Middle East

Fighting Lions and Brothers in Mansoura

By Eric Knecht

In the summer of 2011 Sayed al-Essawi, an Egyptian man claiming superhuman strength, briefly made international news when he challenged a lion to a death match. The bout—which al-Essawi described as a means to revive Egyptian tourism and prove that man is stronger than lion—was anticlimactic. With cameras rolling, Essawi shuffled around an oversized cage […]

Turkey may Open İncirlik Base for NATO Mission in Syria

By Murat Yetkin, Hurriyet Daily News

Turkey may open its strategic İncirlik air base for possible military operations into neighboring Syria, if the Western defense alliance NATO decides for an intervention in the ongoing civil war, a ranking Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Aug. 26.

New Developments in Syria

From Obama’s “red line” to confirmation of the use of chemical weapons, events in Syria are developing quickly. Atlantic Council experts are appearing in the media daily and posting analysis as events unfold.

Top News: Egypt Backs Away from Plan to Dissolve Muslim Brotherhood

By EgyptSource

Egypt should not ban the Muslim Brotherhood or exclude it from politics after the army’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, the interim prime minister said on Tuesday, reversing his previous stated view.

Is Libya Finally Walking the Walk?

By Karim Mezran

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan has announced the launch of a national dialogue initiative to address some of the most important challenges hindering the country’s progress toward a pluralistic and transparent political system.

Consent and Legitimacy

By David Johnson

This article should begin with the explicit acknowledgement that the author, as you might have guessed on seeing the byline, is not Egyptian. Thus, it is inherently that much more dangerous, as an outsider, to speak about what it seems the Egyptian people want. Of course, given the limited extent of public opinion polling in […]

NATO Condemns Use of Chemical Weapons and Warns that ‘Those Responsible must be Held Accountable’

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

The North Atlantic Council has just discussed the situation in Syria and in particular the horrific use of chemical weapons around Damascus on 21 August.

Syria: A Shot in the Dark

By Julian Lindley-French

There are times when a punitive military strike can be justified, legitimate, proportionate, and effective. US Secretary of State John Kerry has described last week’s use of chemical weapons against the population of a Damascus suburb as a “moral obscenity.” He is of course right–the use of such weapons against civilians is a disgusting act […]

The Libyan Economy after the Revolution: Still No Clear Vision

Most headlines out of Libya today are about the political and security crises gripping the country, and little has been said about the state of the economy beyond a recent spate of oil export disruptions. Hariri Center Senior Fellows Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran recently authored an issue brief evaluating Libya’s underlying structural economic problems […]