Arab World

On Saturday morning, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood held a news conference in which its leader, Muhammad Badie, insisted that the so-called opposition in Egypt is nothing more than criminals and saboteurs and condemned the security forces for allowing the burning of Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo. He complained that an attempt had been made to […]

Syria

Syria Rebels make Advances as Hillary Clinton calls for ‘a Concerted Push’ for Democratic Transition (Videos)

Juan Cole

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a ‘concerted push’ on Friday to begin a political transition in Syria. She said that the transition must eventuate in a unified, democratic Syria. AFP reports: Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson , expressed severe reservations about what he called ‘politicized’ […]

Egypt

Egypt: Faction Fighting in the Streets Threatens Stability, leaves 5 dead, 450 wounded

Juan Cole

Egypt has descended into faction-fighting in the streets that left some 5 dead and 450 wounded on Wednesday, as President Muhammad Morsi prepared to make a major address to the nation on Thursday. Violence has broken out not just in Cairo itself but also in provincial cities such as Suez, Port Said, Ismailiya, Zaqaziq and […]

CIA

The Arab Reading of the Petraeus/Allen Affair: Jill Kelley is Gilberte Khawam, a Lebanese

Juan Cole

The headlines about the Petraeus affair in the Arab world this morning almost universally read something like “Lebanese woman brings down CIA.” The woman who seems to have destroyed three careers and kicked off the FBI investigation of Gen. David Petraeus, ex-director of the CIA, goes by Jill Kelley. But her maiden name is Gilberte […]

Energy

The Tesla S and World Peace: Can American Green Energy End the Gulf Oil Wars?

Juan Cole

Petroleum makes the world go round, with 70% of it used to power automobiles. About a fifth of the world’s 90 million barrels a day of oil production comes out of the Persian Gulf/ Arabian Gulf. A large part of the US stand-off with Iran has to do with petroleum. The US doesn’t want a […]

Egypt

Tracking down Mubarak’s Ill-Gotten Gains (Loveluck)

Juan Cole

Louisa Loveluck writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism In Egypt’s Tahrir Square, the vast fortune of Hosni Mubarak and his inner circle was also a focal point of resentment. Previous estimates of the Mubarak family wealth placed the figure at between $40bn and $70bn. A report by The National last week, looked at official […]

Egypt

Abdel Nasser Jokes about Outrageous Muslim Brotherhood Demand that all Women Veil

Juan Cole

Then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser tells anecdotes (early 1960s?) about his meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood and their demand that he make all Egyptian women wear headscarves in public. How much things have changed is apparent in the humorous way Abdel Nasser dealt with what he saw as a completely unrealistic request. Ironically, the […]

Syria

Syrian Regime flies 60 bombing Raids against Rebel City Quarters

Juan Cole

The Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad spent the final day of a supposed 4-day cease-fire on Monday intensively bombing its own cities, with fighter jets flying dozens of sorties against rebel positions. Some bombs were so powerful that they kicked up mini mushroom clouds. Neighborhoods of the capital, Damascus, were bombed, as were rebellious cities […]

Iran

Syria crisis Shakes Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia as Cease-Fire Crumbles

Juan Cole

The inability of the Syrian government to crush an 18-month-old revolutionary movement is putting increasing pressure on its neighbors. Not only have hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria poured into Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq, but political forces in each of those countries are having to choose sides and to reevaluate their choices over […]