Category: Blogs

The Aspirations of Egypt’s Forgotten Atheists and Shiites

By Fady Salah

The new amendments in Egypt’s 2012 controversial constitution succeeded in satisfying the Nubian and Amazigh minorities living in Egypt. Nubian novelist Haggag Oddoul, who represented Nubians in the fifty-member assembly amending the constitution and Amany El-Wesahy, the head of Egypt’s Amazigh community told EgyptSource the new constitution emphasizes Egypt’s cultural diversity and protects the rights […]

Europeans Less Able, Americans Less Willing?

By Daniel Keohane, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Europeans are becoming less capable militarily, having moved from a military reform to austerity paradigm since 2008.

The Coming Technological Revolution: Opportunities and Perils

By Peter Engelke

After watching the second panel of the Strategic Foresight Forum, Global Strategists: How Prepared Are We for the Future?, Strategic Foresight Initiative Senior Fellow Peter Engelke wrote down some of his thoughts on the conversation.

Syria: Talk to Assad?

By Frederic C. Hof

Commenting recently to The New York Times, Ryan Crocker (the former United States ambassador to Syria and several other places) suggested, “We need to start talking to the Assad regime again… It will have to be done very, very quietly. But bad as Assad is, he is not as bad as the jihadis who would […]

Can the United States Government Keep Up?

By Jeff Lightfoot

After watching the opening debate of the Strategic Foresight Forum, A Race Against Time, Deputy Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center Jeff Lightfoot put down some of his thoughts on the subjects covered.

Tech Horror Film or American Renaissance?

By Mathew J. Burrows

“…Once it may have been hard to buy the swift collapse of order that is made palpably real in ‘Contagion,’ if Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath had not already set the stage. ..Yet what’s really scary in “Contagion” is how fast once-humming airports and offices, homes and cities empty out when push comes to shove comes to […]

An Economic Vision for the New Libya

By Nate Mason

Leaders of the new Libya have never articulated a way forward for the nation. In the absence of a unifying goal, the state is devolving into a zero-sum battle for oil wealth among tribal, religious, and municipally identified groups. This devolution is exacerbated by several factors, but primarily it is a fight over resources. Libyans […]

UN to Inspect Libya’s Uranium Stocks Amid Worsening Security

By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters

A U.N. nuclear team will visit Libya this month to assess the safety of thousands of barrels of milled uranium – known as yellowcake – amid concerns about the country’s deteriorating security situation, a U.N. official said on Monday.

Top News: Judges Recuse Themselves as Brotherhood Leaders Trials Begin

Giza’s criminal court on Monday postponed the trial of top Muslim Brotherhood leaders to February 11 so that it can study the case and declare witnesses. Earlier on Saturday, the Judges of Cairo Criminal Court recused themselves from the trial of Muslim Brotherhood leading figure Mohamed al-Beltagy and Islamist preacher Safwat Hegazy, saying it has felt unease over […]