And Then There Was Syria
As NATO takes control of the western intervention efforts in Libya and the Saleh regime in Yemen seems certain to fall any day, an increasing number of eyes have been turning to Syria where the largest protests since the 1982 Hama massacre have been stunning the country and the government. Tensions have escalated in the … Read more
Intervention in Syria?
Syria’s protesters were rather late to the party, but after 40 years of al Assad family rule and 48 years of emergency law, it is perhaps time. After Hasan Ali Akleh did his best Muhamed Bouazizi impression on January 26th, activists organized protests for the 4th and 5th of February that fizzled under pressure from state security … Read more
What Does Libya Mean For The Region
I have said time and again that the intervention in Libya is unwise considering the lack of national interest at stake. There is no oil, military base, no large ex-pat population, Libya is not an ally, nor is it central to any American policies. Marc Lynch argues that, taken out of context, Libya has no … Read more
And Then What?
I have finally found some time to jot some notes down about the implementation of a no fly zone (NFZ) in Libya and, unfortunately, the very same questions that were being asked before the US and Britain started bombing Libyan targets are still lingering. As the Arab League backs away from the intervention and both … Read more
Wish I Had More Time to Talk About:
Yet another busy day here today, both at work and in the news: the UN approved a No-Fly Zone (NFZ) in Libya (look for a longer post on that later), Bahrain took down the revolutionary symbol in Pearl Square, Yemen protests got bloodier, and rare demonstrations arrived in Syria. Though, today my commentary on these … Read more
More Evidence on Bahrain
Yesterday I penned a piece discussing the various consequences of GCC troops being deployed in neighboring Bahrain in order to put down the brewing protests there. My conclusions, briefly: “For Bahrain, the introduction of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) force indicates a possible schism between the Crown Prince and the prime minister as well as a … Read more
Saudis in Bahrain, Where Now for the US
Needless to say, the introduction of 1000 Saudi Arabian soldiers (Saudi Arabian National Guard) and 500 Emirati police into Bahrain truly complicates the situation in the Gulf. The internationalization of the Bahraini uprising has serious consequences for not only the immediately relevant actors (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia) and the secondary actors (Iran and the United … Read more
Will the Violent Response Spread, Con’t
A quick post today: the other day I mentioned the possibility of Qaddafi’s violent repression of protests spreading to other countries. Leaders in Bahrain, Yemen, Iran… have watched the wavering, disorganized responses of Mubarak and Ben Ali result in the end of their regimes. Meanwhile, by turning his military and security apparatus on Libyan people, … Read more
Quick Notes on Saudi Arabia
While all the hoopla has continued throughout the Middle East, Western media has focused (as have I) in on the situation in Libya, as it is more a war zone than a simple sea of turmoil. Consequently, protests and uprisings in other countries have been left alone. Michael Collins Dunn reminds us of the revolutionary … Read more
