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Middle East

Libya
Why Syria’s Revolution is not like Libya’s  (Dughman)

Why Syria’s Revolution is not like Libya’s (Dughman)

Juan Cole

Husam Dughman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The Arab Spring springs surprises When a popular uprising started in Tunisia less than two years ago, it took the world by surprise. Not many observers had anticipated the outbreak, let alone the success, of popular uprisings in a region far better known for the […]

Arab World
Arabs and the Olympics (Majid)

Arabs and the Olympics (Majid)

Juan Cole

Anouar Majid writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The 2012 Olympics in London gave us a golden opportunity to assess the condition of the Arab world in its natural state. Sports is one occasion when political slogans and self-deception are useless. One either wins or loses. The performance of Arabs reflects the dismal […]

Egypt
In Switch, Egypt’s Civilian President Makes Coup against Generals

In Switch, Egypt’s Civilian President Makes Coup against Generals

Juan Cole

This is BIG. The BBC says that Egypt’s elected president, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, has just ordered the firing of Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the leader of the 23-member Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). He also ordered the Army Chief of Staff and another SCAF stalwart, Gen. Sami Anan, to retire. The […]

Libya
Parliament takes over in Modern Libya’s First Peaceful Transfer of Power

Parliament takes over in Modern Libya’s First Peaceful Transfer of Power

Juan Cole

The UN observer sent to commemorate the event said it all. The peaceful transfer of power from the National Transitional Council to the newly elected Libyan parliament “surprised the world.”. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the NTC during the transitional period, handed the baton to parliament, which was buzzing with deliberations about who the […]

art and photography
Dear Mr. Romney: Palestinians are Poor Because You Stole from them and Kept them Stateless

Dear Mr. Romney: Palestinians are Poor Because You Stole from them and Kept them Stateless

Juan Cole

Mitt Romney, a privileged white man worth a quarter of a billion dollars who has sheltered his money from taxes in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, and who never misses a square meal, stooped to a new obscene low in blaming the victim on Monday by slamming the Palestinians for not being richer. Palestinian […]

Israel/ Palestine
Romney on Jerusalem: A World of Hurt for America

Romney on Jerusalem: A World of Hurt for America

Juan Cole

As expected, Mitt Romney in Israel tried his hardest to make casino mogul and Likud Party stalwart Sheldon Adelson happy. Adelson has pledged $100 million to Romney’s presidential campaign. Romney put all options on the table (a euphemism for illegally launching a war) with regard to Iran. But in an interview with Jim Muir of […]

Israel/ Palestine
Top Ten Most Distasteful things about Romney Trip to Israel

Top Ten Most Distasteful things about Romney Trip to Israel

Juan Cole

The trip of Republic Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to Israel is in bad taste for lots of reasons. 1. He is holding a fundraiser at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. It is distasteful for an American political candidate to hold a high profile fundraiser abroad, implying a commitment to a foreign country as a […]

art and photography
Tripoli, Libya: Martyr’s Square (Photo)

Tripoli, Libya: Martyr’s Square (Photo)

Juan Cole

Martyr’s Square, Tripoli, Libya on a Friday afternoon. This is the area of the former “Green Square” where Qaddafi gave his hours-long crackpot speeches. It now has a carnival atmosphere on the weekends. Families are out, into the evening, and according to the informal interviews I did, most seem quite happy with the new political […]

art and photography
Egypt: Military Pulls the Strings (Tahrir Graffitti)

Egypt: Military Pulls the Strings (Tahrir Graffitti)

Juan Cole

Photograph by Juan Cole of graffiti, Tahrir Square, mid-May 2012, showing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as the puppeteer of Egyptian politics. (Since erased in a government campaign to clear graffiti).

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