Analysis & Commentary
Defense in the Age of Jihad
Defense policies are not created in a vacuum. They are designed to meet threats. Over time, threats change in ways that are difficult to predict. In the past, America’s enemies generally...
Egypt Against Itself
This week marks the second anniversary of the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Two years after the refrain “the people want to topple the regime” filled Tahrir Square, it is now Egypt itself that is toppling.
News Update
FDD's Khairi Abaza says that the violent protests in Tunisia are a response to a slain opposition leader and concern of an Islamist regime.
Egypt’s Never-Ending Revolution
Since January 25, Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented wave of nationwide protests which have left more than 60 people dead. The country remains in a state of lawlessness.
Another Crisis in the Horn?
Reports coming from the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Monday indicated that rebels had thrown the small country, northwest of the Horn of Africa, into chaos. The rebel troops had captured the Ministry...
Islamists are Worse Than Dictators
Who is worse, President Mohammed Morsi, the elected Islamist seeking to apply Islamic law in Egypt, or former President Hosni Mubarak, the dictator ousted for trying to start a dynasty? More broadly...
Better To Elect Islamists Than Have Dictators?
"Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable," economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, dictators have been toppled and new leaders have begun to...
A Conservative Split Over the Middle East
Mitt Romney’s speech on foreign affairs this week was surprisingly moderate. Rhetorically it was full of sound and fury but, on closer examination, it signified no major change of policy. Romney affirmed the timetable...
2 Islamist Militants Arrested in Sinai by Egyptian Forces
On Oct. 1, two Islamist militants were arrested by Egyptian forces near the city of el-Arish in the North Sinai governorate. The militants, who have since been transferred to Cairo, reportedly...
Rebels With a Cause, But Not Much Consensus
As President Bashar al-Assad's forces disintegrate, the Syrian civil war is devolving into a battle between Sunni rebel groups and Alawite-dominated militias fighting in support of the old...
Engaging Fundamentalists
Given the growing strength and electoral triumphs of fundamentalists in the Middle East, many in Washington fear that the administration just can’t handle Islamists.
Islamism in the Popular Imagination
The term “Islamist” has been bandied about frequently since revolutionary events gripped the Arab world last year. It is a term meant to signify those, including political parties.
What’s Next for Egypt?
What’s going to happen in Egypt now that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi has been elected president? That’s the question weighing heavily on everyone’s minds—perhaps no one’s as much as Benjamin Netanyahu’s.
Egypt’s Future Uncertain as Mubarak’s Health Worsens
With Egypt soon to head into the final round of its first presidential elections, deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak looks to be on his last legs. Though a court recently sentenced him to life in prison, Mubarak looks not to have much life left in him.
The Battle of Syria
They say politics makes strange bedfellows. But even stranger are the bedfellows that national security policy makes. Andrew C. McCarthy, a friend and colleague, provides a stunning example.
Mubarak’s Old Stalwarts Vie for Supremacy
In late May, Egyptians will vote in the first free presidential election in their history. But despite parliamentary elections and other inklings of democracy, the forces of the old dictatorship under deposed President Hosni Mubarak still hold the cards.
Liberate ‘Zones of Electronic Repression’!
Islamists shouldn’t be allowed to use Western technology to crush dissent.
Militant Islamism, Islamism, Islam
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has described the Muslim Brotherhood as “secular.” Vice President Joseph Biden recently said the Taliban “is not our enemy.”
Defcon 3
Are Islamists replacing autocrats in Egypt and Turkey?
The John Batchelor Show
Developments in the Middle East, particularly 70% Muslim Brotherhood/Islamist election victory in Cairo, Erdogan's arrest of generals (and his alleged cancer) and developments in Syria.
