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  • Arab Spring

    How a Video of a Tunisian Fruit Seller Changed Middle East History

    Two years ago this week, the tragic suicide of a young Tunisian fruit seller set in motion events that roiled the Arab world and changed history. Twenty-seven-year-old Mohammed Bouazizi from the town of Sidi Bouzid had been struggling to feed his family and found his only means of doing so, … More

    Kerry in Spotlight; Hot Issues Remain for Next Secretary of State

    Last week, embattled U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice took herself out of the running for Secretary of State as Hillary Clinton’s successor. It did not take long for the rumor mill to pick up that President Obama is leaning toward Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for the post. Though Rice did not … More

    Will the “Day the World Shook” Be This Weekend?

    Quick—rush to Vegas and lay down a bet on this weekend’s headlines. Here is a short list of what we all might be talking about by Monday. Arab Spring Part II The president of Egypt showed his true colors last week—which look an awful lot like a Muslim Brotherhood banner—by … More

    Syrian Crisis Escalates Amid Renewed Concern over Chemical Weapons

    On Monday, President Obama warned the beleaguered Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons against its own people. “Today I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching,” Obama said in a speech at the National Defense … More

    Morning Bell: Egypt’s President Moves Toward Dictatorship

    Egypt remains in turmoil after its president decreed last Thursday that he was no longer subject to the laws of his country—giving himself power over the judiciary and other branches of government. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi made his lunge for power shortly after helping to broker a fragile ceasefire in … More

    Egyptian Opposition Pushes Back Against Morsi’s Autocratic Ambitions

    Egypt has been rocked once again by a political crisis triggered by President Mohamed Morsi’s relentless efforts to secure dictatorial power. Hundreds of protesters from liberal and secular opposition groups demonstrated in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of Egypt’s stunted “Arab Spring” revolt. One barometer of the coming test of … More

    Bahrain and Kuwait Face Growing Internal Threats as Syrian Opposition Gathers in Qatar

    Three Arab kingdoms in the Persian Gulf region have been confronted with the destabilizing fallout of growing political tensions in recent days. On Monday, a series of bombings in Bahrain’s capital of Manama killed two men, an ominous sign that the struggle between the island nation’s predominantly Sunni ruling elite … More

    Arab Spring Protests Underscore Urgent Need for Economic Reforms

    In Monday’s foreign policy debate, Governor Mitt Romney briefly mentioned the importance of economic reform in addressing some of the problems associated with the eruption of the “Arab Spring” uprisings. The Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom confirmed that the lack of economic freedom was a major factor that … More

    Presidential Debate: Where Is Mali, Anyway?

    Less than four minutes into last night’s presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney listed northern Mali as one of the hot spots affected by the proliferation of international terrorism. Romney’s mention of a country in a region of Africa (the Sahel) that few Americans have heard of had many viewers scratching … More

    Lebanon Simmers with Anti-Assad Rage

    Lebanon has been roiled by mounting political tensions in the wake of another assassination of a Lebanese leader that is widely blamed on the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Last Friday, a car bomb killed the intelligence chief of Lebanon’s internal security forces, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, who was a … More