Category: Blogs

If NATO approves Patriot missiles for Turkey, deployment could still be weeks away

By AP

From AP:  Even if NATO quickly approves Turkey’s request for the deployment of Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, winning parliamentary approval, selecting sites for the air defense batteries and transporting them there means they probably wouldn’t be operational for weeks.

Turkey’s official statement on request for ‘Allied air defense elements’

By Foreign Ministry of Turkey

Morsi, a New Pharaoh in Town?

By Dalia Rabie

President Mohamed Morsi’s controversial constitutional declaration left many wondering whether it was a necessary evil to purge Egypt’s judiciary or merely a power grab disguised as such. The seven-article constitutional declaration announced Thursday night arguably paved the way for a new dictatorship as Morsi significantly broadened his powers, giving himself complete immunity until a new […]

Russia opposes NATO missiles on Turkey-Syria border

By Voice of America

From Voice of America:  Russia has warned against NATO’s possible deployment of Patriot missiles near Turkey’s border with Syria.

Morsi Rewrites the Rules of the Game, Again

By Tarek Radwan

Just when Egyptians thought that the interim period had started to settle down, President Mohammed Morsi issued a game-changing constitutional decree that has set the political scene on fire. Despite the Constituent Assembly’s problems in drafting the new constitution, the parliamentary vacuum giving Morsi unprecedented power, and the judicial adversity to the executive branch, the […]

United States can’t pivot away from Middle East

By Robert Kagan, Washington Post

From Robert Kagan, Washington Post:  No one was suggesting the United States could or ought to have all the answers, but among this gathering of Arab, North African, South Asian and European diplomats and international civil servants, the overwhelming consensus was that the superpower is AWOL. The only question was whether the absence is temporary […]

Westerwelle: Germany will accept Turkey’s request to NATO for Patriot missiles

By Reuters

Egypt’s Constitutional Drafting Process Shows a Diverse Population Ready for Democracy

By Sahar Aziz

“Egyptians are not ready for democracy” — this was Mubarak’s flippant response to domestic and international calls for political reform in Egypt.  The past few months put this fallacy to rest. Political grandstanding and posturing aside, the heated disputes show a sophisticated debate on the role of religion, individual rights, and power sharing among the […]