It’s been a topsy-turvy day in Sana’a. First, a Yemeni official said President Ali Abdallah Saleh had ‘initially accepted” a 5-point plan proposed by the opposition parties — which included the demand that he step down by the end of the year. Then the official called my colleague Oliver Holmes and said the plan’s provisions had been …
Uncategorized
Global Briefing, Mar. 2, 2011: Ten Stories to Start Your Day
Another Assassination: TIME’s Aryn Baker links the killing of Pakistan’s minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, to the country’s controversial blasphemy laws.
Taking Tripoli — Abigail Hauslohner visits a resistance camp in “Free Libya,” where a rag-tag group of volunteers are readying for battle; Tony Karon considers the …
Strong Obstacles Remain to Western Military Intervention in Libya
An international community that in 2005 at the United Nations adopted the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) protocol might seem obliged to intervene directly in Libya. R2P, after all, holds that if a state is unable to protect its citizens from genocide or other mass atrocities, the international community has a responsibility to …
Global Briefing, Mar. 1, 2011: Ten Stories to Start Your Day
The Latest on Libya — TIME writers ponder the possibility of American military intervention, wonder who is in charge and muster some thoughts on Gaddafi’s clothing.
Secret Service — The New Yorker asks if the Times was right to stay mum on Raymond David’s CIA ties.
Child Brides — The Economists ‘daily chart’ shows, quite …
Obama’s Tall Order: A Democratic Mideast That Shares U.S. Priorities
President Obama has reportedly told White House aides that he wants a “new Middle East policy” — one that urges beleaguered allies threatened by popular rebellions to “enact reforms that would satisfy the popular craving for change while preserving valuable partnerships on crucial U.S. interests, from soil security to counter-terrorism …
Global Briefing, Feb. 28, 2011: Ten Stories to Start Your Day
Not in Bloom — TIME’s Austin Ramzy chronicles the ‘sad farce’ of China’s would-be Jasmine revolution.
The Palin Doctrine — Foreign Affairs asks what Tea Party populism means for American foreign policy.
The Right’s Might — A flagging Europe is at risk of a fascist renaissance, warns Ian Kershaw in the National …
In China’s “Jasmine” Crackdown, Image Matters
After the paranoid and sometimes violent response to yesterday’s thwarted “jasmine rallies,” a question hangs in the air: why would a government that seems so strong react with such fear? After all, few think that China will experience its own Middle Eastern-style “jasmine revolution.” The story from yesterday’s protest sites, at least …
In Yemen, the Arab Revolution Finally Threatens World Security
Arab authoritarians always claim that change is destabilizing and dangerous: Tunisia’s Ben Ali, Egypt’s Mubarak, Bahrain’s Khalifa and Libya’s Gaddafi have all used that argument to try and ward off the youth revolution that’s shaking up the region. If you topple us, they have argued, our countries will descend into chaos and fall in the …
Couch Potato Briefing: Five Rental Movies to Bring You Up to Speed on this Week’s Events
1. Lion of the Desert
To understand the awesome courage of the long-suffering Libyans standing up to fight the tyrant Muammar Ghaddafi, there’s no better source than Moustapha Akkad’s Lion of the Desert. The film lionizes (sorry!) legendary Libyan guerrilla commander Omar Mukhtar, who …
Algeria Rescinds Emergency Powers–But Isn’t Bending To Popular Unrest
Was the lifting Thursday of Algeria’s 19-year state of emergency a sign the country’s corrupt, authoritarian regime is responding to the growing public unrest that brought down the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt—and now looks set to topple Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi? Without any doubt. Yet it would be naïve to interpret the repealing …
Iraq’s Original Shoe Protester Is Back In A Familiar Place: Jail
Remember Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi man who launched a new fashion of protest when he threw his shoes at then US President George Bush in Iraq? Nick Blanford met him in Lebanon last week for a time.com profile, on the eve of his return to Iraq. Zaidi was going with a mission to take the Arab world’s popular revolts home. He didn’t get …
Is Iran Really the Winner in the Arab Revolt?
“Arab Unrest Propels Iran as Saudi Influence Declines,” warned a New York Times headline Thursday, above an article noting that the democratic uprisings across the Arab world have put paid to the idea of a pro-U.S. “alliance of moderates” — Arab autocracies and Israel — joining hands to curb Iran’s rise as a regional power.
In …
France’s Iconic “Moderate Muslim” Becomes Target of Islamophobe Aggression
In the decade since 9/11 forced the world to update its views of Islam and look for ways to dissuade its practitioners from drifting towards extremism, Western societies have placed a high premium on the moderate Muslim: those modern, sensible examples of how Islam can be practiced and honored harmoniously within predominately non-Muslim …
