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Washington needs to rethink its approach to North Africa. Algeria’s decades-long struggle against domestic terrorism and its current efforts to dismantle al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb make it a key source of counterterrorism expertise, and its strategic location and energy reserves deserve sustained U.S. attention.
Ending the Algerian-backed separatists’ fight for control of the Western Sahara is one of Morocco’s top priorities. Morocco supported the U.S.–led first Gulf War and offered to mediate the Arab–Israeli conflict in an attempt to persuade the United States—which maintains a long-held neutral position on control of the Western Sahara—to endorse Morocco’s claim to the area.
The Middle East greeted President Obama’s Cairo speech with enthusiasm, but many cautioned that words, though welcome and encouraging, must be matched by actions to mend the relationship. To explore the issues the Muslim world hopes the U.S. administration will address, the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut commissioned eight commentaries from prominent Arab writers and policy makers.
In Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, the global financial crisis has fomented social unrest, stoking increased radicalization. But governments are unlikely to pursue political liberalization.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election victory could pose an insurmountable challenge to the Obama administration’s engagement strategy, but Iran remains integral to critical foreign policy challenges.
This week's Iranian election has all the trappings of an American-style competition, with none of the results.
Lebanon’s voters have handed a clear defeat to the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance. In a smoothly run and peaceful election, the pro-Western March 14 alliance emerged with a clear majority of 71 seats, compared to 58 seats for its rivals.
As the clouds of the global financial crisis slowly part, the shock the international community has experienced in the past 18 months is changing to a more reflective, forward-looking state of mind.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has carried out a major reshuffle of important ministries and institutions, but it would be a mistake to interpret the reshuffle as the onset of a nascent reform effort
There are significant differences to how America’s moderate friends in the Middle East and those of its radical foes reacted to Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world.