Michael J. Totten

To Tunisia: The Arab Spring’s ‘Bellwether’

To Tunisia: The Arab Spring’s ‘Bellwether’

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Largely forgotten in the West, Tunisia is where the great movements and ideas of the Arab Spring are fighting a huge battle.

 Michael J. Totten

Humour: A Potent Weapon Against Assad?

Humour: A Potent Weapon Against Assad?

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: There isn’t a lot to laugh about in Syria at the moment but try telling that to the Syrians themselves.

 Michael J. Totten

Arab Spring One Year On: Where are We Now?

Arab Spring One Year On: Where are We Now?

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria have undergone enormous turmoil in the past year. But can we see a path for each country’s immediate future?

 Michael J. Totten

The Maths of Death: Assad Treads Fine Line

The Maths of Death: Assad Treads Fine Line

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Cool calculation lies behind Syria’s targetting of protesters. Too many dead and calls for foreign intervention grow.

 Michael J. Totten

The Real Issues Facing Egypt’s Christians: A Religious Leader Speaks Out

The Real Issues Facing Egypt’s Christians: A Religious Leader Speaks Out

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims are increasing daily throughout Egypt. Coptic leaders are understandably cagey…

 Michael J. Totten

Life Imitates ‘The Onion’: Al Qaeda and U.S. Agree

Life Imitates ‘The Onion’: Al Qaeda and U.S. Agree

MICHAEL TOTTEN: You couldn’t make it up but conspiracy theories have a way of making odd bedfellows. Take Al Qaeda and the U.S in opposition to Iran. It’s true.

 Michael J. Totten

Ex Brotherhood Members Speak Out

Ex Brotherhood Members Speak Out

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: What exactly is the Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘game-plan’ for Egypt? One way of finding out is to talk to former loyalists…

 Michael J. Totten

The Struggle for Egypt’s Soul Has Only Begun

The Struggle for Egypt’s Soul Has Only Begun

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: I’ve spent a lot of time with the key players in Egypt’s developing democracy. It’s very clear that the real battle for the country’s – and the region’s – future has just begun.

 Michael J. Totten

First Impressions Again: An American Re-visits Cairo

First Impressions Again: An American Re-visits Cairo

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: It’s my first trip back to the ‘Capital of the Arab World’ for a while and though much remains as ever there have been striking changes since the revolution.

 Michael J. Totten

Assad Woes: ‘The Times, They Are a Changin’

Assad Woes: ‘The Times, They Are a Changin’

MICHAEL TOTTEN: Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon’s so-called political weathervane, is on the move again. Bad weather on the horizon for Bashar al-Assad, then?

 Michael J. Totten

Assad: Now We Know Exactly Who We’re Dealing With

Assad: Now We Know Exactly Who We’re Dealing With

MICHAEL TOTTEN: There have, according to Bashar Assad, been some ‘mistakes’. The only real mistake by Western powers however is to believe what the President tells them.

 Michael J. Totten

No Big Sleep for the MidEast’s Remaining Thugs

No Big Sleep for the MidEast’s Remaining Thugs

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Now that the Arab revolt is slamming hard into Bashar al-Assad’s Baath Party in Syria, no dictator will be able to sleep without consuming copious amounts of pills.

 Michael J. Totten

Among the People of Benghazi: A Westerner’s View

Among the People of Benghazi: A Westerner’s View

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Very little seems to be known about the rebels who are fighting Qaddafi. When I found out that a trusted source was effectively ’embedded’ with them I had a few questions to put to her.

 Michael J. Totten

‘Prediction Business’ In Crisis in the Middle East

‘Prediction Business’ In Crisis in the Middle East

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Throw away the crystal ball. Events in the Middle East over the past few months have defied everyone’s predictions.

 Michael J. Totten

What if Qaddafi Wins? Thinking the Unthinkable

What if Qaddafi Wins? Thinking the Unthinkable

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: With the West refusing to be drawn into the conflict it looks increasingly like Qaddafi could prevail against the rebels. What will be the consequences?

 Michael J. Totten

Libya: People are People, Even When World’s Apart

Libya: People are People, Even When World’s Apart

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Two years ago I spent time in Libya. It seems like a good time to revisit my experience of a kind people but an overarching, clamping presence.

 Michael J. Totten

Egypt Public Opinion: Islamists or Modernizers

Egypt Public Opinion: Islamists or Modernizers

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: I worry Egyptians are going to have to learn the hardest way possible – as the Iranians have – modernizers are better.

 Michael J. Totten

Conspiracy, Stupidity Hovers over Iran, Egypt

Conspiracy, Stupidity Hovers over Iran, Egypt

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: There’s nothing the Israelis can do to appease this stupidity. They are hated in part because the people who hate them are mad.

 Michael J. Totten

Wikileaks: History Lessons for the Stupid

Wikileaks: History Lessons for the Stupid

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Surely somewhere there’d be references to a war for oil in Iraq if the war was, in fact, about oil.

 Michael J. Totten

The Poisoned Fruit of Anti – Americanism

The Poisoned Fruit of Anti – Americanism

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: In Europe the lunatic fringe is going mainstream. Maddening as this is, I really do worry for them. I’m beginning to think something terrible might happen.