Photo Credit: Wissm al-Okili/Reuters

Signs of Increasing Sectarian Conflict in Iraq

Increasing incidents of violence have swept across Iraq in recent weeks and Reuters reports that "tensions are at their highest in Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out more than a year ago." Bombings on Monday and Wednesday ...

Photo Credit: Mohammed Ameen/Reuters

Despite Assassinations, Violence, Iraq to Hold Elections

Iraq will hold Governorate Council Elections in 12 of its 18 provinces on Saturday despite increased violence and a wave of assassinations. On Monday, approximately 20 separate attacks across the country killed nearly 50 and wounded more than 200. In recent months, ...

Photo Credit: Sami Zaptia/Libya Herald

Senator McCain Visits Libya; Tunisia a “Militant Haven”

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) visited Libya on Thursday for the fifth time since the country's revolution. He met with Prime Minister Ali Zidane, the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defense, and Justice, and the president of Libya's General National ...

POMED Notes: “Algeria Between Reform and Stability”

The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) hosted a public discussion focused on political reform and security in Algeria featuring SAIS faculty members, Profs. William Zartman and Eamonn Gearon. The event was moderated by Prof. Daniele Moro. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for the PDF. Dr. William Zartman began the discussion with remarks about the struggle between reform and stability in the Middle East and North ...

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Islamist Vigilantism Threatening Tunisia’s Future

In a piece for Foreign Policy, David Gartenstein-Ross urges the U.S. and the international community to press Tunisian officials to prosecute vigilantes responsible for acts of violence , obstruction of justice and threats to freedom of expression throughout the ...

Photo Credit: AFP Photo/Mohammed Huwais

Yemeni Official Killed, National Dialogue Moves Forward

In Yemen on Wednesday two suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed Colonel Abdullah al-Mushki, a high-ranking security official. "The interior ministry said that 40 members of the security forces and four civilians were killed in 2012 in ...

Photo Credit: USIP

USIP: Middle East in 2013

The United States Institute of Peace released a report entitled "Middle East in 2013: Promise and (Lots of) Peril," written by Robin Wright and Garrett Nada. The report examines the state of the uprisings in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, as well as the potential ...

Photo Credit: @mjondy

U.S. Officially Recognizes Syrian Opposition Coalition

On December 11, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the U.S. now officially recognizes the Syrian Opposition Coalition as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people." Deputy Secretary of State William Burns restated the position while attending the “Friends of ...

Photo Credit: AFP

Chemical Weapons Increase Talk of Syria Intervention

According to U.S. officials, “the Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting orders from President Bashar Assad.” As of the report there was no evidence that nerve agents had been fully 

Photo Credit: Vahid Salemi/AP

Iran Hosts Dialogue on Syria Conflict

On November 18, 200 regional politicians as well representatives from Russia and China held a “Syrian National Dialogue” conference in Tehran to discuss an end to violence in Syria. Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, warned that arming the ...

POMED Notes: U.S.-Mideast Diplomacy in Transition

The Middle East Institute hosted an event Wednesday (11/14) entitled “U.S.-Mideast Diplomacy in Transition: New Era, New Principles.” The panel included Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; Ellen Laipson, CEO of the Stimson Center; Daniel Brumberg, senior advisor at the United States Institute for Peace; Reuel Marc Gerecht, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; and was moderated by former Ambassador to Kuwait, Deborah ...

Photo Credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times

Commentators Weigh In on Foreign Policy Debate

Last night's foreign policy debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney focused on numerous Middle East foreign policy issues, including Libya, Syria, Israel, Iran, and the U.S. approach to the Arab Spring. Both contenders agreed ...

POMED Notes: Realism, Idealism & the Politics of Obama’s Foreign Policy

On October 16, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy hosted a discussion by former Los Angeles Times correspondent Jim Mann and Washington Post correspondent Tom Hamburger. Mann discussed the premise of his new book, “The Obamians” and along with Hamburger, spoke on politics, foreign policy, and the current presidential campaign. For full notes, continue reading, or click here for a PDF.   Jim Mann addressed the role of foreign policy in the ...

POMED Notes: Yemen’s Transition, the Way Forward

Yemen's President Abd Rabbo Mansur al-Hadi made a public appearance at the Woodrow Wilson Center on Friday, addressing an overflow audience two days after his much-publicized speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The title of Hadi’s remarks was “Yemen’s Transition: The Way Forward,” although the Yemeni president also offered a brief overview of the country’s recent history, major security accomplishments and challenges, and the threat from Iran, ...

Photo: Reuters

Libyan Militias Respond to President’s Order to Disband

Photo Credit: Reuters Following mass protests, Libyan President Mohamed al-Magarief ordered any militia that does not fall under the government’s authority to disband within 48 hours, an action praised by Secretary Hillary Clinton. The militias ...

Photo Credit: Tunisia Live

Tunisian Arts Festival Elicits Support, Protests

Yesterday organizers of the Printemps des Art Fair in La Marsa, Tunisia refused to take down a contemporary art exhibit that some found offensive, prompting angry exchanges between artists and their supporters and members of the public who wanted ...

photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

Yemeni Rebels Prepared for “Serious Dialogue”

According to reports, Yemen's restive northern Houthi rebels "have agreed to take part in a serious dialogue... to resolve the country's problems and achieve the objectives of the popular revolution," the official Saba news agency reported. Rebel chief ...

President Hadi

Yemen Receives $61M from World Bank

On Wednesday, the World Bank came to an agreement with Yemen totaling $61 million to fund the Labor Intensive Public Works Project. “Citizens need to see their government deliver services and this project is rightly focused on marginalized and ...

AP Photo

“Friends of Yemen” Gather in Saudi Arabia

Following Monday's suicide attack at a military parade drill in Sana'a, the "Friends of Yemen" gathered in Riyadh to provide political and financial support for Yemen. The coalition is co-sponsored by Britain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen with 27 countries and multiple ...

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Yemen’s Ongoing Internal Struggle Against Al Qaeda

A suicide bomber dressed in a military uniform killed at least 101 soldiers at the central security headquarters in Yemen during a military parade rehearsal in Sabeen Square in Sanaa. The BBC reported that a source had confirmed al Qaeda ...

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