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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

Event Recap

Oct 9, 2018

The Arc of Crisis in the MENA Region

By Erin A. Neale

On Tuesday, October 9th, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East held a conference to discuss the nature of foreign involvement in ongoing conflicts in the region as well as the resilience of Jihadism in the post-2011 period. The conference coincided with the launching of a report, “The Arc of Crisis in […]

Iraq
Libya

In the News

Oct 8, 2018

Hellyer Quoted in Washington post on Libyan Forces Capturing Egypt Militant

By H.A. Hellyer

Read the full article here.

Libya

MENASource

Oct 4, 2018

Moroccan conscription: An unfinished process

By Sarah Alaoui and Leila Hanafi

If passed by the country’s two parliamentary chambers, an expedited draft law 44.18 would reinstate mandatory military service for both Moroccan men and women between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five by the end of next year.

Morocco
North Africa

In the News

Sep 27, 2018

Ellinas Quoted in Financial Times on Israeli Gas Exports to Egypt

By Charles Ellinas

Read the full article here.

North Africa

MENASource

Sep 26, 2018

Egypt’s options in the development of the Ethiopian dam

By Hafsa Halawa

For decades, Egypt focused primarily on its foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa, and in the process neglected its Horn of Africa policy. Meanwhile, Ethiopia began construction on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River. Problems along the Nile continue for Egypt as droughts, rising temperatures, and general effects of climate change demand a response to Egypt’s growing water needs.

North Africa

In the News

Sep 22, 2018

Mezran Quoted in VOA on Libya

By Karim Mezran

Read the full article here.

Libya

MENASource

Sep 17, 2018

One year later, the UN Action Plan for Libya is dead

By Elissa Miller

In September 2017, on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Libya Ghassan Salame presented an “action plan” for Libya that aimed to surmount Libya’s political stalemate and address persistent instability.

Libya

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2018

Six years after a US Ambassador was killed in Benghazi, Libya remains mired in Chaos

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Libya today has two power centers—an internationally recognized government based in Tripoli and an internationally recognized parliament based in eastern city of Tobruk.

Conflict
Libya

MENASource

Sep 6, 2018

Can Plan B save Libya? Here are the obstacles it must overcome

By Emadeddin Muntasser and Mohamed Fouad

There is no denying that Libya is in a far worse state than at any time since the 2011 revolution. In a country of vast oil and gas wealth, basic services are frequently interrupted as armed gangs control the capital in the west. In the east, once feared leaders like Khalifa Haftar find their forces […]

Libya

MENASource

Sep 5, 2018

Finding salvation through the chaos in Libya

By Karim Mezran and Federica Saini Fasanotti

On the night of September 2nd, most of the personnel from the Italian embassy in Libya—the only operating embassy—were quickly evacuated on a ship bound for Malta.

Libya

Experts