Posted in David Schenker, Egypt, Israel, Michele Dunne, Steven A. Cook on Oct 8th, 2009 2 Comments »
From David Schenker Egypt’s National Democratic Party (NDP) conference is fast approaching, but the meeting—which will formally set the stage for political succession—isn’t making headlines these days. On October 6, the Los Angeles Times reported on how the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is reacting to sales of an Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit; still other news outlets […]
Posted in Egypt, Israel, Michele Dunne, Palestinians, Steven A. Cook, Tamara Cofman Wittes on Aug 19th, 2009 2 Comments »
From Steven A. Cook Mubarak is on his way back to Egypt. Well done, folks. It’s amazing how much mileage we can… all… squeeze… out… of a meeting that is notable for its general lack of newsworthiness. If I had to score this one, I hate to say it, but I would give the edge […]
Posted in Democracy, Egypt, J. Scott Carpenter, Michele Dunne, Steven A. Cook, Tamara Cofman Wittes on May 29th, 2009 8 Comments »
From J. Scott Carpenter Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting yesterday with a group of young Egyptian activists at the State Department was a welcome and long-overdue development. These young people somehow managed to elicit the words “democracy” and “human rights” in the same sentence from the Secretary, something that until yesterday she had managed […]
Posted in Egypt, Hamas, Israel, Joshua Muravchik, Palestinians, Steven A. Cook on Dec 28th, 2008 4 Comments »
From Steven A. Cook The events in Gaza over this weekend present a number of internal and external challenges for the Egyptian government, again raising questions about Cairo’s capacity to deal effectively with regional crises. Needless to say, the Israeli Air Force’s offensive against Hamas coming soon after Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rebuffed Egyptian […]
Posted in Books, Daniel Byman, Jon Alterman, Mark N. Katz, Mark T. Clark, Martin Kramer, Michael Mandelbaum, Michael Reynolds, Steven A. Cook, Tamara Cofman Wittes, Walter Laqueur on Dec 17th, 2008 Comments Off on Holiday reading 2008
With the holidays fast approaching, MESH has asked its members to recommend books you might give as a gift or read by the fire. (For more information on a book, or to place an order with Amazon through the MESH bookstore, click on the book title or cover.) .
Posted in Jon Alterman, Mark T. Clark, Steven A. Cook on Oct 24th, 2008 Comments Off on The Bush legacy (4)
As the presidency of George W. Bush draws to a close, MESH members have been asked to assess his legacy. What did the Bush administration do right and do wrong in the Middle East? What is the proper yardstick: Administration rhetoric or the range of the possible? Finally, as the pollsters put it, are we […]
Posted in Geopolitics, Steven A. Cook on Sep 30th, 2008 Comments Off on Interests and costs in the Middle East
From Steven A. Cook Politicians, journalists, academics, and other observers of foreign relations are hardly rigorous when it comes to defining “national interests.” Definitions tend to range from the tautological to something akin to Justice Potter Stuart’s, “I know it when I see it.” Too often scholars invoke interests to explain state or individual behavior […]
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