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Middle East Programs

Working with our 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.

Libya

Content

President of the EU Council Donald Tusk, June 25, 2015

NATOSource

Jun 26, 2015

EU Urges More Defense Spending in Dangerous Times

By Adrian Croft, Reuters

European Council President Donald Tusk urged European leaders to spend more on defense on Friday as deadly attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait drove home his point about dramatic changes to the security situation in Europe and its neighborhood.

European Union France

MENASource

Jun 26, 2015

Presidential Pardons Leave Many Dissatisfied

By Khaled Dawoud

When news of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s plan to pardon prisoners convicted on charges of breaking Egypt’s protest law leaked prior to the official announcement, expectations ran high. The official announcement on June 17 revealed that 165 prisoners, mostly young men, would be released, with unconfirmed promises from unnamed presidential sources that more were to […]

North Africa

In the News

Jun 25, 2015

Eljarh on ISIS Setbacks in Libya

By Mohamed Eljarh

Voice of America quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mohamed Eljarh on how US airstrikes and conflicts on the ground are putting ISIS on the retreat in Libya:

Libya

MENASource

Jun 25, 2015

CPJ Says Imprisonment of Journalists in Egypt at “All-Time High”

By EgyptSource

There are at least sixteen journalists imprisoned in Egypt in relation to their reporting, according to a special report released Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Another two, the report says, have been released pending investigation.

North Africa

In the News

Jun 24, 2015

Eljarh: A Victory Over ISIS in Libya

By Mohamed Eljarh

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mohamed Eljarh writes for Foreign Policy on why, despite the fact that over the past two weeks ISIS forces in Libya have suffered a shattering defeat, the outside world has barely paid attention:

Libya

MENASource

Jun 24, 2015

From Smuggling to Trafficking: Is Irregular Migration from Egypt Changing for the Worse?

By Tom Rollins

The crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean has produced a slew of reporting on refugees and irregular migration from Egypt, a country witnessing a complex mix of push and pull factors as well as mixed migration flows, thought to have contributed around 10 percent of total migration flows bound for Europe last year, according to a […]

North Africa

Issue Brief

Jun 23, 2015

Tunisia: From elected government to effective governance

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Tunisia has accomplished significant milestones, from ousting an authoritarian regime in 2011 to ushering in a fully elected government in 2015. Nonetheless, the country is still in a critical phase of its transition, balancing the challenges of governance to address pressing economic and security issues. In their Atlantic Council Issue in Focus, “Tunisia: From Elected […]

Democratic Transitions North Africa

MENASource

Jun 22, 2015

Practicing Politics by Proxy: Turkey and Egypt

By Maged Atef

As the preliminary results of the Turkish parliamentary elections were announced in early June, the people gathered in a downtown café appeared to be divided into three distinct groups. There were those saddened by the failure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to secure a parliamentary majority, those overjoyed, and those who continued […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

When Sectarian Conflict Finds a Local Solution, Copts Lose

By Jayson Casper

What is the value of a presidential visit to the papal cathedral for a seventy-year-old Copt driven from his village? What good are warm relations between Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Pope Tawadros if relations remain tense between Youssef Tawfiq and his Muslim neighbors?

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 17, 2015

Protecting Refugees in Protracted Emergencies in the Middle East

By Bill Frelick

Um Ghassan was eleven in 1948 when her family fled Haifa. They joined the Palestinian exodus to Jordan, and later moved to Syria. “They welcomed us like we were their relatives,” she said. Decades later, when fighting broke out in Syria in 2011, Um Ghassan initially stayed in her house. “I would never leave my […]

Iraq Libya

Experts