Events in the Middle East started with a hopeful spring, where change was in the air. We have to give Bibi his due here when he cautioned against headiness and warned of an “Iranian winter”, referring to the 1979 populist revolution that overture the Shah. By summer the tone had changed with ruthless murder underway in Syria and the capture and videotaped killing of Gaddafi in early autumn.
Now uncertainty and not a little bit of anxiety has become the name of the game. The Muslim Brotherhood or factions thereof is gaining power specifically in Egypt, but also throughout the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying to fill the power gap in the region. The UN’s position on Syria has been laughable. Mysterious explosions in Iran are being reported on nearly a weekly basis.
- For a backgrounder an an overview of where the region currently stands, check out Brookings’ “Chill of an Arab Winter“
- In the Spectator’s “After Spring, Winter” Douglas Murray holds Britain partially responsible for the growth of Islamism in North Africa
- A vital question in all of this is the fate of Middle Eastern Christians. What does the rise of Islamism mean for non-Muslims in the region? Read Sam Dagher’s “An Arab Winter Chills Christians” for the story. (Wall Street Journal)
