November 29, 2012

No. 82-2012

Region Jihad El-Khazen: Did You Say Spring?

The Arab Spring reminds me of the old, unlamented Socialist bloc countries. Each one was officially called "Democratic," though they were not actually so. In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood have monopolized the revolution and set up a Soviet-style regime by another name. Instead of the Communist Party, there is the Freedom and Justice Party, and both represent a one-party state that accepts no opposition or difference of opinion.

Source: Al Hayat (London) November 26, 2012

Egypt Hassan A. Barari: A Risky Decision

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsis recent edict exempting his decrees from judicial review until the ratification of a constitution is outrageous, as it eliminates the checks and balances system. No wonder the Egyptians took to the streets to express their anger. Morsis action is shortsighted: with one stroke, he ignited a political polarization along secular-religious lines. His attempt to gain unchecked power may backfire.

Source: The Jordan Times (Amman) November 26, 2012

Region Abdulkhaleq Abdulla: The US, Islamists, and Arab Gulf States
The way in which the Obama administration has decided to engage the phenomenal rise of the Muslim Brotherhood is raising many questions and a few concerns throughout the region, especially among some Arab Gulf States, that the United States was too quick to turn its back on its friends and too eager to roll out the red carpet for Islamist parties.

Source: Gulf News (Dubai) November 27, 2012

Palestine Ibrahim al-Amin: The New Hamas: Challenges of Resistance

The great praise being voiced for the steadfastness of the people and resistance in Gaza cannot blind us to some facts and questions related to the latest developments. We need to take into account that Arab attitudes to the Palestinian cause and resistance are changing. It must be noted by the pro-resistance camp, for example, that not one Arab capital witnessed a serious demonstration in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

Source: Al-Akhbar English (Beirut) November 23, 2012

Egypt Tamer Wagih: Revolutionaries Must Resist Morsy, But Also the Feloul
On 12 August, President Mohamed Morsy issued a surprise constitutional declaration ending the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces grip on power. Three months later, on 22 November, Morsy issued a second unanticipated constitutional declaration, ordering the retrial of Mubarak regime leaders accused of killing revolutionary protesters and immunizing the Constituent Assembly and the Shura Council, as well as his own decisions, from judicial challenges. Morsy has been in power for only five months but has already revealed the nature of the Brotherhood and deepened an existing crisis.

Source: Egypt Independent (Cairo) November 25, 2012

Turkey Murat Yetkin: What Will Patriots Bring to Turkey?

The Turkish military will start a joint field survey with other NATO officers to select the best sites to deploy U.S.made Patriot anti-missile systems along the Turkish-Syrian border. The Patriot missiles will bring the reiteration of the NATO umbrella against a possible attack from the Middle East - today from Syria, tomorrow perhaps as a result of an Israeli-Iranian conflict. The deployment of Patriot batteries in Turkey could positively change the parameters of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and endorse the image of NATO as a deterrent power.

Source: Hrriyet (Istanbul) November 27, 2012

Turkey Mehmet Ali Birand: I Had a Dream

When PM Erdoan lambasted the TV series Muhteem Yzyl? (The Magnificent Century) -- a soap opera loosely based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent -- all hell broke loose. In time, we will see how serious the PM is about cancelling the show. I had a dream that rather than kowtowing to PM Erdoan on every issue, politicians and the judiciary would adopt a different stance.

Source: Hrriyet Daily News (Istanbul) November 27, 2012

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