Top US security official quits, says Iran did not pose immediate threat | Reuters
\nYou don’t say.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/03/17/top-us-security-official-quits.html","date_published":"2026-03-17T16:56:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-17 16:56","date_timestamp":1773766563,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116245565949331936","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mhbgvdhhn52q"]}},{"id":"85925170","content_html":"@lalehkhalili.bsky.social And that’s some pretty tough competition.
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mgld3mcn2k2z","date_published":"2026-03-08T21:49:35+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-08 21:49","date_timestamp":1773006575,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85642307","content_html":"All the polls on the U.S. war in Iran so far
\nG. Elliott Morris, writing on polls on US sentiment towards the Iran war in Strength in Numbers:
\n\narabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/03/06/all-the-polls-on-the.html","date_published":"2026-03-06T15:18:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-06 15:18","date_timestamp":1772810293,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116184468199126821","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mggcn6tsnp25"]}},{"id":"85632715","content_html":"The big takeaway from these numbers is that the new war in Iran is very unpopular. Not merely negative-number-so-what unpopular, but worst-ever-support-for-war-when-it-started unpopular. With just 38% of Americans in favor, support for bombing Iran is lower than retrospective support for the war in Iraq was in 2014.
\nHere’s another potential framing of this data: The Trump administration is now justifying their bombing — including of an all-girls elementary...
\n
Qatar warns war will force Gulf to stop energy exports ‘within days’
\nAndrew England and Malcolm Moore, in the Financial Times:
\nQatar’s energy minister has warned that war in the Middle East could “bring down the economies of the world”, predicting that all Gulf energy exporters would shut down production within days and drive oil to $150 a barrel.\narabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/03/06/qatar-warns-war-will-force.html","date_published":"2026-03-06T12:19:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-06 12:19","date_timestamp":1772799545,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116182197332436472","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mgfcejqw332q"]}},{"id":"85345208","content_html":"Saad al-Kaabi told the FT that even if the war ended immediately it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries following an Iranian drone strike at its largest liquefied natural gas plant.
\n. . .
\n“This will bring down the...
\n
@sumitapahwa.bsky.social Because they want Pahlavi not reformists?
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mfyyq2gvr22e","date_published":"2026-03-01T14:56:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-01 14:56","date_timestamp":1772376975,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85345209","content_html":"@rokhanna.bsky.social First you need to get Schumer and Jeffries out of the way
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mfwd5oi5js2j","date_published":"2026-02-28T13:24:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-28 13:24","date_timestamp":1772285090,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85345210","content_html":"@mattduss.bsky.social Unfortunately many Dems seem to support this, most notably the leadership in Congress.
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mfw62ambtk2j","date_published":"2026-02-28T11:53:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-28 11:53","date_timestamp":1772279606,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"84130084","content_html":"Governments Need to Disrupt the Business of War Crimes\n\nAnton Moiseienko and Matthew Neuhaus, writing in Just Security:\nInternational crimes are typically complex and coordinated, involving multiple perpetrators. For instance, crimes against humanity by definition entail a “widespread or systematic” attack against civilian population. This means they need to be funded and resourced, creating a financial footprint.\nThey can also generate profit, sometimes in a manner that fuses commercial and political motivations. A series of “industrialist” trials at Nuremberg concerned the activities of major Germa... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/12/governments-need-to-disrupt-the.html","date_published":"2026-02-12T16:36:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-12 16:36","date_timestamp":1770914213,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116058640290733578","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3meogjbumjn2l"]}},{"id":"84108449","content_html":"Jean-Noël Barrot appelle à la démission de Francesca Albanese, la rapporteuse spéciale de l’ONU pour les territoires palestiniens | Le Monde\n\nFrance is more interested in joining the Trump administration in shutting up calls for accountability for Israel’s crimes in Gaza then actually doing something to st... