Welcome! hoş geldiniz! !أهلا وسهلا! ברוכים הבאים

Welcome to my blog.

I hope the site will be a forum for readers who share my passionate interest in all things Middle East. Sometimes I will post longer pieces (400-600 words) and, at other times, link to interesting articles/posts. It’s a crowded field out there so I’ll be experimenting at first, trying to develop a rhythm and personality for the blog. You’ll excuse my occasional pop culture reference or devotional to the New York Yankees (very popular in the Middle East), but it’s all in good fun and hopefully an effort to make a larger point. After all, I am the guy who once wrote about Cairo traffic to expound on the importance of informal political and social institutions. Although I have taken time to study my favorite bloggers/friends like Marc Lynch and Issandr Imrani and others too numerous to list (see the blog roll), I hope the “from the Potomac to the Euphrates” tag line will infuse the blog with a foundational coherence. I’ll be doing a fair amount of posting from places in the region (check back next week for posts from Cairo and Istanbul), but the blog will also focus on the debates in Washington about the Middle East. I am not interested in scoring points here or getting into ideological debates, but rather an explication of how Washington connects to the region in ways both good and bad.

Finally, I encourage folks out there to comment on my posts. Extend an argument, correct an error, offer your own insights. It’ll be fun and interesting.

Cheers!

Steven

(Photos Courtesy Molly Riley/Reuters and Mohanned Faisel/Reuters)