Middle East

Sisi’s Spin Man

By Gilad Wenig

Sometime before the July 2013 coup that put Egypt’s military in de facto command of the country, top officers gathered with Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, then the defense minister, to discuss their concerns about the military’s image. The sixteen months of direct military rule following Hosni Mubarak’s ouster damaged the military’s reputation, and the officers hoped […]

Acknowledging the Corn in Libya’s Wild West

Known for its crime, smuggling, and a rise in Islamic militant activity, Libya’s southwestern border region of Fezzan evokes images of a dry, lawless, and uncontrollable desert with a tribal flare.

Libya’s Southwest: Important to Understanding Country’s Security Crisis

As Libya’s political crisis deepens and violent clashes mount, attention to the transitioning country has largely focused on the weak government in Tripoli and the tumultuous eastern region. The largely ignored southwestern party of the country known as the Fezzan, however, presents another set of challenges, with porous borders, ethnic and tribal tensions, and a […]

Gulf States Reactions to the New War in Iraq

By Nouf Al Sadiq

Since the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) took over (and now rebranded) territory in Iraq, Gulf States have been somewhat less alarmed by this new Sunni uprising than they have about other more political factors in the conflict.

Saab: ISIS Has a Choice to Make

By Bilal Y. Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab writes for the National Interest on the choices facing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: 

YemenSource | Islamists Attack Yemeni Airport as Bomber Hits Army Base

By YemenSource

Suspected Islamist militants attacked an airport in the eastern Yemeni city of Seiyun on June 26, killing at least one soldier. At around the same time, a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into the entrance of an army base, killing four soldiers in Hadramawt province.