Too Many Saudi Princes

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah appears to be in failing health. The Saudi royal house is making extraordinary efforts to project an image of business-as-usual. But the lack of transparency regarding succession has fueled speculation about who will be designated heir once Crown Prince Salman takes over. On November 26, Albawaba News reported that the king was “clinically […]

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Bye-Bye, Middle East?

For some time now, a certain strategic vision has been gaining traction: the United States is becoming energy-independent, paving the way for its political retreat from the Middle East and justifying its strategic “pivot” toward Asia. This view seems intuitively correct, but is it? Energy-hungry America has long depended on the global market to meet […]

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The Trouble With Democracy, From Cairo To Johannesburg

The return of protests, tanks and death to the streets of Cairo this week is harrowing. So is the power of the rampant conspiracy theories that cause Muslim Brotherhood members and their secular opponents to sincerely believe they are defending Egypt’s revolution. Both sides are behaving abominably. Criticisms of President Mohamed Mursi’s foolish and unnecessary […]

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Egypt Demonstrators Reject Mursi Call For Dialogue

Demonstrators rejected a call from Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Mursi for a national dialogue after deadly clashes around his palace, demanding the “downfall of the regime” – the chant that brought down Hosni Mubarak. Mursi said in a televised speech late on Thursday that plans were on track for a referendum on a new constitution […]

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Bloodshed as Islamists and Secular Protesters Battle in Cairo

Angry mobs of Islamists battled secular protesters with fists, rocks and Molotov cocktails in the streets around the presidential palace for hours Wednesday night in the first major outbreak of violence between political factions here since the revolt against then-President Hosni Mubarak began nearly two years ago. Three senior advisers to Mr. Mubarak’s successor, Mohamed Morsi, […]

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There’s a New Caliph in Town

For the first time in Egypt’s post-revolutionary political scene, the Muslim Brotherhood‘s ascendancy is under serious threat. But as a diverse array of political players challenges the Islamist movement‘s efforts to centralize power, the Brothers are showing no sign of backing down. The trouble began last week, when President Mohamed Morsy issued a package of […]

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Islamists Rally Behind Mursi As Egypt’s Rifts Widen

Islamist crowds demonstrated in Cairo on Saturday in support of President Mohamed Mursi, who is racing through a constitution to try to defuse opposition fury over his newly expanded powers. Many thousands assembled outside Cairo University, waving Egyptian flags and green Islamist emblems to show their backing for the president and the constitution he is […]

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Palestinians Win De Facto U.N. Recognition Of Sovereign State

The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue “birth certificate.” The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined […]

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