Reuters reports that Libyan troops of the new government have taken the airport of the southern desert city of Sabha, a key site on the route down to Niger. Sabha is one of four small cities of about 120,000 each that are still held by pro-Qaddafi forces. AP reports that the Transitional National Council fighters […]
Obama’s Tax Critics: Political Doggerel of the Day
The Tea Party tore into Obama for staging a taxation drama. They would rather he cut doctor visits somewhat and save millionaires from such trauma.
Top Arab Spring Stories Today
Yemeni security forces killed 24 protesters on Sunday as the conflict between partisans of wounded president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his detractors escalated. Anti-Saleh protesters in Sanaa are taking their demonstrations to new neighborhoods, and are meeting sniper fire from security forces. On Saturday, thousands of protesters headed toward the university campus in the capital. […]
Cole on the 9/11 Aftermath at AskM
I cover questions about Iraq, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and the Arab Spring in this recent interview at AskM (a program of the University of Michigan News and Information Service)
Cole on the Middle East at O Globo’s “Milenio”
My interview on Middle Eastern affairs with the O Globo television network’s “Milenio” program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is now on line here. (After the short intro it is in English with Portuguese subtitles). Many thanks to Simone Delgado of O Globo‘s New York office for setting it up, and to Elizabeth Carvalho, the […]
Palestinians seek UN Moxie
Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave a major speech Friday making it clear to the Palestinians that the PA will seek membership in the United Nations at this year’s General Assembly meeting. The Palestinians (or more precisely the Fateh faction that controls the ever-shrinking Palestinian parts of the West Bank) are not going to the […]
Libyan TNC Fighters Said to have Entered Sirte
Transitional National Council forces announced Thursday night that they had taken most of Sirte, the birthplace of Muammar Qaddafi where elements of his dreaded 32nd Brigade had held out. Some of these forces are said to be holed up still in a line of villas near the beach, but the center of the town and […]
Muslim Brotherhood Rebukes Erdogan for Advocacy of Secularism
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s speech at at the Arab League on Monday and at the Cairo Opera House on Tuesday made waves in the West because of his denunciation of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians and the warm public welcome he received among Egyptians. Aljazeera Arabic reports: But a controversy has broken out about […]
Helman: The Palestinians Seek UN Recognition
Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The Palestinian Authority has stated its intention this Fall to seek some action at the United Nations to advance its claim to statehood now. According to press reports, the PA’s initiative at least in part would be a reaction to what it sees […]
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