Middle East

Egypt’s Authorities Re-engineer the Public Space

The January 25 revolution brought Egypt nothing more than trouble and turmoil, bringing Egypt to the brink of civil war and collapse–or so the thinking goes among the firmly entrenched authoritarian mindset controlling the country.

The Ongoing Campaign to Restrict Egypt’s Public Space

By Sarah El Sirgany

Today, all TV journalists working in Egypt know that tasreeh—a monthly-renewable permit issued by the interior ministry for accredited journalists to film on the streets—is back. In the wake of the January 25 Revolution, it had disappeared from the bureaucracy, but now police are once again preventing journalists from filming without permission. While some, myself […]

Obama’s ISIS Strategy: Is It Enough?

By The Atlantic Council

Following President Obama’s September 10 speech outlining the US strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS, the Atlantic Council held a conference call to assess the president’s plan. Listen to the audio below for expert analysis from Michael V. Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency, former CIA director, and Atlantic Council board director; […]

Expert Reactions to President Obama’s Speech on ISIS

President Barack Obama has faced tremendous pressure to respond to the stunning growth of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, ISIL, or Islamic State). The group’s videos, showing the beheading of two American journalists, brought the conflict to bear directly on the United States in a way that captured domestic attention as never […]

A Real Anti-ISIS Coalition Would Not Be Regional, But Local

By Faysal Itani

The United States government has repeatedly called for a regional coalition to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). In reality, such a coalition would be difficult to assemble and is unlikely to destroy the group. This is especially true in Syria, where ISIS can retreat and regroup at will, and where there […]