Middle East News Thread

By adrena, on December 7th, 2012

Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood Defend Response to Protests

CAIRO — Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi expressed his grief over the deaths and hundreds of injuries resulting from violent clashesthat continued into Wednesday, while warning against further challenges to his decrees and confirming that the constitutional referendum will be held as scheduled for Dec. 15.

Opposition says No to Morsi talks offer

Egypt’s mainly secular opposition rejected an offer of dialogue from Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Friday raising the prospect of further escalation of a crisis that already turned bloody earlier this week.

Morsi’s Unsustainable Autocracy

Is President Mohammed Morsi an autocrat or a theocrat?

He may be neither or both.

Judging the Egyptian president’s ruling style should not be based on his ideological or theological background, as some accounts have argued, but rather on his politics and personality.

*Satellite channel prevents Sabbahi appearance

*Brotherhood: Interior Ministry to blame for destruction of headquarters

*Blog: Reporting the clashes from the ranks of the Brothers

*Syria army boosts reinforcements in Damascus

*Defense Chief: Intel ‘raises serious concerns’ about Syria chemical weapons

*U.S, Shifting Its Warning on Syria’s Chemical Arms

*Clinton: US, Russia back mediation on Syria

*Hamas chief arrives in Gaza for first-ever visit

*Meshaal: I hope God will make me a martyr in Gaza

*Israel thanks Czechs for Palestinian ‘no’ vote

*Spiegel: ‘The Arab Spring is Turning into a Hard Winter‘

*IAEA Chief Willing to Share Data With Iran on Weapons Claim

*US, Iraq to Deepen Military Ties

adrena

December 7, 2012 at 10:13 am

*Why Assad Won’t Use His Chemical Weapons

And why you should still worry

Foreign Policy, By Charles P. Blair

Since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, concerns over the country’s chemical arsenal have largely reflected the fear that terrorists might steal them in the chaotic aftermath of Bashar al Assad’s overthrow. Military use against the Free Syrian Army seemed less likely, largely because the use of unconventional weapons would violate international law and norms. If it broke that taboo, the regime would risk losing Russian and Chinese support, legitimizing foreign military intervention, and, ultimately, hastening its own end. As one Syrian official said, “We would not commit suicide.” More at the link

*After Qaddaffi

The surprising success of the new Libya

Foreign Affairs, By Dick Vanderwalle

In light of the killing of the US ambassador, it’s tempting to be pessimistic about Libya. But just a year after the fall of a long-standing tyrant, the country is moving on and has peacefully elected a new government. As it turns out, building a functioning state from scratch can be a good thing. More at the link

December 7, 2012 at 11:15 am

*In Egypt, Women Lead Fight
Against Mob Sexual Assaults

It’s a form of punishment for revolutionaries, according to Dalia Abdel Hameed, gender and women’s rights officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). She said, “The easiest way to punish women in this country is through sexuality. In a culture that blames the victim, women start to believe that they shouldn’t go to the square.”

Last month, groups fighting sexual harassment and other independent activists called volunteers to unite and organize individual efforts in fighting the mob assaults on women. The aim is to provide a “safe square for everyone,” as Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment writes on the T-shirts worn by its volunteers.

Members of the recently formed group say they’ve seen indications that at least some of these assaults are planned. More at the link

*EXCLUSIVE: US Trains Rebel Brigades to Secure Chemical Weapons

*Dutch agree to deploy Patriot missiles on Turkish-Syrian border

*Steven A. Cook’s ‘The Struggle for Egypt’ Captures Top Book Prize

December 7, 2012 at 11:24 am

*Why That “US” Drone That Iran “Captured” Is Totally Worthless

Steve Hynd

December 7, 2012 at 11:34 am

Wider Chaos Feared as Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurds (NYT)

December 7, 2012 at 11:37 am

*Morsi not in full control of The Brotherhood

[...]

But although Morsi is the highest authority in Egypt, some say that he is not fully in control of the Muslim Brotherhood, undoubtedly the most powerful political force in the country.

“The decisions we see are not coming from Morsi; they are from the Guidance Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Bahey Eddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor. “He will follow their instructions,” said Hassan, pointing to statements by several of Morsi’s advisers, four of whom have resigned in the past 24 hours. “These advisers say that they were not consulted at all, that they are learning of the president’s decisions from the Internet.”

Khalil al-Anani, a political analyst at the UK’s Durham University, agreed that Morsi does not have full control over the Brotherhood. “Morsi is acting as an independent president, but he is still under [the Brotherhood's] pressure. He has sacrificed his credibility among Egyptians to maintain his popularity among the Brotherhood,” Al-Anani told Al-Monitor. More at the link

December 7, 2012 at 11:41 am

*U.S. military updates options for potential Syria strike, source says

December 7, 2012 at 12:55 pm

*Rebels circle Damascus airport; Russia, U.S. downbeat

December 7, 2012 at 1:00 pm

*Al-Masry Al-Youm Reports From Brotherhood Torture Chambers

*Iraqi Corruption Committee May Summon al-Maliki

Raja

December 8, 2012 at 1:07 am

Tensions high after thousands march in Cairo

December 8, 2012 at 9:44 am

DECEMBER 8

*Egypt military puts pressure on Morsi to end crisis

*Egypt: military warns of ‘disastrous consequences’

*Armed Forces: We support dialogue, but will not allow violence

*Morsy to issue law giving military special protective powesr

*Right and left, protests with and against Morsy in Cairo

*Palace demonstrators extend sit-in

*Nine charged with breaking into Muslim Brotherhood offices

*Brotherhood Guide: We are not the state

Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie said that the group does not replace state institutions, and the Guidance Bureau does not rule Egypt in lieu of the presidency.

Badie said in a press conference held Saturday morning at the group’s Cairo headquarters, “We are not performing the role of state institutions, but we defend them against those who want to sabotage them, and we sacrifice ourselves and help the security services.”

*No let-up in Syria violence as diplomacy falters

*Syria opposition to form unified military council

*Rebel Groups in Syria Make Framework for Military

*Britain sees evidence Assad could use chemical weapons

*Russia Renews Diplomacy in Syria, Warns Against Jihadist Threat

*Meshaal leads Hamas anniversary rally amid tight security

*Egypt helps world celebrate Hamas anniversary

Hundreds of delegates from around the Muslim world traveled from Egypt to Gaza to help Hamas (the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement) celebrate its 25th anniversary. It is unlikely that this international presence would have been possible without the political changes in Egypt over the past two years

*Iran looks to Africa to circumvent isolation: Warships dock in Sudan

*Bahrain crown prince: Arab Spring divided our nation

*Egypt arrests suspect in U.S. ambassador’s killing

December 8, 2012 at 4:31 pm

Egypt’s Leader Prepares Plan to Impose Martial Law

Egypt’s Morsi annuls most of contested decree, stays firm on Dec. 15 referendum