Egypt Elections: Between a Rock And a Hard Place With only a few weeks left until the run-off elections, there are still many questions left unanswered. Barbara Slavin moderated a panel of leading experts on Egypt, co-sponsored by Al-Monitor, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to debate what a win for either of the two polarizing candidates would mean for Egypt Watch the full panel here. Egypt
Egypt's Presidential Choice Stirs Deep Concerns in Washington The Obama administration is decidedly undecided about Egypt's presidential election, publicly promising to work with the Egyptian people's choice, amid a sense that anything officials say could be irrelevant or backfire. But Barbara Slavin reports on deep concerns in Washington about Egypt’s choice between an Islamist and Mubarak’s last prime minister. Egypt
Is Direct Syrian Intervention In Lebanon Inevitable? The danger of the Syria crisis spilling over Lebanese borders is increasing by the day, writes Yezid Sayigh, of the Carnegie Middle East Center. If that happens, Lebanon will edge closer to the tipping point of its own delicate internal balance. Lebanon
Imagined Heroism of the Saudi 'Nail Polish Girl' Madawi Al-Rasheed weighs in on the viral video of a Saudi woman confronting religious police and says that as long as Saudi women remain unorganized, Saudis and the rest of the world will continue to watch YouTube clips of futile disconnected incidents, grounded in sensationalism and imagined heroism. Saudi Arabia
A Nation Polarized: What's Next for Egypt? Now that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi and Mubarak’s former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, are officially going to the next round of Egypt's presidential elections, analysts are looking at possible outcomes and their effects. Al-Monitor's Sophie Claudet talks to Egyptian observers about what the new Egypt will look like. Egypt
Syrian Refugees Cannot Return– 'Anyone Who Goes Back, Dies' Ben Gilbert reports that most of the refugees in Lebanon's northern Wadi Khaled region haven't been home in a year. They stay in order to avoid attacks, detention or military service. The few recent arrivals have had to bribe Syrian Army soldiers to cross the now nearly impenetrable border in this area. Lebanon
How a Morsi-Shafiq Runoff Could be Good for Egypt Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi came in first in the elections, with Ahmed Shafiq, a former Mubarak prime minister, following closely behind. Egyptian blogger Bassem Sabry says the only way to save the country is for revolutionaries to cooperate with a Brotherhood that commits itself to moderation. Egypt
Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks The Baghdad meeting got off to a tense start last week after Iran gave a chilly reception to a proposal for curbing its 20 percent uranium enrichment. But the talks nearly broke down, European diplomats told Al-Monitor, when there was a key impasse within the six-nation negotiating team, not between the group and Iran, writes Laura Rozen. Iran
Lebanon’s Dangerous Sunni-Shiite Divide Widens Lebanese politics have been plagued by the division between Shiite and Sunni Muslims years in the making. Recent sectarian clashes in north Lebanon and Beirut are a symptom of this growing divide, writes Randa Slim. It must be overcome soon or it could plunge Lebanon into another civil war. Lebanon
Non-Violence Movement Tears At the Mask of the Occupation The Israeli establishment is unable to cope with the new Palestinian way of fighting for their land — the non-violent struggle. Its aim is to “shift attention from the respectable meeting rooms.” Eldar and Raz have participated at many demonstrations and share an insider’s perspective and analysis of the change in power relations. Palestine
Lebanon's Simmering Sectarian Tensions The release last week of Shadi al-Mawlawi, a Sunni Islamist whose arrest sparked bloody clashes, may have temporarily brought calm back to the streets of Tripoli and stopped Lebanon from further sliding into a sectarian war, writes Salam Hafez. But on the ground, there is deep resentment in the Sunni community that still threatens to boil over. Originals
US Devises 'Influence Games' For Working with Syria, Levant The US Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group wants a better grasp of its vulnerabilities, those of its adversaries and the consequences of US actions. Barbara Slavin reports on the body''s "competitive influence" game that will focus on the crisis in Syria. “You can tie every threat group around the world to the Levant,” said one participant. Originals
Iran's New Opportunity to Improve Relations With Pakistan While all eyes were on the nuclear talks with Iran last week, Iran was actually looking at new possibilities in Afghanistan and Pakistan as US withdrawal from the region draws near, writes Meir Javedanfar. The dynamics of Iran's relations with its rival Pakistan have changed since the US invasion, much to Iran's favor. Regional
'Intense' Iran Nuclear Talks End With Agreement to Meet Again Two days of talks between Iran and six nations ended Thursday in Baghdad with no breakthroughs but a plan to meet again next month, write Al-Monitor's Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin. Chief European Union negotiator Catherine Ashton said that while discussions made it clear while "that there is some common ground … significant differences remain.” Iran
Brotherhood Candidate Likely to Compete in Egypt Run-Off Official results in Egypt's first free presidential election are expected May 29. But Sophie Claudet writes that according to unofficial tallies, with 90 percent of the vote counted so far, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammad Morsi, is leading and will compete in a June run-off against Ahmad Shafiq, currently second, or Hamdeen Sabahi. Egypt
How the Palestinian Boycotts Can Work Former Israeli Ambassador, and peace activist, Ilan Baruch asks the Palestinian leadership to exercise caution. A boycott that attempts to undermine Israel in a sweeping manner also undermines any chances for stabilizing a significant peace camp in its midst. Palestine
