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Yemen Burns to Al-Qaeda’s Delight

By Joshua Jacobs May 26, 2011 For the fifth straight day heavy fighting gripped Yemen’s capital of Sana’a as fighters loyal to the head of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation Sheik Sadiq al-Ahmar battled security forces loyal to…

Blunder in Bahrain

By Joshua Jacobs June 1, 2011 There is no country affected by the Arab Spring that the US has made more mistakes and miscalculations in than Bahrain. Though King Hamad announced that he would lift the state of emergency as promised on…

Shifty Saleh Brings Yemen to the Brink

By Joshua Jacobs May 24, 2011 Time has run out for Yemen’s embattled strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. On Monday in the firmest statement yet from the Obama administration Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded that President Saleh stand…

Is Obama’s Policy in the Gulf Flawed?

May 24, 2011 By Abigail Casey President Obama’s speech last week on the Arab Spring and the prospects for democratic transition in the Middle East and North Africa was largely a repeat of previously stated policy objectives and clichéd…

Jeddah flood deaths shame Saudi royals

By Ali Al-Ahmed Last week the Saudi city of Jeddah was afflicted by heavy rains that lasted only a few hours but caused massive flooding and the deaths of more than 500 people. To lessen the embarrassment, official reports shrank the…