The World Next Week: Egypt Fever Continues to Spread in the Middle East
from The Water's Edge

The World Next Week: Egypt Fever Continues to Spread in the Middle East

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay
February 17, 2011 6:34 pm (EST)

Government backers hurl rocks at anti-government protesters during clashes in Sanaa February 17, 2011. Hundreds of Yemen government loyalists wielding batons and daggers chased off a small group of protesters trying to kick off a seventh day of rallies on Thursday to demand their president end his thirty-two year rule. (Ammar Awad/ courtesy Reuters)
Government backers hurl rocks at anti-government protesters during clashes in Sanaa February 17, 2011. (Ammar Awad/courtesy Reuters)

The podcast for The World Next Week is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the continued protests and unrest across the Middle East; Secretary of State Clinton’s selection of a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination contest.

[audio: http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/podcast/2011/20110217_TWN…]

The highlights:

  • Political unrest has spread beyond Tunisia and Egypt to other countries in the Middle East, creating opportunities for the White House but dangers as well.

  • Ambassador Marc Grossman will have his hands full as the new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, particularly in light of the curious Raymond Allen Davis affair.

  • GOP presidential hopefuls continue to sit on the sidelines as rank-and-file Republicans wonder whether any of their potential candidates have what it takes to defeat Barack Obama.

Bob and I aren’t the only commentators getting a head start on next week’s news. Read about Egypt after Mubarak at the Economist, and learn more about the protests in Yemen and Bahrain from Al Jazeera. The Washington Post provides background on the new Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, and Bruce Riedel at the Daily Beast warns that Grossman has inherited "the worst job in the world." For the latest in campaign 2012 gossip, see Five-Thirty-Eight’s piece on GOP concerns about the quality of their presidential hopefuls, and Slate’s coverage of the Conservative Political Action Convention.