Uncategorized

The Egyptian military’s obvious determination to crush the Muslim Brotherhood involves serious human rights violations, apparent in the appalling scenes of the siege of members in a mosque on Saturday. A separate question, which any political pragmatist would ask, is, can it work? If we look at long term attempts to limit political expressions of […]

Egypt

Egypt’s Transition Has Failed: New Age of Military Dictatorship in Wake of Massacre

Juan Cole

The horrible bloodshed in Egypt on Wednesday marked a turning point in the country’s modern history, locking it in to years of authoritarian paternalism and possibly violent faction fighting. The country is ruled by an intolerant junta with no respect for human life. Neither the Brotherhood nor the military made the kind of bargain and […]

Drones

How Much Blood Money does the US Pay to Families of Innocent Drone Victims? It’s Classified (Currier)

Juan Cole

Cora Currier writes at Propublica: There have been nine drone strikes reported in Yemen in the past two weeks – an uptick apparently connected to the Al Qaeda threat that shut down U.S. embassies across the Middle East and Africa. As many as six civilian deaths have also been reported. President Obama has promised increased […]

Uncategorized

Afghanistan: If a White House Report on a Massacre isn’t Released, did the Massacre Happen? (Currier)

Juan Cole

Cora Currier writes at ProPublica Soon after taking office, President Obama pledged to open a new inquiry into the deaths of perhaps thousands of Taliban prisoners of war at the hands of U.S.-allied Afghan fighters in late 2001. Last month, the White House told ProPublica it was still “looking into” the apparent massacre. Now it […]

Libya

All Hell Breaks Loose in Libya

Juan Cole

Over the weekend, all hell broke loose in Libya, in worrying ways that suggest that the government is entering new depths of paralysis and incompetence, and the terrorist cells based in Benghazi are making a play for genuine power. The assassination of a militant secularist nationalist in Benghazi just after the assassination of of a […]

Tunisia

Tunisia: Demos, Parliament Resignations and the Republic of Sidi Bouzid Secedes

Juan Cole

The assassination on Thursday of the leftist leader of the Popular Front, Mohamed Brahmi, provoked no end of trouble in Tunisia on Friday. The left and the middle and upper class secularists tended to blame it on the ruling Renaissance (Ennahda) Party, a party of the religious Right. Some outright accused Renaissance of being behind […]

Egypt

Egypt: Military announces ‘War on Terror,’ Calls for Massive Demos Against Muslim Brotherhood

Juan Cole

Here are two videos from AFP that help explain all those people milling in the street today in Egypt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Minister of Defense, called for big demonstrations on Friday so that that people can “delegate” to the military the ability to wage a “war on terror.” The use of that language […]

al-Qaeda

Pakistan: 20% of US Drone Victims are Civilians, 12% are Children (Woods)

Juan Cole

Exclusive: Leaked Pakistani report confirms high civilian death toll in CIA drone strikes Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: A secret document obtained by the Bureau reveals for the first time the Pakistan government’s internal assessment of dozens of drone strikes, and shows scores of civilian casualties. The United States has consistently […]

Uncategorized

Annals of White Terrorism: Police Arrest Suspect in bombing of Mosque, Murder of Muslim

Juan Cole

A British-Ukrainian suspect is being looked at for both the murder of an elderly Muslim man and several bombings outside mosques in London. Terrorism against Muslims by people of European Christian heritage is almost never called ‘terrorism’ in the press, but this case clearly fits any reasonable definition of the phenomenon. Likewise there is never […]