Month: August 2013

Stratfor’s president says the red line on Syria was meant to be a grand gesture, but it has backfired and even if the rebels or a third party are behind the use chemical agents against civilians, unless he “can get overwhelming, indisputable proof that al Assad did not — and that isn’t going to happen…

With Syrian approval, the UN begins its investigation into which side is responsible for the deadly chemical attack, but the British foreign secretary says that the UK has already made up its mind and it and the U.S. are preparing for war despite the reticence of the American public: Syria: UN Inspectors Can Go to…

The U.S. wants a U.N. investigation of the most recent chemical weapons accusations in order to protect itself from repeating Bush’s error in Iraq (where yet another 26 people were killed today) and Russia  wants it because it is expects the rebels have fabricated the evidence … On Syria, Obama Says No Rush Toward Costly…

Egypt’s plans to consider releasing overthrown dictator Hosni Mubarak  even as it prepares its prosecution of both secular politician Mohamed El-Baradei and the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual guide sums up the reversal of the advancement of Egyptian democracy… Egyptian Court Could Free Mubarak as Crisis Deepens (Reuters) Mohamed ElBaradei Facing Court Case (Guardian) Egypt’s Arrest of Muslim…

Ennahda’s decision came after a rare and previously unannounced private meeting in Paris on Friday between Ghannouchi and Beji Caid Essebsi, a former prime minister and the head of the main opposition … party. … [T]he Tunisian army has no tradition of interfering in politics and also has no parallel business empire to defend”: In…

“[T]he coup leaders have undertaken repressive and extra-legal measures against liberties and human rights, including the detention of hundreds of opponents, closing down satellite channels, freezing bank accounts, imposing travel bans, and staging politically motivated trials”  … Egyptians Pay for Democracy in Blood (Conversation) … and killing journalists … Egypt’s Violence Fells Cameraman and Writers (Christian Science…

With at least 149 dead as the military bloodletting gets underway … Cairo Erupts into Violence as Security Crushes Protest Camp (Christian Science Monitor) Egypt: VP ElBaradei Resigns to Protest Raids (abc News) As Military Makes Its Move, Forget About Liberal Democracy in Egypt (Christian Science Monitor) … Western indifference to the subversion of the…

“A security official in the capital told BBC Arabic the authorities had hoped the announcement to disperse them would encourage protesters to leave. But this has not happened and the number of people at the sites is increasing”: Egypt Authorities Delay Morsi Protest Camps Crackdown (BBC) “The previously undisclosed rule change allows NSA operatives to hunt…

“Tunisia’s new leaders missed opportunities to make badly needed economic reforms” instead “offering unsustainable quick-fix[es] …[and] impossible promises of” rural development, fueling resentment” while Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood “that had long operated in secret, it was predisposed to … a lack of transparency”: Who’s to Blame for the Islamists’ Fall? (Christian Science Monitor) Once again a paper tiger,…

“Tunisia has become increasingly polarized by rival street movements. Ennahda came out in a show of force a few days earlier, drawing the largest crowd since Ben Ali’s ouster for a pro-government rally that it said topped 150,000. Ben Jaafar’s decision to suspend the Assembly, meanwhile, could deepen the country’s political crisis”: Tens of Thousands Rally…