Abu Aardvark

Links for 2009-07-09 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-10T00:00:00-07:00

Farah Pandith: “It’s not about the American flag being waved everywhere”
First interview by Special Representative to Muslim Communities, with altmuslim. First public appearance slated for WINEP next week... an odd choice.
Marc Lynch: Don’t just watch
... in which I warn the leaders of the "moderate" Arab camp that it's time to stop sitting back and watching the show. The National Newspaper

Links for 2009-07-08 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-09T00:00:00-07:00

'Just World News' with Helena Cobban: Palestinian elections? Not the first priority
I partially agree -- the elections should be combined with a referendum on the final status agreement, held after the conclusion of negotiations, and should definitely not be an alternative to an agreement.
Khaled al-Dakhil: the concessions from Arabs that Washington wants
... in exchange for the settlements battle would actually hurt the cause of peace, writes smart Saudi columnist in UAE's al-Ittihad.
Abu Aardvark Joins CNAS | The Washington Independent
It's true -- details to come.
BBC NEWS | Oxfam: 'Law must thwart' Israeli barrier
Hamas: Abbas call for elections just to flee from Cairo unity talks
Al-Jazeera update on Hamas-Fatah talks
... notable mainly for the outrageously awesome photo illustrating the story... seriously, check it out. Which of those dudes would you support?

Links for 2009-07-07 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-08T00:00:00-07:00

Abu Mazen calls for Palestinian elections under international supervision
... and prepared to surrender power to Hamas if it wins. Al-Arabiya.
Obama: U.S. not giving Israel green light to attack Iran
... cleaning up Biden's mess. Good job to address this forthrightly and fully.
Should there be Palestinian elections? | Marc Lynch
Putting this here as an experiment, to see if it gets my new posts out to the people still relying on the old Feedburner email subscription service.
…My heart’s in Accra » Activist media and selective amplifiers

Links for 2009-07-06 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-07T00:00:00-07:00

Anti-Normalization Protesters Beaten In Jordan: Permission To Speak Freely Sir? at The Black Iris of Jordan
PA announces that it thwarted attempted Hamas coup in West Bank
.. seems to be a lot of that going around these days, can't think why. As arrests and seizure of funds and mutual accusations escalate. Al-Akhbar.
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Samarraie in Kuwait to discuss Chapter Seven
... after spell of dangerous back and forth between the two countries, time to resolve this issue once and for all. Al-Jazeera.
Controversy in Jordan over withdrawing of passports for certain Palestinian-origin Jordanians
... and replacing with non-passport identity documents. Part of endless battle of Jordanian-Palestinian relations, linked to the "Jordan is Palestine" fears, and recently escalating. Al-Quds.
MEI Editor's Blog: The Marwa al-Sherbini Case and the Outrage of the Egyptian Street

Links for 2009-07-01 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-02T00:00:00-07:00

Hamas-Fatah dialogue postponed until end of July
... over the prisoners issue. So much for Omar Suleiman's July 7 ceremony.... Al-Jazeera.
Jordanian FM: Obama to announce peace plan in three weeks
... don't know what he's basing this on, but there it is. Ammon News.
Mike Hanna | A First Step on the Way Out of Iraq
Honest-brokering By Christian Brose | Shadow Government
I agree with Chris about this.
Michael Barnett » Israel should hand off Palestinians to the UN
Very smart old friend just back from visit to Israel.

Links for 2009-06-29 [del.icio.us]

2009-06-30T00:00:00-07:00

AM: Insecure about Iraq
sure we could stay longer, but to what end?
Obama is more Dangerous than Bush — jihadica
At least, that's what the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's magazine thinks. Thomas Hegghammer.
Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despair
ICRC report. The reports I heard from aid workers on the ground in Gaza were downright harrowing.

Links for 2009-06-28 [del.icio.us]

2009-06-29T00:00:00-07:00

Egypt arrests Abd al-Monem Abou el-Fattouh
... crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood reaches one of its most liberal and reformist leaders.

No more post updates

2009-04-14T00:40:29-04:00

In case it hasn't been obvious, I'm not collecting the links to individual posts over at the new blog site here anymore. Please come over to lynch.foreignpolicy.com for current posts. Thanks!

FP March 2

2009-03-02T21:10:55-05:00

Posts for email subscribers:

Disappointment at Sharm al-Shaykh, in which I register my frustration at Hillary Clinton's "West Bank First, Fatah Only" speech and lack of encouraging words for Palestinian unity talks; followed by commentary by Tamara Wittes (who disagrees) and Nathan Brown (who agrees). A very interesting exchange, IMHO.

FP March 1

2009-03-01T17:16:24-05:00

Posts for email subscribers:

Continuing the Iraq argument, in which I respond to contributions from Christian Brose, Tom Ricks, and Peter Feaver.

FP Feb 28

2009-02-28T18:42:58-05:00

Today's post for email subscribers:

Those two months made all the difference, in which I marvel at the rush to embrace Obama's Iraq plan by the same people who used to attack it even though it only changed by two months.

FP Feb 27

2009-02-27T15:58:34-05:00

Posts for email subscribers:

Obama gets it right on Iraq, in which I respond favorably to the big speech.
Towards a Palestinian accord, in which I consider the potential of the announcement of moves towards a unity government

FP Feb 25

2009-02-25T20:59:34-05:00

Today's and yesterday's posts, for email subscribers:

Listening to Amr Moussa, in which I recount his appearance today at Carnegie with David Ignatius
Muslims still don't like al-Qaeda or the U.S., in which I discuss the latest PIPA survey of Muslim opinion released today
18 months, in which I express cautious delight at the rumour of an Obama decision on Iraq
Jordan's cabinet shuffle, in which I discuss the implications such as they are of the new Jordanian government lineup. If I had waited a day, I could have added a senior Islamic Action Front leader rolling his eyes and saying "that doesn't matter."

FP Feb 23

2009-02-23T16:40:13-05:00

Today's post for email subscribers:

My review of Tom Ricks, The Gamble. And here's a direct link to the review, as part of weeklong "virtual book club."

FP Feb 20

2009-02-20T10:11:47-05:00

Sorry, been doing a terrible job keeping up with these links for email subscribers. Here are my FP.com posts for the last few days.

Still waiting on public diplomacy (Feb 17), in which I consider personnel rumors in the area
All aboard the Arab reconciliation train (Feb 18), in which I note the accelerating moves in that direction and what they might mean
Ayman Nour's release - symbol and substance (Feb 19), in which I hope that this doesn't end U.S. pressure for democratic reforms in Egypt
What's happening in Bahrain (I mean, the 14th province of Iran), in which I note the Arab enthusiasm for a diplomatic crisis with Iran
Public diplomacy and strategic communications: the conversation, in which I link to my new long article on U.S. engagement with the Muslim world. Direct link to it here.

FP Feb 16

2009-02-16T14:07:39-05:00

Catching up on a few days worth of posts over at Foreign Policy:

International Relations 2008, in which I discuss the latest TRIP survey of the field and inadvertantly trigger a NESCAC war
Arabs closing ranks, in which I discuss the Saudi outreach to Syria
Blogging the Middle East, in which I link to a summary another blogger did of my talk on the subject

FP Feb 11

2009-02-11T14:42:15-05:00

Today's FP.com post for email subscribers:

Signs of the (coming) Middle East, in which I note that the Saudi press is more interested in the visit of China's President than in the Israeli election.