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“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”
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Category Archives: Arab Spring
Syria Crisis: Guide to Armed and Political Opposition
The BBC has put together an illuminating outline of the different armed groups operating in Syria that I think is worth your attention: There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Syria
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Mubarak’s Release
We are at the highest peak of the counter-revolution in the Arab Uprisings. The Saudi-UAE-backed Egyptian coup is now commandeering the release of Hosni Mubarak. His release should lay to rest any delusion that the Sisi-coup in Egypt was the … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring
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Iran the Winner of the Arab Spring?
On March 7th I participated in my 4th HuffPost Live discussion, this time joined by Flynt Everett. I argued that Iran’s regional clout had been weakened by the Arab Spring and that it was an opportune moment to reach an … Continue reading
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The Unknown Arab Uprising: Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia Keep the Protest Movement Alive
The Global Post: Editor’s Note: When Arab Spring protests broke out in Saudi Arabia in 2011, the government reacted quickly. It pumped $130 billion into the economy, including hiring 300,000 new state workers and raising salaries. It also brutally cracked … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy
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Iraqi Sunnis await a Baghdad spring
The Guardian: Abu Saleh sits in a striped tent pitched by the side of the highway joining Jordan and Syria with Iraq and reflects on the latest, improbable twist in his 10-year career fighting those he considers the enemies of … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Iran, Iraq, Syria
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The Diplomatic Opportunity in Iran’s Dashed Hopes for the ‘Arab Spring’
My latest piece at Tehran Bureau (PBS): Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s recent visit to Iran to attend the 120-member gathering of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) represents monumental shifts rooted in the Arab uprisings that have significant ramifications for Egypt and Iran. … Continue reading
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The Arab Spring and Eastern Saudi Arabia
I’m partial towards any uprising, more or less, against any and all regimes in the Middle East as I believe that not a single one is worthy of toleration. The ones that really tug on the heartstrings, however, are the … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia
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Review of Sohrab Ahmari’s “Arab Spring Dreams: Freedom and Justice from North Africa to Iran”
Preparing for my preliminary exams required a year of reading. After completing the exams on April 18, I pledged to continue tackling books at a steady pace. One book I recently read, Arab Spring Dreams: Freedom and Justice from North … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Books
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Video: Bahrain’s Massive Rally on Friday
After repeated crackdowns, mass arrests, mass firings, torture, tear gas, suffering through a Saudi-led invasion force, the Bahraini uprising endures. See the footage from a massive march last Friday.
Posted in Arab Spring, Bahrain
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Video: Double standards tangle Syria diplomacy
This is a short but amazing video of the double standards to some of the foreign parties to the uprising in Syria.
Posted in Arab Spring, Syria
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Sectarianism in the Middle East
Professor Vali Nasr recently published an important article on Sunni-Shi’ite sectarianism in the Middle East as the “dominant dynamic in the region today.” Although it is an important issue in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world, I disagree … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia
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The Arab Spring is Israel’s Worst Nightmare
I’ve long said that Israel fears democracy in the Middle East and has long worked to subvert it–from helping the CIA create Iran’s internal intelligence service, the SAVAK, after the coup that brought down Mossadegh’s government, to supporting Egypt’s Mubarak … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Palestine
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Saudi Arabia is the key to the US/EU oil embargo on Iran
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Iran’s central bank making it increasingly difficult for others to purchase Iranian oil. The European states are phasing out their remaining outstanding contracts with Iran. Saudi Arabia, the avowed … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia
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Video: Tunisians Marked One-Year Anniversary of the Revolution
Tunisia, where it all started… see the video here.
Posted in Arab Spring, Tunisia
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End of the pro-democracy pretense
This is a very important article. I’m posting it in full below. I’ll highlight the most important parts in bold in case you don’t have the patience to read the entire piece: Media coverage of the Arab Spring somehow depicted … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, US Foreign Policy
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