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/12/jeannol-barrot-appelle-la-dmission.html","date_published":"2026-02-12T10:02:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-12 10:02","date_timestamp":1770890549,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116057092209333132","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3menqjc4xcb2a"]}},{"id":"84108322","content_html":"Epstein never cracked the Gulf. After death, he’s finally a player. | Semafor\n\nA piece of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and DP World chief Ahmed bin Sulayem that I missed earlier:\nBeyond the vulgarities is an accusation that is inflaming Muslim passions: Epstein appears to have been in possession of a piece of the Kiswah, the cloth that covers the Kaaba. It’s impossible from the emails to verify the authenticity of the assertion, but the cloth looks close enough to the real thing that it’s been weaponized online, with accusations that the UAE supplied one of Islam’s holiest artifacts to a ... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/12/epstein-never-cracked-the-gulf.html","date_published":"2026-02-12T09:59:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-12 09:59","date_timestamp":1770890345,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116057077833043623","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3menqcqwfgc2x"]}},{"id":"84027695","content_html":"This Must Be the Podcast: Stephane Lacroix
\nMarc Lynch interviews renowned French islamologue Stephane Lacroix about his new book on Egyptian salafism. Marc is right here than Stéphane is one of the most exciting writers on modern Islamist movements around.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/11/this-must-be-the-podcast.html","date_published":"2026-02-11T07:57:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-11 07:57","date_timestamp":1770796650,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116050944662626322","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mekz5wcxvd2b"]}},{"id":"83971969","content_html":"\nFirst direct talks since 2019.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/10/renewed-usled-talks-in-madrid.html","date_published":"2026-02-10T14:30:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-10 14:30","date_timestamp":1770733844,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116046816196529183","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mej6icnszs2a"]}},{"id":"83930901","content_html":"After the Epstein revelations, Jack Lang leaves a mixed record at the Arab World Institute | Le Monde\n\nOf course what’s coming out now - beyond Lang (and his daughter’s) proximity to Epstein – is Lang’s propensity to lead a life well beyond his means by maintaining a constant stream of activity with wealth... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/09/after-the-epstein-revelations-jack.html","date_published":"2026-02-09T22:06:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-09 22:06","date_timestamp":1770674781,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116042949224207244","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mehhjuerw42l"]}},{"id":"83930489","content_html":"UAE edged out of Riyadh defense fair | Semafor
\nAround 30 Emirati companies were listed as participants, but none showed up; the exhibition space allocated to EDGE Group — one of Abu Dhabi’s biggest arms makers — was turned into a coffee shop. Reuters reported over the weekend that UAE firms were planning to pull out of the show.\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/09/uae-edged-out-of-riyadh.html","date_published":"2026-02-09T21:58:49+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-09 21:58","date_timestamp":1770674329,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116042920091329054","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3mehh4md5fm2l"]}},{"id":"83761535","content_html":"Ashes to Pistachios • EQUATOR\n\nA surrealist story by Syrian Kurdish writer Golan Haji, translated by Robin Moger, who provides a useful introduction to the author.\n\n\"Aboul Nanaat would join us for the sessions where we discussed films we’d never seen. His passion was for book titles, and he knew a vast number of them off by heart. He would finger through catalogue cards in school libraries and the cultural centre’s archives, pore over the Babtain Encyclopaedia of Modern Poetry, skim the listings of new releases in the Lebanese press and issues of The Arab – but I can’t recall him having ever read a b... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/07/ashes-to-pistachios-equator-a.html","date_published":"2026-02-07T04:44:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-07 04:44","date_timestamp":1770439441,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116027525716552723","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3meamdziuqr2s"]}},{"id":"83759854","content_html":"OpenAI in talks with Abu Dhabi’s G42 to create specialized ChatGPT version for UAE | Semafor\n\n\"OpenAI is working with Abu Dhabi-based G42 to build a new version of ChatGPT tuned for the UAE to accommodate local language, political outlook, and speech restrictions, according to people familiar with the matter.\n\nThe fine-tuned version is being designed for use by the country’s government, OpenAI officials told Semafor. When complete, it will be one of the first examples of a local implementation of the popular chatbot, offering a glimpse into how American tech companies will handle a global AI expansio... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/07/openai-in-talks-with-abu.html","date_published":"2026-02-07T03:42:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-07 03:42","date_timestamp":1770435750,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116027278928678956","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3meaitsufba2g"]}},{"id":"83743598","content_html":"\n
