With news of a series of bombings and attacks in Iraq, of kidnappings and reprisals in Lebanon, and an ongoing Civil War in Syria, anyone who looks at the map of the Greater Middle East cannot fail to see a new Great Divide. The Great Divide has three dimensions. 1. First, it pits the Shanghai […]
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Arab World
Why Syria’s Revolution is not like Libya’s (Dughman)
Husam Dughman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The Arab Spring springs surprises When a popular uprising started in Tunisia less than two years ago, it took the world by surprise. Not many observers had anticipated the outbreak, let alone the success, of popular uprisings in a region far better known for the […]
Arabs and the Olympics (Majid)
Anouar Majid writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The 2012 Olympics in London gave us a golden opportunity to assess the condition of the Arab world in its natural state. Sports is one occasion when political slogans and self-deception are useless. One either wins or loses. The performance of Arabs reflects the dismal […]
In Switch, Egypt’s Civilian President Makes Coup against Generals
This is BIG. The BBC says that Egypt’s elected president, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, has just ordered the firing of Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the leader of the 23-member Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). He also ordered the Army Chief of Staff and another SCAF stalwart, Gen. Sami Anan, to retire. The […]
Parliament takes over in Modern Libya’s First Peaceful Transfer of Power
The UN observer sent to commemorate the event said it all. The peaceful transfer of power from the National Transitional Council to the newly elected Libyan parliament “surprised the world.”. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the NTC during the transitional period, handed the baton to parliament, which was buzzing with deliberations about who the […]
Tripoli, Libya: Martyr’s Square (Photo)
Martyr’s Square, Tripoli, Libya on a Friday afternoon. This is the area of the former “Green Square” where Qaddafi gave his hours-long crackpot speeches. It now has a carnival atmosphere on the weekends. Families are out, into the evening, and according to the informal interviews I did, most seem quite happy with the new political […]
Egypt: Military Pulls the Strings (Tahrir Graffitti)
Photograph by Juan Cole of graffiti, Tahrir Square, mid-May 2012, showing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as the puppeteer of Egyptian politics. (Since erased in a government campaign to clear graffiti).
Syrian Baath Escalates, Uses Jets to Bomb Aleppo
When I was interviewed by the BBC last week about rebel advances in Damascus, I cautioned that putting some armed bands in some neighborhoods would not result in a revolution. Nor did even a big bombing of security officials. I said that that a significant proportion of the population of the capital would have to […]
Cole Twitter, Facebook,, Email, Books (Repeat)
Some book keeping for new readers. Subscribe to postings by email here You can follow the blog via Twitter @jricole. The Facebook Informed Comment fan page is here One of my Facebook pages is here. Those who like reading history and want a background on Egypt might enjoy these books of mine: Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading […]
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