Columbia University, in partnership with the Department of State and some other organizations, including Google and AT&T, is convening a conference from 12/3-12/5 called “the Alliance of Youth Movement” to discuss the ways that Facebook and other social networking websites can provide a launching pad of sorts for nonviolent political resistance. DoS invited 17 organizations […]
The Egyptian government has appealed a recent court ruling annulling a 2005 Egyptian-Israeli agreement for the export of natural gas to Israel. The court's ruling called for the freezing of the shipments on the basis that the deal was never approved by the Egyptian parliament. Furthermore, opposition to the deal objects to Egypt selling gas […]
The panel on U.S.-Egypt relations proved the highlight of the annual Middle East Institute conference in DC this past Friday. Graeme Bannerman moderated the panel. He holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern studies, taught at AUB, served as a longtime staffer for Sen Dick Lugar, and most relevantly, for the past decade or longer he […]
Robert Worth of the NYT looks at the ways Hezbollah reaches out to Lebanese mothers, children and young men. Could we call this “a battle for hearts and minds”?
You can watch their commentary through the link on the transcript page. They agree that a 2011 withdrawal date is unrealistic and that we should expect renegotiations; the challenges of the agreement reflect Iraqi domestic politics above all.
… and, according to the NYT, it's manifestation is somewhat sexist. Apparently, the informal, non-binding shariah courts deal with divorce cases primarily (one representative quoted in the article estimates 99% of the cases are divorce proceedings) and have been operating for several years under the radar of ‘mainstream’ British society. There is considerable upset communicated […]
… at the US Institute of Peace this month. Click here for the full event briefing and list of participants (it's unclear whether the event was off the record; I couldn't find a transcript or anything of that nature). The USIP gathered six Iraqis of note who are now resident in the United States to […]
We can be sure that more information will come to light over time, but as of now we know that Nouri al Maliki's government is pushing out those employees in the government's ministries charged with overseeing the bureaucracy and keeping it transparent. The forcings-out (firings, retirements, etc) were not publicly announced but have recently come […]
Several Egyptian bloggers traveled to the US to cover the American presidential election on their blogs; this story in the National asks them to share their reflections on the process with respect to Egyptian domestic politics. Excerpt: For the most part, the bloggers are holding their breath, wondering how the new Obama administration will affect […]
Alongside the reconciliation [in theory only] trend, party leaders, the President, Prime Minister and now the Speaker of the House travel to countries in and out of the region. Probably they are doing it to secure some type of support, to open channels etc. Whatever the reason, the political leadership seems to be dead set […]
This month's Arab Reform Bulletin was just released; Oussama Safa, Director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, has an article therein called “How Should the U.S. President Pursue Democratization?”. He bravely puts a positive spin on the admittedly troubling circumstances under which Barack Obama will assume the Presidency: This angry, hostile, and unstable Arab […]
Oil prices dipped to $57 a barrel; OPEC is contemplating another cut in production. Iraq announced a $3.5 billion deal with the Chinese government's oil corporation, CNPC, to develop the Adhab oil field. It's the first such agreement with a foreign country since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in 2003.