Arab World

The campaigns of the candidates for president of Egypt drew to a close at midnight on Sunday, in preparation for voting on Wednesday and Thursday. On Sunday, al-Shuruq published an opinion poll on the election. In the poll, a third of Egyptians said their number one concern was security (i.e. law and order). 14.3 percent […]

Syria

Aleppo Joins the Syrian Revolution: Are al-Assad’s Days Numbered?

Juan Cole

The largest demonstrations held in Syria’s second city, Aleppo, since the beginning over a year ago of the revolutionary movement in that country, were held on Friday. In part, they were provoked by the brutality of regime troops toward student protesters at the university in Aleppo on Thursday. The Baathist regime of President Bashar al-Assad […]

Egypt

Egypt’s Tantawi Pledges no first Strike Abroad, Fair Elections at Home

Juan Cole

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi addressed Egyptian troops on Wednesday and attempted to raise their morale for praising them as the guarantors of Egypt’s security. Al-Masrawi reports: “Field Marshal Tantawi said, “We are heading in the right direction.” He deplored the allegations that sometimes issue from activist organizations “that we are in enmity with this state […]

Bahrain

US arms Sales to Bahrain Undercut Criticism of Russia, Iran on Syria

Juan Cole

You wouldn’t think Bahrain and Syria were much linked. Both are Arabic-speaking countries, though about half of Bahrain’s residents are non-citizen guest workers who speak anything but Arabic. One is a geographically fairly large country of some 23 million abutting the eastern Mediterranean. The other is a set of tiny islands in the Mideast’s Gulf. […]

Egypt

Military-Salafi Clashes in Egypt Injured hundreds, Kill 1 Soldier

Juan Cole

The Egyptian military pushed back Friday against largely Salafi protesters, who insisted on attempting to get near to the Ministry of Defense in the al-Abbasiya district. When they tried to cut through the barbed wire keeping them off the MoD grounds, troops used water cannon and teargas to disperse them, and charged the crowd, pushing […]

Egypt

Deaths of Protesters Lead Egyptian Politicians to Suspend Presidential Campaign

Juan Cole

Thugs, very possibly backed by the continued military dictatorship in Egypt, attacked protesters at dawn on Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Defense in al-Abbasiya, Cairo, leaving some 20 dead. The protesters suspect that they were actually plainsclothes police. The 500 or so protesters had been gathered to object to the disqualification of their […]

Egypt

Will the Egyptian Military Allow the New President to take Office?

Juan Cole

Al-Hayat reported that Egypt’s military council is making odd demands on the eve of the presidential election scheduled for May 23-24. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) says it wants the new constitution to be drafted before the president assumes office. Presumably this demand derives from the old constitution’s provisions that give the […]

Syria

Tens of Thousands of Syrians Protest Peacefully after Ceasefire, 6 Killed

Juan Cole

On the first day since the Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad maintained that it had accepted a ceasefire with its opposition, tens of thousands of Syrians came out into the streets to protest. The regime did not, as promised, pull tanks from the streets, so that the crowds were thinner than they might have been. […]

Bahrain

Bahrain Crisis between Hunger Strike and Grand Prix Boycott

Juan Cole

The crisis in Bahrain continues to boil along, despite the harsh crackdown of the Sunni monarchy on the protest movement (made up largely of the Shiite majority, but also supported by some Sunni parties). The crackdown has left about 83 dead in the past year, and hundreds have been imprisoned. Abd al-Hadi al-Khwajah, a protester […]