Category: Blogs

The View from Washington on Egypt’s CBC [Video]

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Director Michele Dunne appeared on Egyptian channel CBC to discuss the current situation in Egypt. Topics of particular focus including US policy towards Egypt, the Egyptian opposition, and ongoing negotiations between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8 billion loan.

Pentagon discloses that U.S. has already deployed a small number of troops in Mali

By Craig Whitlock, Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, Washington Post:  The Pentagon has deployed a small number of troops to Mali to support allied forces fighting there, despite repeated pledges by the Obama administration not to put “boots on the ground” in the war-torn African country.

In a first, a Russian warship docks in Israel

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russia’s large landing ship Azov entered the Israeli port of Haifa on Wednesday, marking the first time a Russian warship calls at an Israeli port. Azov will stay in Haifa until Friday to resupply and allow the crew to rest, a spokesman for the Russian Navy said. . . . Azov is […]

Expanding the Transatlantic Relationship

By James Joyner

Today, the Atlantic Council officially launches the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, which is dedicated to forging an effective Latin America-US-Europe partnership of common values and shared interests. The Center was made possible by a $5 million founding grant by philanthropist and businesswoman Adrienne Arsht, who became passionate about Latin American issues after moving to Miami in […]

NATO AWACS provided security support for Dutch royal handover

By NATO

From NATO:  NATO radar surveillance aircraft, known as AWACS, patrolled the skies over the Dutch capital of Amsterdam on Tuesday (30 April), working with the Royal Netherlands Air Force to safeguard Dutch airspace during the royal investiture ceremonies and festivities.

Top News: Egyptian Workers to Press for Revolution’s Demands on Labor Day

By Egypt Source

On Wednesday, Egyptian workers will celebrate the first Labor Day since the election of President Mohamed Morsi, by voicing longstanding demands and unfulfilled promises. A march organized by dozens of political parties, movements and labor organizations saw thousands of workers march from Sayyeda Zeinab near downtown Cairo to the Shura Council.

Libya, Egypt and the Corruption of New Democracies

By Karim Mezran and Tarek Radwan

The rhetoric of the Arab spring and the democratization process, perhaps best paraphrased as “new government, new policies, new dynamics,” emphasizes respect for the rule of law and the maintenance of higher moral standards than those of the corrupt prior regimes. There are, nevertheless, many incidents that demonstrate that this rhetoric is not real, and […]

Syria: The Chemical Weapons Red Line

By Frederic C. Hof

The real significance of Syria’s likely crossing of US President Barack Obama’s chemical weapons red line may be that it will focus the administration’s attention on here-and-now Syria policy options as it has not been focused heretofore. As the president said in his April 30 press conference, regime culpability in using chemical weapons would force […]

U.S. military academies groom new officers for war in cyberspace

By AP

From AP:  The US service academies are ramping up efforts to groom a new breed of cyberspace warriors to confront increasing threats to the nation’s military and civilian computer networks that control everything from electrical power grids to the banking system.

Russia’s Foreign Minister sees danger in ‘NATO trying to play a global role with global military reach’

By Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Policy

From Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Policy:  Of course the relationship between such big countries can never be cloudless. And we have some things which still divide us. Missile defense is one case in point.