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GENERATION REVOLUTION On the Front Line Between Tradition and Change in the Middle East By Rachel Aspden262 pp. Other Press. $24.95. What happened to Egypt's revolution? After January 2011, Tahrir [...]

U.S. President Joe Biden's "reset" of Washington'sapproach to the Middle East increasingly looks like acontinuation of the policies of his predecessor, formerPresident Donald Trump, with an added measure of pietyand evasion about what's really driving theadministration's decision-making process. But an unwitting admission might have come last week whena White House reporter asked Biden why he changed hismind about meeting Saudi Arabia's once-blacklisted defacto ruler, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, known asMBS. [Extracted from the article]

But the alliance's absolute majority did not allow it toform a government, which under Iraq's parliamentarysystem requires a two-thirds supermajority--an impossiblyhigh bar for any coalition to meet. A political earthquake is underway in Iraq, as lawmakersfrom Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc have resigneden masse from parliament. [Extracted from the article]

Last week, Iraq's parliament passed a new law thatcriminalizes normalization in much more extreme andspecific ways than the 1969 law, which prohibited Iraqisin any official capacity from advocating for recognitionof Israel, but was only sporadically enforced. Remember that astroturf conference back in September2021, when a group of Iraqis gathered in Erbil supposedlyto promote the normalization of diplomatic relations withIsrael?. [Extracted from the article]

Lebanon's parliamentary elections produced someheartening news for critics of the politicalestablishment, with protest candidates performing betterthan expected in Sunday's polls. Lebanon's powerbrokers will mull over whetherto retain Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a billionairecompromise candidate who leans toward Hezbollah withoutquite being a lockstep ally of the group. [Extracted from the article]

Iraq has blown past all the constitutional deadlines to form a government in the aftermath of its October 2021 parliamentary elections, the results of which initially threatened to upend Iraq's system of sectarian kleptocracy. Instead, seven months after the election, Iraq's government formation talks appear to have reached a stalemate, with the most likely outcome now being a government that reflects the exact same power-sharing consensus that has shaped every Iraqi government since 2005, election results notwithstanding. When he held power, Maliki was bent on centralizing state authority, and today Sadr has assembled the most credible coalition to date that unifies Iraqis from every major identity group behind a nationalist state-building project. [Extracted from the article]

April has been quite a dramatic month in Yemen, with the first major cease-fire reached between the government, the Houthis and other smaller combatant parties since the early stages of the war in 2015. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are still pressing the U.S. to designate the Houthis as a terrorist group, a decision that would almost certainly make it harder to deliver humanitarian aid to an incredibly fragile Yemen. [Extracted from the article]

The lack of accountability can explain a lot of the worst behavior of state actors around the world. Since February, the symbol of that meltdown has been the head of Lebanon's central bank, Riad Salameh, who is currently on the lam, fleeing the criminal charges he finally faces for the decades of mob-style shakedowns to which he has subjected an entire nation. [Extracted from the article]

DOHA, Qatar--Washington's partners in the Gulf believethat the United States has fundamentally altered theterms of the deal that has historically governed theirrelationship. Washington sells most of its bestequipment to the Arab Gulf countries and provides activeprotection on land, sea and air to the Gulf countries. Washington's Gulf "Partners" Could Drive the U.S. Withdrawal They Fear. [Extracted from the article]

But Iran's Sunday attack raises the stakes, once again, for the missile attacks to snowball into a bigger regional conflict. A dozen ballistic missiles struck Iraq's northern city of Erbil on Sunday, with some reports suggesting that several landed near the U.S. consulate building in the city. Iran's recent aerial attacks in the Gulf, whether by drones or missiles, occurred even as Tehran was simultaneously pursuing a tentative diplomatic engagement with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. [Extracted from the article]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought some clarity to regional realignments and strategic partnerships in the Middle East, with the changing relationship between the United States and the oil-producing members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in particular coming into sharp focus. But after more than a week of fighting in Ukraine, one thing has become clear: Washington's partners in the Middle East are increasingly confident about taking an independent course, unmoored from--and arguably in defiance of--Washington and seemingly in coordination with each other. [Extracted from the article]

