, and a disjointed opposition whose fragmentation makes victory and defeat […]

Syria
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