Middle East

The Militarization of Justice

By Farid Farid

Ahmed al-Araby, 60, is a pensioner from Matariya – a low-income suburb in Cairo that recently witnessed an increase in clashes between Islamist supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi and state security forces. On the four-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising, twelve people were killed in the Cairo district alone, while at least forty-three […]

Off the Radar: Europe’s Retreat from a Democratic Push in the Middle East

By Amy Hawthorne and Elissa Miller

As the Middle East and North Africa region grows more unstable, Europe has turned inward, under-using its ability—and even understating the need—to project democratic values in the region.

Making the Case for a Syrian National Stabilization Force

By Larry Luxner

Analysts propose US-led effort to end the war in Syria Nothing less than a national stabilization force consisting of fifty thousand troops and costing billions of dollars will stop the continuing bloodshed in Syria, three security analysts said April 14 at the Atlantic Council. The panel coincided with the release of a report, Setting the […]

Syria Needs Train-and-Equip on Steroids: Ambassador Frederic C. Hof’s Remarks

By Frederic C. Hof

Ambassador Frederic Hof, Senior Fellow with Atlantic Council, Bassma Kodmani, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative and Associate Professor at Paris University, and Jeffrey White, Defense Fellow and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy presented their report, Setting the Stage for Peace in Syria: The Case for a Syrian National Stabilization Force, on […]

Tunisia’s Security Sector and Countering Violent Extremism; Part 1: Controlling the Narrative

By Fadil Aliriza

In the wake of the hostage shootout at Bardo Museum in Tunis that left more than twenty dead, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently announced that US military aid to Tunisia would triple to combat “those who threaten the freedom and safety of the nation.”

تمهيد المسار للسلام في سوريا: مقترح لإنشاء قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار

إعداد: فريديرك هوف، بسمة قضماني، جيفري وايت انطلاقاً من برنامج الرئيس باراك أوباما للتدريب-والتجهيز لتحويل المتمردين السوريين الوطنيين إلى قوات برية لمقاومة الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام، يوصي التقرير بالتطلع إلى ما هو أبعد: تجنيد، وتدريب، وتجهيز، ونشر قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار تكون مؤلفة من سوريين فقط. تلك القوة، التي بإمكانها أن تشكل أساساً […]

The UNSMIL Draft Agreement and International Engagement with Libya

By Azza K. Maghur

Since UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nominated Mr. Bernardino Leon as the UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in August 2014, stagnant Libyan waters have moved.

Setting the stage for peace in Syria: The case for a Syrian National Stabilization Force

By Frederic C. Hof, Bassma Kodmani and Jeffrey White

After four years of conflict in Syria, peace is still a distant prospect. The West insists that there is no “military solution,” while Iran and Russia provide the Assad regime with a military advantage obstructing the possibility of real diplomatic negotiations. With over 220,000 Syrians dead and more than half of the Syrian population displaced, […]

Egypt’s Azhar Flexes its Muscles

By Khaled Dawoud

Egypt’s oldest Islamic establishment, Al-Azhar, came out in full force this week against what it claims is an organized plan to undermine its historic role in representing “moderate Islam.” After an initial complaint to the Free Media Zone Authority asking it to ban a controversial television talk show critical of traditional Islamic schools of thought […]