Links 16-31 May 2017
- By backing Saudi Arabia’s vision of the Middle East, Trump may be sowing the seeds of conflict - The Washington Post
- Comment la contrebande du pétrole libyen saigne le pays à blanc | Middle East Eye
Interesting piece on fuel smuggling from Libya - Kenza Afsahi et Khalid Mouna : Cannabis dans le Rif central (Maroc).
Long piece on cannabis and the Ref - relevant context to protests - Descendants of Saudi Wahhabism founder distance themselves from Qatar | Reuters
The latest Gulf spat. - Syria: Local Photographers Reflect on Powerful Images of War
- The Cynical Conspiracy War on Egypt’s Christians – Foreign Policy
Eric Trager on MB sectarianism. - After 2016 Assault, A Coptic Christian Grandmother In Egypt Fights For Justice : Parallels : NPR
- Libya's Ansar al-Sharia announces dissolution | Al Jazeera
So where will members go? - Manchester Attack Highlights Foreign Fighters in Libya - WINEP
Aaron Zelin. - ‘I hate tragedy’
@ursulind On the diaries of Egyptian novelist Waguih Ghali - In the Fight Against the Islamic State, U.S. Airstrikes Have Killed Hundreds and Possibly Thousands of Civilians - The New York Times
- Egypt blocks 21 websites, including Al Jazeera: state news agency | Reuters
Including Mada Masr. - Sudan Accuses Egypt of Backing Rebels Ahead of Foreign Minister's Trip
- Years of Tunisian protests converge into one demand: Economic justice | Middle East Eye
- The Lights Are Going Out in the Middle East - The New Yorker
Robin Wright. - Who Counts as al-Qaeda: Lessons from Libya - Lawfare
- No Rivals to the King- SWP
On Morocco - Why Jordan and Morocco are doubling down on royal rule - The Washington Post
- Trump to unveil plans for an ‘Arab NATO’ in Saudi Arabia - The Washington Post
Trump and MBS - what could go wrong? - Top U.S. diplomat for Middle East to retire, U.S. officials say | Reuters
Another one of the most experienced MENA hands is out. - Lesser Evils | The Point Magazine
@ursulind on the French election, seen from France's most Arab city, Marseille - US accuses Syria of mass executions and burning the bodies
Focus on Sidnaya, reminiscent of Auschwitz
I would also recommend this series of post on Mali on the excellent Bridges from Bamako blog:
- How did Mali get here? (Part 5: Institutional explanations)
- How did Mali get here? (Part 4: Geopolitical explanations)
- How did Mali get here? (Part 3: Anti-imperialist explanations)
- How did Mali get here? (Part 2: From military rule to multiparty politics)
- How did Mali get here? (Part 1: Echoes of decolonization)
(the links compiled here every few weeks are first out on our Twitter account, @arabist.)