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On December 6, 2009, the Iraqi parliament finally passed an election law for the 2010 elections. The law deals with the most controversial issues regarding the election.
As Iraq’s second parliamentary election approaches, Sunnis appear as uncertain about what strategy to pursue and as divided among themselves as they were in 2004 and 2005.
Engagement with Iran over its nuclear problem has become increasingly complicated; not only has the regime backed away from previous commitments, but internal political developments require the Obama administration to call for engagement without undermining the opposition.
Issues surrounding Afghanistan and Iran will likely lead the agenda during Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s meeting with President Obama, but the two leaders should also focus on addressing the growing gap between Turkish and U.S. public rhetoric which threatens to create a rift between Turkey and the West.
A fragile agreement on Iraq’s new election law has fallen apart over the apportionment of parliamentary seats among the provinces, casting doubt that the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections will be held by the January 31, 2010 deadline.
The global aims of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb—an Algerian jihadi group—have been thwarted by the Algerian government’s more effective military strategy and the collapse of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
War, terrorism, a deepening secessionist movement, and interconnected economic and demographic trends threaten to overwhelm the Yemeni government, provide a breeding ground for terrorists, and destabilize the region.
The Obama administration must engage in a new type of dialogue with the Middle East, one modeled after the process used to improve relations with the Soviet bloc, if it wants to have any chance of impacting political reform in the region.
One of Iraq’s vice presidents, Tariq al-Hashemi, has vetoed the country's new election law, threatening to delay elections which according to the constitution must happen by the end of January 2010.
Government spending in oil-exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa cushioned the impact of the global economic crisis, though it could not prevent asset values from collapsing and credit from tightening.