Middle East

Nabil Salib Heads Egypt’s Supreme Electoral Commission

By Mohamed Elgohari

Egyptian interim president Adly Mansour issued a presidential decree forming the new Supreme Electoral Commission on September 11. The committee will supervise the post-June 30 referendum, as well as the subsequent presidential and parliamentary elections, to be held according to the July 3 road map announced by Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to the […]

No End in Sight for Libya’s Oil Drama

By Matthew M. Reed

Libyan oil production collapsed this summer after essential facilities were taken over by federalists and disgruntled workers. The country’s economic recovery has been jeopardized as a result. As the Libyan government struggles to control discontent and restore oil output, it reveals how little authority it actually commands.

An Assassination Attempt Widens the Gap between Egyptians

By Fady Salah

Since Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on July 3, comparisons to Algeria have been common, but they have been eclipsed by comparisons to the low-level insurgency Egypt itself witnessed in the nineties. The recent attempt to assassinate the current minister of interior, Mohamed Ibrahim, is a reminder of that past, and begs two questions – why did […]

Obama Administration Debated Trading Missile Defense and NATO Enlargement for Russia to Cut Support to Assad

By Adam Entous, Greg White, and Peter Nicholas, Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama’s 15 seconds of face time with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, while American and Russian warships patrolled the eastern Mediterranean, spoke to a deep chill that has created one of the biggest complications to the U.S.’s plan to strike Syria.

US Gulf Allies Out on a Limb As Prospect of US Use of Force in Syria Recedes

By Richard LeBaron

Foreign ministers of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were likely shaking their heads in amazement, disappointment, and perhaps even disgust as they met in private in during their meeting in Jeddah on September 10.

Hariri Center Experts React to President Obama’s Speech on Syria

By MENASource

President Barack Obama presented his case regarding US policy in Syria the evening of September 10, 2013. In it, he outlined his awareness of American war weariness in looking back on a decade of wartime engagement in the region, but warned against the strategic and moral dangers of doing nothing in the face of Syrian […]

Initial Reactions from Council Experts on President Obama’s Remarks on Syria

After watching President Obama’s speech Tuesday night, some of the Atlantic Council’s experts weighed in with initial reactions.