• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Paul Salem"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Arab Awakening"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Maghreb",
    "Libya",
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "North Africa"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

US-Arab Relations will be Defined by Reaction to Attack

The killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya will send shock waves through U.S.-Arab relations far beyond the specific Libyan context and place pressure on the Obama administration in the middle of its re-election campaign.

Link Copied
By Paul Salem
Published on Sep 13, 2012
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: National

The killing of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other embassy staff, will send shock waves through US-Arab relations. It is likely to have effects far beyond the specific Libyan context and place pressure on the Obama administration in the middle of its re-election campaign.

Read Full Text

This article was originally published in the National.

About the Author

Paul Salem

Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute

Paul Salem is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Iraq’s Tangled Foreign Interests and Relations

      Paul Salem

  • Article
    Bracing for Impact in Syria

      Paul Salem

Paul Salem
Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute
Paul Salem
SecurityForeign PolicyMaghrebLibyaNorth AmericaUnited StatesNorth Africa

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Army personnel stand guard after a pro-monarchy protest turns violent in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 28, 2025.
    Article
    The Shadow of the Military in Modern South Asia

    Military rule is now a defining political factor in South Asia. Here’s how analysts can understand and account for it.

      Paul Staniland

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Will Hungary’s New Leader Really Change EU Policy on Russia and Ukraine?

    Orbán created an image for himself as virtually the only opponent of aid to Ukraine in the entire EU. But in reality, he was simply willing to use his veto to absorb all the backlash, allowing other opponents to remain in the shadows.

      Maksim Samorukov

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Realism and the Lebanon-Israel Talks

    Beirut’s desire to break free from Iranian hegemony may push it into a situation where it has to accept Israel’s hegemony.  

      Michael Young

  • Paper
    “Greening” the Maghreb or Exploiting It?

    Unless the European Union-led energy transition provides economic development to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, the process may be perceived as a new form of extraction.

      Yasmine Zarhloule

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How to Join the EU in Three Easy Steps

    Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.

      Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.