The Economist: Islam, democracy and soldiers Egypt’s tragedy
Some rulers think that a mandate to govern has to include the opposition, whatever the size of the majority. Others believe that winner takes all: once they are given a…
Thomas Friedman on Snowden|NYT
Friedman opens with: “I’m glad I live in a country with people who are vigilant in defending civil liberties. But as I listen to the debate about the disclosure of…
Fouad Ajami on anti-western demonstrations in the Arab world
Looking at events in the Arab world, you have the impression that the whole region is fuelled by a gigantic inferiority complex – a dangerous condition, considering what it did…
Robert Fisk on anti-western demonstrations in the Arab world
Robert Fisk: Al-Qa’ida cashes in as the scorpion gets in among the good guys. The good part with that part of the world is that damned if you do, damned…
US envoy’s assassination in Libya and demonstrations across the Arab world
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/revealed-inside-story-of-us-envoys-assassination-8135797.html The point of embassies and diplomacy is to maintain relations between states and governments, even in a time of ubiquitous, instant telecommunications. The whole point of attacking embassies is…
Ed Husain: Jews and Muslims Must Show Unity Against Jihadis|CFR
France: Jews and Muslims Must Show Unity Against Jihadis
BBC World Have Your Say: Has this week changed France?
From Google+: “BBC World Have Your Say – 14:21 – Public Has this week changed France? It been a dramatic few days in France, culminating in the death of the…
Pakistan and the US
Council for Foreign Relations writes about Pakistani Media and anti-Americanism: “U.S.-Pakistan ties deteriorated significantly in the past year, and the anti-American rhetoric in Pakistani media (NYT), especially television, reached a…
Arab Spring – a small reading list
I belong to a discussion (or is it debating?) group. We recently had a debate on the Arab Spring – good or bad? Here are some of the sources I…