This a rare sign of decency from a top politician these days.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/06/we-owe-it-to-epsteins.html","date_published":"2026-02-06T21:39:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-06 21:39","date_timestamp":1770413970,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116025857359380087","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3me7undxks52s"]}},{"id":"83707766","content_html":"Neal Spencer · At the Grand Egyptian Museum: New Pharaonism - London Review of Books\n\n\"The Grand Egyptian Museum, announced at the height of Hosni Mubarak’s rule and styled ‘the largest museum in the world dedicated to the people, history and culture of Ancient Egypt’, opened in November last year with a lavish ceremony broadcast round the world. It is estimated to have cost more than $1 billion ($300 million of which was a loan from Japan) and sprawls over an area the size of seventy football pitches. The financial crash of 2008, the Arab Spring and Covid meant that its construction took almost twen... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/06/neal-spencer-at-the-grand.html","date_published":"2026-02-06T12:46:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-06 12:46","date_timestamp":1770381981,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116023764353631037"]}},{"id":"83707315","content_html":"The End of Rent Controls Promises Disruption in Cairo - New Lines Magazine\n\n\"In early 2025, a video went viral on Facebook. In it, a middle-aged Egyptian woman in a black galabiya and patterned hijab addresses President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, telling him that, over the preceding 11 years, she has been on his side, despite “hardship, pain and humiliation.” She says that as life became more and more expensive, she continued to trust his words that Egyptians needed to be patient. She followed him even when people could no longer pay their bills, and half the population went to bed hungry. “But if you tak... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/06/the-end-of-rent-controls.html","date_published":"2026-02-06T12:36:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-06 12:36","date_timestamp":1770381394,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116023729366806969"]}},{"id":"83702894","content_html":"The CIA World Factbook is no more | AP News
\nBut the very useful World Leaders page is still there - a very useful and quickly updated list of members of government for every US-recognised country in the world.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/06/the-cia-world-factbook-is.html","date_published":"2026-02-06T11:15:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-06 11:15","date_timestamp":1770376550,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116023406747467293"]}},{"id":"83699782","content_html":"Human Rights Watch researchers resign after report on Palestinian right of return blocked | World news | The Guardian\n\nFrom what I understand, the report had gone through all internal vetting before being blocked by senior leadership, for fear of the potential backlash of being seen as challenging a Jewish... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/06/human-rights-watch-researchers-resign.html","date_published":"2026-02-06T10:07:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-06 10:07","date_timestamp":1770372454,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"83539784","content_html":"Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, Son of Libyan Dictator, Is Killed - The New York Times
\nOut of nowhere! Seif had been safe since his capture in 2011, ambiguously held by militias in Zintan for years as a hostage but also allowed to hold some meetings and hint at a political comeback.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/04/seif-alislam-elqaddafi-son-of.html","date_published":"2026-02-04T05:35:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-04 05:35","date_timestamp":1770183348,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"83481741","content_html":"\nThis is a wonderful example of what the web can be - a simple, ad and clutter-free, comparison of various translations of The Iliad into English.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/03/iliad-translations-this-is-a.html","date_published":"2026-02-03T12:16:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-03 12:16","date_timestamp":1770120997,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"83477763","content_html":"Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi’s New Republic | Verso Books\n\nI’m excited about Hossam El-Hamalawy’s forthcoming new book on the Egyptian security state!\n\n\"The agents of coercion in Egypt – its military, police, and intelligence services – have been locked in a perennial struggle for power since their inception. Each institution has vied for dominance, shaping and reshaping the country’s political landscape. Yet, the seismic upheaval of the 2011 revolution forced these factions to put aside their differences and forge an alliance in the face of an existential threat: the revolutionary aspirations of... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2026/02/03/im-excited-about-hossam-elhamalawys.html","date_published":"2026-02-03T10:44:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-03 10:44","date_timestamp":1770115445,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/116006287102290677"]}},{"id":"72144516","content_html":"@diplomatofnight.com Not surprising, they were also supportive of what Israel war crimes in Gaza, they like Biden are reprehensible and deeply immoral people.
