Middle East

Top News: Articles in Constitution Committee’s Draft Rejected by NSF, Nour Party

By EgyptSource

The amended draft of Egypt’s 2012 constitution will be announced Thursday or next Saturday, said Ali Awad, the head of a ten member technical committee entrusted with amending the national charter. Both the National Salvlation Front and the Nour Party have announced their rejection of articles within the draft. 

Syria: Middle East Peace and the US Credibility Gap

By Fred C. Hof

Reports of significant chemical weapons usage by the Assad regime in the suburbs of Damascus again bring to the fore issues of US credibility deriving from the disconnect between Obama administration rhetoric and action. If the regime’s use of chemical weapons is verified, President Obama will face a stark choice: either use targeted strikes to […]

France Calls for Force if Chemical Arms Confirmed in Syria

By AFP and Wall Street Journal

France is seeking a reaction with “force” if a massacre in Syria involving chemical weapons is confirmed, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday, although he ruled out the use of ground troops.

Iran a Bright Spot in a Bleak Middle East?

By Barbara Slavin

As President Barack Obama returned from vacation this week – a short break interrupted by his need to react to the mayhem in Cairo – he may have been thinking that prospects for a major foreign policy achievement in his second term were fading.

EU Foreign Ministers Speak Out on Cutting Arms Sales to Egypt

By Claire Rosemberg, AFP

The European Union agreed Wednesday to restrict exports of security equipment and arms to Egypt in response to the mounting violence but opted to maintain economic assistance.

EU Suspends Military Exports to Egypt

The EU condemns in the clearest possible terms all acts of violence.

An Open Letter to Supporters of Deposed President Mohamed Morsi

By Iyad El-Baghdadi

The whirlwind of events since June 30 which led to the ousting of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has served only to polarize Egyptian society even further, forcing people to take positions either with the coup and army, or against the coup and Morsi. This attempt to characterize the current situation in Egypt in simplified […]

No No-Fly Zone over Syria

By Paul Rasmussen

Last week’s meeting between General Dempsey and King Abdullah II of Jordan was noteworthy in that the subject of military intervention in Syria was not discussed.  After two years of endless strategic and political debate it seems that recent events have put an end to the suggestion that the United States should intervene in Syria.  […]