Yemen: The Dangerous US Game (Scahill)

Hillary Clinton and Ali Abdullah SalehThe prospect of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure is a source of great anxiety for the White House, but the United States has unintentionally played a significant role in weakening his regime. For more than a decade, US policy neglected Yemen’s civil society and development, focusing instead on a military strategy aimed at hunting down terrorists. These operations not only caused the deaths of dozens of civilians, fueling popular anger against Saleh for allowing the US military to conduct them; they also fed Saleh’s corruption while doing nothing to address Yemen’s place as the poorest country in the Arab world, which proved to be major driving forces behind the rebellion.

A serious case could be made that the stakes are much higher for the United States in Yemen than in Libya, yet its response to the repression of protests in the two countries has been starkly different.

Click to read more ...

Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Defections v. A Military Push

2030 GMT: Al Jazeera English's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from her position with opposition forces at the western gate of Ajdabiya --- she was stopped by the insurgents from going further towards the front-line near Brega. She notes that Libya's opposition has appointed Abdel Fatah Yunis, the former Minister of Interior who defected in the early days of protests, as the head of military forces.

Click to read more ...

Libya, Syria, and Yemen: Scott Lucas on BBC Radio Wales

Former British diplomat Paul Whiteway and I appeared on BBC Radio Wales this morning to discuss the latest situation on the ground in Libya and the development of NATO and US approaches, including the move beyond the "no-fly zone" and protection of civilians " to the support of the opposition and "regime change".

We also had a moment to consider Syria and Yemen, where --- in a statement missed by the media --- US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appears to have given support to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The item starts just before the 2:07.00 mark.

Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Breakthrough?

1820 GMT: The Egyptian stock market has rised for a second day in a row, after almost two months of suspension and then a sharp fall on re-opening last week.

The EGX 30 Index rose 0.8% to 5,251.3 at the close. It has fallen 26% this year amidst the uprising against the Mubarak regime.

1715 GMT: British Tornado jets attacked and destroyed regime ammunition bunkers in the Sabha area of the southern desert early Monday.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Feature: Saudi Arabia's Slap in the Face of the US

The Saudi intervention, however small, is therefore a major step backward for the region. It represents a major slap in the face to the United States, a defeat for the liberal Shiite and Sunni elements in Bahrain, and ultimately a catastrophe for the entire Khalifa family, both the liberal and conservative wings, who may have just surrendered their power to the giant next door.

Ultimately, this may also be a defeat for Saudi Arabia as well. The Saudis have long tried to avoid overt interventions in their neighbors' affairs. They intervened once during the 1994 upheavals in Bahrain and in the past two years have been active on the Yemeni border -- but under King Abdullah they have tried to arbitrate, rather than dominate, events on the Arabian Peninsula. Their decision to intervene directly in Bahrain's affairs suggests a weakness in the Saudi leadership and Riyadh's surrender to the more conservative elements in the country.

Click to read more ...

Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Is the Noose Tightening Around Qaddafi?

2210 GMT: In Egypt, actor and activist Aly Sobhy, whose detention we noted earlier today (see 1430 GMT), has been released.

Sobhy was seized by the military on Wednesday as he tried to get the names of protesters who had been detained in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

2130 GMT: Another video of today's mass pro-democracy march to Safriya Palace in Bahrain:

2020 GMT: Al Jazeera cameramen, Ali Hassan Al Jaber, has been killed after a crew of the Arabic-language channel was ambushed by regime forces near the town of Benghazi.

Reporter Nasser Al Haddar was also injured by a gunshot.

Click to read more ...

Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: One More Push

2115 GMT: Clashes between opposition members in Algeria, celebrating the fall of Egypt's President Mubarak, and police who surrounded the headquarters of Rally for Constitutional Democracy, have left an "unknown number" arrested and injured. 

2110 GMT: In a phone call with a former Israeli government minister yesterday, former President Mubarak called the US policy in Middle East misguided and said that Egyptians were not ready for democracy. He warned that the Middle East would fall to extremism and fundamentalist Islamism with his departure. 

Click to read more ...

US Politics Special: A New EA Series on the Debates Over the Economy

Two political stories will dominate US news coverage this year: the campaign for the Republican nomination to face President Obama in the 2012 election, and the efforts by both parties, bi-partisan commissions, and independent think tanks to find a solution for the state of the American economy. Included in the latter debate will be terms that turn us all bleary-eyed; debt ceilings, discretionary and non-discretionary spending, entitlement reform, tax reform, and a myriad of health,care acronyms like MSAs (Medical Saving Accounts). The grim reality beyond the terms is that the United States is facing a fiscal crisis, and this year will see the beginnings of policies that will have long-standing consequences for the future of America.

Over the next few weeks EA USA will post a series of articles looking in-depth at the various recommendations for changes.

Click to read more ...

Video & Transcript: Obama, Clinton, and Gates on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategy Review

The video of President Obama's presentation on Friday of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Annual Review. The transcript that follows includes not only Obama's address but also the briefing by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates:

We have already posted the unclassified summary of the Review, along with our snap reaction, "Big Damn Deal". A special analysis will be posted on Saturday:

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  When I announced our new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan last December, I directed my national security team to regularly assess our efforts and to review our progress after one year.

Click to read more ...

Afghanistan-Pakistan Document: The Obama Administration's Grand Review

We were going to wait until Friday morning to run a special feature on the Obama Administration's much-heralded --- i.e., spun for the press --- review of the US approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, having just watched the star-studded press conference, with not only President Obama but also Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, telling the media how to interpret the five unclassified pages, I thought I would go ahead and put the document before the readers.

NOW SEE Video & Transcript: Obama, Clinton, and Gates on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategy Review

Analysis will follow on Saturday; however, I will offer this advance snippet.

Big Damn Deal.

Click to read more ...