Current Analysis Ask Katy Perry Will he stay or will he go? Yemenis and Yemen watchers have been wondering for nearly a year, since the mass uprising against President ‘Ali ‘Abdallah Salih began, whether he would entrench or decamp. Sheila Carapico • 2 min read
Current Analysis Chosen People Ideology Mitchell Plitnick got [http://www.lobelog.com/gop-officially-endorses-one-state-solution/#more-11164] a Republican National Committee spokeswoman to confirm that the body passed a resolution “recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Price Tag Journalism The Washington Post today features a hit piece [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/center-for-america-progress-group-tied-to-obama-accused-of-anti-semitic-language/2012/01/17/gIQAcrHXAQ_story.html?hpid=z3] on the Center for American Progress, the largely Clintonite think tank whose Middle East d Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis A Not So Distant Mirror At the risk of stating the obvious, there are eerie and multiplying parallels between the long lead-up to the 2003 Iraq war and what passes for debate on what to do about the Iranian nuclear research program. Chris Toensing • 3 min read
Current Analysis Bahrain's Sunni Awakening Bahrain’s bout with political unrest is nearing its one-year anniversary. Though there are multiple parties to the protracted conflict, analysts continue to focus almost exclusively on a single dyad, Sunni vs. Shi‘i. To some, the ongoing mobilization of Bahraini Shi‘a since February 14, 2011 is a co Justin Gengler • 12 min read
Current Analysis Fading False Flags First the latest assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist happened on a slow news day (Romney wins New Hampshire -- zzzz), prompting many major American outlets to give it prominent coverage. The LA Times editorial board was not pleased [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-carbo Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Mosireen Yesterday’s piece [http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/art-egypts-revolutionary-square] by Ursula Lindsey, entitled “Art in Egypt's Revolutionary Square.” is a very astute and measured account of the art that has emerged in Egypt, in the wake of, and inspired by, the momentous events in Tahrir o Ted Swedenburg • 1 min read
Current Analysis Art in Egypt's Revolutionary Square On January 7, under a clear chill sky, the monthly culture festival al-Fann Midan (Art Is a Square) took place in Cairo’s ‘Abdin plaza. In the sunny esplanade facing the shuttered former royal palace, spectators cheered a succession of musical acts, took in a display of cartoons and caricatures, and Ursula Lindsey • 12 min read
Current Analysis Strategic Commodity 101 Every US president since Jimmy Carter has spoken earnestly of the need to wean America from “foreign oil,” which is often more bluntly called “Middle East oil.” After the September 11, 2001 attacks and the resulting spotlight on Saudi Arabia, the clamor grew, only to subside, and now has resurfaced Chris Toensing • 3 min read
Current Analysis COIN vs. CT? On January 5, amid much pomp and circumstance, President Barack Obama released the newest version of the US Defense Strategic Guidance. [http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf] The document delineated the future course of US defense strategy, reiterating the commitment of the US Laleh Khalili • 3 min read
Current Analysis The Siren Song of Ron Paul Say Ron Paul were actually elected president. Say that, in his proverbial first 100 days, he used his bully pulpit to push for two things: deep cuts in aid to Israel and other US allies, and elimination [http://www.grist.org/article/paul1] of Federal subsidies for alternative energy research. Which Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Better Ten Years Late Than Never At long last, after a few false starts and much gnashing of teeth, MERIP is entering the blogosphere. The blog is intended to be what most blogs run by publications are: a place for our editors and writers to post short pieces of analysis or commentary on important issues in the public eye. We will Chris Toensing • 1 min read