But is Putin's invasion of Ukraine the United States'fault or directly linked to Washington's decision toinvade Iraq nearly 20 years ago? What exactly distinguishes the illegal anddeadly U.S. invasion of Iraq from Russia's ongoingillegal and deadly war in Ukraine? Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered theinvasion of Ukraine last week, comparisons to the UnitedStates' 2003 invasion of Iraq have inevitably andunderstandably emerged. [Extracted from the article]

Diplomacy Roundup In one of the highest-level signs of the diplomatic reengagement underway across the Middle East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the United Arab Emirates (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/turkiye-uae-sign-13- agreements-in-various-areas/2502456) on Feb. 14-15. The nature of Anthony Shadid's work is sometimes misunderstood. [Extracted from the article]

The Islamic State, or ISIS, made global headlinesrecently on account of two significant developments inSyria: a prison uprising in Hasakeh in late January andthe raid by U.S. special operations forces a week later,on Feb. 3, that resulted in the death of ISIS leader AbuIbrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Government officials estimate there are at least300,000 known ISIS members or supporters among thedisplaced in Iraq and 30,000 Iraqi ISIS members in Syriandetention camps. [Extracted from the article]

But looking at the current state of U.S. policy at the end of the Biden administration's first year, the aim, at least, is to pursue solidly plausible, median outcomes. What is the U.S. up to in the Middle East?. [Extracted from the article]

Byline: Thanassis Cambanis The recent tit-for-tat clashes across the Middle East have made the first days of 2016 seem a lot like 1979. That was the year Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini [...]

The article discusses a global war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Iraq involving the U.S. military and several of its allies. Shi'ite militiamen and Kurdish Peshmerga Army soldiers are mentioned, along with the U.S. Central Command's claim that up to 2,000 ISIS troops are posted in Mosul, Iraq. Military coalition bombing attacks are examined, along with the mass execution of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians and the burning death of a Jordanian pilot.

The article focuses on suffering people of Lebanon who finally have some good news on the horizon. Topics include examines that new government finally has been formed and the International Monetary Fund will replenish Lebanon's nearly empty foreign reserves deposite several billion dollar in IMF Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, in Lebanon's Central Bank.

The article focuses on the return of Taliban rule to Afghanistan 20 years after the group's ouster by a U.S.-led coalition came as a shock to the Afghan population. It mentions that U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the final steps of a military withdrawal that had been originally negotiated by his predecessor, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The article focuses on the anniversary of Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020. It mentions Lebanon's political bosses have locked arms against any accountability whatsoever for themselves and any representatives of their rotten ruling order. It also mentions economic collapse as a consequence of a Ponzi scheme administered by the Lebanese Central Bank.

In the article, the author discusses why the U.S. and European Union should extend support to Democrats in Tunisia to protect democracy amidst the authoritarian actions of Tunisian President Kais Saied. Among Saied's autocratic strategies are suspension of parliament, travel bans on opposition politicians, and raids on journalists. Also cited is the need for U.S. President Joe Biden to strongly oppose Tunisia's authoritarian power grab if he is serious in promoting democracy.

Many optimists in the Middle East as well as in Washington have argued for some time that governments in the region will find new ways to embrace diplomacy and cooperate among themselves if foreign powers like the United States take a backseat and reduce their footprint in the region. Against all logic, these same monarchs have now demanded a full-fledge treaty alliance with the U.S. and appear likely to get major new security guarantees, at the same time that they are distancing themselves from the U.S. and defying its policy preferences. [Extracted from the article]

Editor's note: This is the web version of our subscriber-only weekly newsletter, Middle East Memo, which takes a look at what's happening, what's being said and what's on the horizon in the Middle East. Now another high-profile government critic in the Middle East is at risk: the Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who was arrested by state security forces during a wave of protests there in 2019. [Extracted from the article]

The events of recent years have made it increasinglyclear that the assault on human rights and democracyin the West and the Middle East are not merelyparallel phenomena--they are directly connected. Security regimes inthe Middle East often justify repressive policies withfalse, exceptionalist and essentialist ideas aboutIslam, terrorism, women, LGBTQ communities andother identity groups. [Extracted from the article]

MOSUL, Iraq--On both sides of the Atlantic, the war inUkraine and its direct impacts on regional security andthe international order continue to be the focus ofpolicymaking attention. Iraqis have similarly experienced several cycles ofpunishing conflict since 1980, when Iraqi forces invadedneighboring Iran, setting off an eight-year war thatscarred both countries. [Extracted from the article]

THE INSURGENTS David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War By Fred Kaplan Illustrated. 418 pp. Simon & Schuster. $28. The American occupation of Iraq in [...]

