Middle East

US Decision to Withhold Military Aid Receives Mixed Reactions as Egyptians Lash Out

By EgyptSource

As the United States announced its decision to halt deliveries of large-scale military systems, and withhold $260 million in cash aid to Egypt, reactions to the decision, both domestically and internationally have been varied. The overriding sentiment in Egypt, whether among political parties or the general population, is that the aid has been used as […]

Iran Nuclear Talks Return to Geneva with Better Prospects

By Barbara Slavin

There’s an element of déjà vu about next week’s planned talks in Geneva on Iran’s nuclear program.   Four years ago, the United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement on a confidence building measure that would have sent out most of Iran’s stockpile of lightly enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor […]

Zeidan Kidnapping Highlights 5 Month Delay in NATO-Libya Security Agreement

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

The reported abduction of Libya’s prime minster early Thursday has exposed the shortcomings in the country’s security sector

NATO Secretary General: ‘Something Needs to be Done’ to Help Libya

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

I can confirm that the Libyan authorities have requested NATO assistance to build or reform the security sector.

The General Speaks Out

By Mohamed Elgohari

For the first time since his appointment by ousted president Mohamed Morsi as defense minister, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke to the press, offering a rare interview to Yasser Rizk, editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. The importance of the interview can be seen in the implicit and explicit messages from the strongest man in […]

Libyan Prime Minister Is Kidnapped, Then Freed

By David D. Kirkpatrick and Gerry Mullany

Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was kidnapped from a hotel in the capital, Tripoli, on Thursday and briefly held in an apparent act of retaliation for his presumed consent to the capture of a suspected Qaeda leader by an American commando team.

Turkey’s Spymaster Plots Own Course on Syria

By Adam Entous and Joe Parkinson, Wall Street Journal

“Hakan Fidan [Turkey’s powerful spymaster] is the face of the new Middle East,” says James Jeffrey, who recently served as U.S. ambassador in Turkey and Iraq.

The Almost-Aid Cut to Egypt

When CNN broke the news the evening of October 8 that the United States would formally withdraw all foreign military aid to Egypt, everyone was set atwitter. Literally. Avid Egypt observers furiously took to social media to mark what would have been the most significant change to US-Egypt relations since the late 1970s.

The Maspero Massacre: Two Years On

By Mai El-Sadany

On the heels of the recent surge in popular support for the military, calls for the presidential candidacy of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and an October 6 operetta performance meant to awaken dormant nationalist tendencies, comes the two year anniversary of the Maspero Massacre.