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3lw7rw44yak2l","date_published":"2025-08-12T16:59:54+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-08-12 16:59","date_timestamp":1755017994,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"72144517","content_html":"@abuaardvark.bsky.social Also the defense systems did not work impeccably and the Israeli war effort is extremely expensive and probably not sustainable in a war of attrition against an opponent that may simply be able to endure more pain for longer.
\n","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3lscnhnfvf22a","date_published":"2025-06-23T22:37:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-06-23 22:37","date_timestamp":1750718246,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"64730706","content_html":"CIA to name veteran Middle East case officer as head of covert operations - FT
\n\n\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2025/05/19/cia-to-name-veteran-middle.html","date_published":"2025-05-19T06:10:45+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-05-19 06:10","date_timestamp":1747635045,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/114533010657426650","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3lpivzc27zd24"]}},{"id":"64445993","content_html":"CIA director John Ratcliffe has chosen an intelligence operative who heads a critical station in a Middle East country to be deputy director for operations, according to several people familiar with the decision.
\n
How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump | The New Yorker
\nAbsolutely scathing reporting. Such a disastrous presidency in so many ways, and such a disastrous party leadership.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2025/05/15/how-joe-biden-handed-the.html","date_published":"2025-05-15T05:31:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-05-15 05:31","date_timestamp":1747287076,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/114510206314293202","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3lp6rx5uy3b2g"]}},{"id":"64244056","content_html":"Adam Shatz | Remembering Hugh Roberts
\nOn the great historian of Algeria Hugh Roberts, who recently passed away. I got to know him a little when we both lived in Cairo, and fondly remember our many arguments and conversations.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2025/05/12/adam-shatz-remembering-hugh-roberts.html","date_published":"2025-05-12T17:08:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-05-12 17:08","date_timestamp":1747069708,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"64210645","content_html":"La stratégie séparatiste des Emirats arabes unis\n\nWriting in Le Monde, Jean-Pierre Filiu outlines the separatist strategy of the UAE in Libya, Yemen and Sudan where it has backed violent factions with local agendas that undermine any possibility of national reconciliation and stability: Haftar and the east in Libya, southern separatists in Aden, and of course the genocidal Darfur militias (chiefly the RSF). Translation by AI (Claude):\n\n\"The “Sparta of the Middle East,” as the United Arab Emirates has sometimes been described, has distinguished itself for more than a decade through a highly militarize... diary.arabist.net","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2025/05/12/la-stratgie-sparatiste-des-emirats.html","date_published":"2025-05-12T07:39:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-05-12 07:39","date_timestamp":1747035590,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/114493724627971950","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3loxhq3tq722k"]}},{"id":"64208333","content_html":"What Does Trump Want in the Middle East? | Foreign Affairs
\nMarc Lynch on Trump’s Gulf visit.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://arabist.net/2025/05/12/what-does-trump-want-in.html","date_published":"2025-05-12T06:42:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Issandr Amrani","url":"http://arabist.net","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2023%2F12%2F3684.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"arabist"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-05-12 06:42","date_timestamp":1747032162,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://mastodon.social/@arabist/114493500863058542","https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dgc64pocw5yrdu4lli2lqwfv/post/3loxekfskmh2g"]}}]}