THE STRUGGLE FOR EGYPT From Nasser to Tahrir Square By Steven A. Cook Illustrated. 408 pp. Oxford University Press. $27.95. On the morning of Feb. 11, 2011, hours before Hosni [...]

GENERATION'S END A Personal Memoir of American Power After 9/11 By Scott L. Malcomson Illustrated. 251 pp. Potomac Books. $27.50 The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, found me on my [...]

The article informs about concerns on collapse of the state are growing in Iraq as the Afghanistan debacle increased with each day revealing details about the lack of detailed planning and foresight about the consequences of a U.S. troops pullout for Afghans. Topics include American role in influencing events in Iraq competing militias and factions of political power and state resources; and Iraq's stability risks becoming an afterthought for U.S. policymakers calibrating a global rebalancing.

The article discusses how Saudia Arabia's killing of a Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, in a mass execution of 47 people on January 2, 2016, has intensified its existing rivalry with Iran. Topics mentioned include the similarities of the recent clashes across the Middle East in the first days of 2016 with events that occurred in 1979, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led Iran's transformation, the two countries' fight for regional dominance, and what sparked the hostility between them.

Washington's partners in the region complainabout feeling abandoned, while its rivals crow aboutdriving the U.S. out of the Middle East. The U.S. Needs a "Big Idea" to Frame Its Middle East Policy The U.S. hasn't "quit" the Middle East, notwithstandingthe frequent complaints of its regional partners. [Extracted from the article]

The article informs that failed assassination attempt against Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has ratcheted up tensions following parliamentary elections. It mentions Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi suffered a light injury after the attack by armed drones, however supporters of the Iran-backed militias held their ground in a protest camp outside the Green Zone to demand a vote recount.

The article considers the implication of the decision of Saudi Arabia to withdraw its ambassador to Lebanon and stop Lebanese imports in 2021. The move was supported by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait by withdrawing their envoys and announcing similar bans. It cites the concern of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the dominance of Hezbollah in Lebanese politics. Also noted are the corruption-related U.S. sanctions in Lebanon.

The article focuses on regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been steadily pushing toward normalizing relations with a number of the states that had formally supported the opposition after the outbreak of Syria's civil war 10 years ago. It mentions Interpol reportedly readmitted Syria to its communications network and regime access to some international intelligence that could allow it to harass dissidents and other critics.

The article reports that Iraqis will vote on October 10, 2021 for a new parliament at a time when the country faces uncertainties about host of crises, from the resurgence of the Islamic State terror group and the looting of the country's treasury by corrupt militias to the future of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. It mentions Iraqi courts issued arrest warrants for the conference organizers, including Wisam al-Hardin.

The article focuses on how much should expectations and hopes be raised now that Middle East rivals are talking without necessarily putting a pause on their disputes. It mentions proliferation of diplomatic engagement would seem to bear out the argument of officials in the region as well as many outside observers in the U.S. It also mentions intra-Gulf Cooperation Council feud officially came to an end in January 2021 and channels of regional diplomacy have also opened up.

The article is a tribute to Shi'ite cleric and former Hizballah spiritual leader Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died in 2010, for his reformist philosophy regarding Iranian government policy, women's rights, and dialogue with the West.

The Party of God was set up to fight Israel but is now a large organisation with a massive budget [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the revolutionary youth in Egypt and beyond. It mentions the role of the youth in the Arab uprisings that started in 2010, the failure of the revolutionary youth movements in Egypt to instill change and the lack of youth movements in Tunisia despite a plethora of activist youth. It also notes the case of Lebanon where youthful energy and the momentum for reform were dissipated by sectarian parties, the youth bulge in the Arab region and the Islamist revolutions in Egypt.