Links 13 November - 5 December 2014

• Congress enshrines Israel in a new class of ally
  For shame - an ally that spies on US.
• Profiling the Islamic State | Brookings Institution
• Islamist and Secular Forces in Morocco
  Masbah.
• The refusal to talk to hostage-takers has sucked the US and UK into war | Jonathan Littell | The Guardian
  Interesting argument against US/UK policy not to pay ransoms.
• Jihadi Blowback in Saudi Arabia | Hurst Publishers
  Anti-Shia attacks in Saudi.
• Prominent Libyan cleric kidnapped in Tripoli | Libya Herald
  If the Hassi govt can't provide protection for people like this...
• Dispatches: The Ugly Truth Behind the UAE’s Gleam | Human Rights Watch
• Suez canal scheme ‘threatens ecosystem and human activity in Mediterranean’ | The Guardian
• Q&A: The Mubarak trial verdict – What just happened? | Mada Masr
• « Hercule contre Hermès » récompensé malgré les procès
  Millionaires and farmers battle over a Moroccan beach
• Marrakech is set to become photography's global HQ – so why aren't locals happy?
  On planned museum in Moroccan tourist mecca
• Tripoli restaurant blown up in hygiene scandal
  Libya has the best headlines. (Paywall - screenshot here: http://bzapt.com/1barM+)
• Nathan Thrall · Rage in Jerusalem · LRB 4 December 2014
  Read the whole thing.
• Christian Le Miere: Egyptian naval skirmish highlights maritime insecurity | IISS
• The Firing of Chuck Hagel by Elizabeth Drew | NYRblog
  Good piece by Elizabeth Drew.
• La Libye, enjeu de la visite en France du président égyptien Sissi - Le Monde
• Egypt's secular opposition closes ‎in on Salafist Nour Party - Ahram Online
• Why Egypt Crushes at Squash
• Egypt closes schools in Sinai towns as area inches toward open war
• Doctor acquitted after 13-year-old Egyptian girl dies from female genital mutilation | Egyptian Streets
  Even though FGM has been criminalized
• An Open Letter to King Mohammed VI
  Regarding Western Sahara
• A Norwegian Tragedy
  Adam Shatz on right-wing terrorism and Islamophobia in Europe
• Why the U.A.E. is calling 2 American groups terrorists
  Basically, because they may have ties to the MB
• Leaked prison letter from hunger striker Mohamed Soltan
  The son of an MB leader who they've basically decided to let die
• Domination and Tunisian Politics
  Abu Aardvark asks: How come no one worries the secularists will be bullies?
• Death of the Firstborn Egyptians
  Awesome animation by Nina Paley
• Egypt’s Sinai demolitions reverberate back in Gaza
• The Truth About the Wars
  A US general says surge's success is a myth.
• Don’t bank on tribes rising up to combat ISIL
  Hassan Hassan.
• New Egypt decree: President can deport foreigners
  (who are convicted) - way out of AJE crisis?