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The latest pieces from MENASource:

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

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Secretary of State John Kerry sits with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, June 28, 2013

NATOSource

Feb 3, 2014

Palestinian Leader Seeks NATO Force in Future State

By Jodi Rudoren, New York Times

Six months into peace talks dominated by discussion about security, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has proposed to Secretary of State John Kerry that an American-led NATO force patrol a future Palestinian state indefinitely

Israel Middle East

MENASource

Feb 3, 2014

Libya: From Discordant Discourse To National Dialogue

By Lara Talverdian and Katherina Pruegel

Libya’s seemingly insurmountable challenges—from deteriorating security to a hampered economy to political paralysis—stem from the reality that, within Libya, there is no national conversation about the future of the country. Instead, there are multiple ongoing conversations, as various stakeholders assert (and in some cases forcefully impose) their niche demands in the absence of a shared […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Feb 3, 2014

Iran: Rethinking the Endgame

By Robert A. Manning and James Clad

It is with no small amount of trepidation that US and EU negotiators gear up for new talks on a final nuclear deal with Iran later this month. Fierce US congressional criticism of the “5+1” nuclear deal with Iran is missing the point, and promise, of an accord. One need not buy President Rouhani’s self-serving assertion […]

Iran

MENASource

Feb 3, 2014

Syria: What Next for Geneva II?

By Frederic C. Hof

The idea of convening warring parties to negotiate peace is, under normal circumstances, honorable, praiseworthy, and practical. Yet there is nothing normal about the Geneva II initiative. These parties—Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the Syrian National Coalition—have been convened as if there are misunderstandings to clear up and compromises to reach. Getting the parties […]

Syria

SouthAsiaSource

Jan 31, 2014

This Week in South Asia: January 25-31

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week. India: Following Japan’s Prime Minter Shinzo Abe’s visit to India last weekend, India and Japan have signed agreements on cooperation in areas including energy, telecommunications, and tourism. The two countries also agreed to hold […]

Afghanistan India

MENASource

Jan 31, 2014

The Port Said Massacre: A Photo Essay

By Jonathan Rashad

On February 1 2012, the Port Said stadium witnessed one of the biggest catastrophes in Egypt’s recent history, in a match between Cairo’s al-Ahly club and Port Said’s al-Masry club. Under the auspices of the police, seventy-two football fans from al-Ahly’s biggest fan club ‘Ultras Ahlawy’ were slaughtered in the stadium by football fans from […]

North Africa

In the News

Jan 31, 2014

Hof on Geneva II Talks

By Frederic C. Hof

Bloomberg Businessweek quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on the first round of the Geneva II talks:

Syria

MENASource

Jan 30, 2014

Hamas and Hezbollah Agree to Disagree on Syria

By Giorgio Cafiero and Peter Certo

Born of a common struggle against Israel and nourished by common benefactors in Syria and Iran, Sunni Hamas and Shiite Hezbollah have long been natural allies despite their sectarian differences.

Syria
Admiral Edouard Guillaud

NATOSource

Jan 30, 2014

France Dismisses Military Call for Intervention in Libya

By Libya Herald and AP

From Libya Herald:  France has firmly rebuffed suggestions that it should join an international force and intervene in the south of Libya to end instability there and prevent it becoming a regional base for Al Qaeda.

France Libya

New Atlanticist

Jan 30, 2014

Obama Skirts Egypt in State of the Union Address

By Barbara Slavin

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama devoted most of a limited section on foreign policy to the Middle East but uttered not one word about that region’s most populous and influential nation: Egypt.

Middle East North Africa

Experts