Arab World

Muslims of Syrian town of Saraqeb put up Christmas tree for local Christians. The young man who is being interviewed stresses the unity of all Syrians, whether Muslim, Christian, Druze, etc. The Syrian revolutionaries took it at the beginning of November. It was subsequently the site of the execution of captured Syrian army troops. Last […]

Egypt

Egypt’s Controversial Fundamentalist Constitution Meets Low Turnout

Juan Cole

Egyptians went to the polls again Saturday in the second round of the constitutional referendum. The provinces or governorates that voted in this round were disproportionately rural, and early returns suggested a big “yes” vote, perhaps as high as 70% or so. Rural areas are strongholds of the Muslim Brotherhood and other fundamentalist forces, though […]

Egypt

Fundamentalist Constitution Provokes Street Clashes in Alexandria, 77 Wounded

Juan Cole

As Egyptians in 17 governorates head to the polls on Saturday in the second round of the controversial referendum on the new constitution, tension still simmers in the country’s second-largest city, Alexandria, where street clashes left 77 wounded on Friday. The clashes again show the unwisdom of the way President Muhammad Morsi, who hails from […]

Libya

Benghazi’s Deep Throat fingers Islamist Leaders for Attacks as State Dept Criticized on Consular Security

Juan Cole

The report saying that security was inadequate at the compound that the US had adopted as its ad hoc consulate in Benghazi, Libya, dominates today’s headlines. That conclusion is obvious. The “consulate” was just a private residence taken over for this purpose by the US in the city. It was not constructed to be a […]

Afghanistan

How America is Filling up itself and the World With Guns

Juan Cole

The American obsession with guns and violence is not unique, but it is distinctive. The US ranks 12th in the world for rate of firearm-related deaths. El Salvador, Colombia, Swaziland, Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and some others are worse. But that is the company the US is in– not, say, relatively peaceful places like […]

Egypt

Top Ten Threats to the Legitimacy of Egypt’s new Constitution

Juan Cole

Early returns from the Egyptian provinces that voted in a two-stage referendum on Saturday suggest that the draft constitution garnered some 56% of the vote. It was rejected in the capital, Cairo, and in the Delta province of Gharbiya, but won in the 8 other provinces where voting took place on Saturday, including Alexandria and […]

Libya

Top Ten GOP Myths about Libya that Sank Susan Rice

Juan Cole

The charge against US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice was led by a handful of Republican senators and congressmen, and based on the alleged deficiencies of her account of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on September 11. She withdrew her name from consideration for secretary of state on Thursday. The […]

Egypt

Will Egyptian Left & Liberals Urge a “No” vote on Constitution or Boycott?

Juan Cole

The left, liberal and centrist parties grouped in the National Salvation Front have decided to campaign for a “no” vote on the constitution in the two-part referendum that begins on Saturday, rather than boycotting it, assuming certain conditions are met. The decision came in the wake of large dueling demonstrations on Tuesday by the left […]

Syria

Obama Recognizes Syrian Opposition as Government, as Fighters advance in Aleppo, Damascus

Juan Cole

President Obama announced on Tuesday that the US now formally recognizes the Syrian opposition as the legitimate government of Syria: US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Tuesday that there were no further indications of the Syrian regime priming itself to deploy chemical weapons. (My own suspicion is that Israeli intelligence planted that story in […]