Links 5-16 August 2011

Our long break is almost over — back to normal activity, and the podcast, this weekend!

In the meantime, here is my latest colum for the National, written in the US on Tea Party politics and what they might mean for US policy in the Middle East, and some recent links.

• USAID director in Egypt abruptly leaves amid dispute over funding
  No reason given
• The problem: Arab culture - Ynetnews
  Bizarre rant against Arabs using the case study of… Somalia.
• Syria's Torment | Middle East Research and Information Project
  A good argument against both Bashar and Western intervention in Syria.
• Is Saudi Arabia Really Counter-Revolutionary? - By F. Gregory Gause, III | The Middle East Channel
  I think the 19th c. analogy holds — reactionaries don't want weak govts, after all.
• Do Tunisians Agree On More Than They Realize? - By Nathan J. Brown | The Middle East Channel
• Inside Egypt's Salafis - By Lauren Bohn | The Middle East Channel
• tabsir.net » Gems of Arabic Literature #2: Political Advice
  lovely.
• Egypt's Moussa campaigns for president, vows change - Yahoo! News
  Moussa on the campaign trail.
• Egyptian film legend Hind Rostom dies in Cairo at 82 - Society - Cumberland News Now
• Egyptian Chronicles: RIP Hind Rostom
• Libya rebels’ finances precarious - FT.com
  Despite funding by Qatar, Turkey and France.
• Swelling list of demands fuels Israel protests - FT.com
  Maybe if they did not spend their money on occupation they'd be doing better.
• This can only end with the Assads’ fall - FT.com
  At great cost, but it will be worth it to bring down "gangster regime."
• First Reaction: Rock the Casbah « The Moor Next Door
  Kal critiques Robin Wright's book but forgets to add: the name is stupid.
• Brian's Coffeehouse: Ghannouchi on Religion and State
• MEI Editor's Blog: Summer Issue of Middle East Journal is Online
• Sic Semper Tyrannis : Monopoly By Richard Sale
  Always nice to read a pleasure to read a takedown of that impostor, Dennis Ross.
• Egypt's Rulers Stoke Xenophobia - WSJ.com
  This exaggerates the novelty of anti-US government discourse.
• Author's Perspective: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Trial | The Daily Reader
  By Ashraf Khalil
• AP Sources: US to tell Assad that he must go - Yahoo! News
  AP sources: Obama to deploy toughness, magic democracy words tomorrow #syria
• Bahrain protests: 'The repression is getting worse' | World news | The Guardian
  Helpful Guardian update on tensions, repression in #Bahrain:
• Saudi Arabia's message to Syria, decoded | Brian Whitaker | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
  The @Guardian: Saudi Arabia's message to Syria, decoded by @Brian_Whit
• If Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak is guilty, in a way, so are we | NJ.com
  You don't often see this discussed in the US press.