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Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
Scott Anderson of the NYT provides an indepth look at the Arab World and its fragmentation through the eyes of five people from each part of the Arab world- Egyptian, Kurd, Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian. He says the countries that fell apart are precisely the ones that were formed by the British and the French, and Italy, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire using divide and rule policies- Britain in Iraq, France in Syria, and Italy in Libya- without much thought given to setting up viable nation states. This is why Iraq has a Sunni-Shia divide, Syria has similar divisions, and Libya with a largely tribal based structure, never really held together after the colonial powers left, and were held together only by strong dictators. Today's problems trace back to these historical events. This is complicated by the largely young demographic and restlessness of the people for change coupled with problems of underdevelopment in education, tribal loyalties, religious loyalties, and lack of political and social structures that could keep the countries together as change and transition to democratic processes took place. The role of the military further complicated matters in Egypt. Even Iran experienced these divisions because of the intervention of the great powers including Russia in Iran since 1900, leading to swings between liberal governments, foreign power supported governments, and a swing back to religious leadership as at present. This is one view of the region, others are presented by Ramadan (Oxford), Bernard Lewis (Princeton), and leaders in Qatar and Emirates, other experts, some of whom point to the failure in leadership and the elites to find solutions to the problems of underdevelopment, in education, health, infrastructure, and aspirations for a voice in their governance. As the same divisions left by colonial powers affected Asia- in India, China, and Korea, but a larger vision of progress prevailed through crises and difficulties.
Demographic explosion of young people in the Arab world
06/03/2009
What this means for government, democracy, job creation and economic opportunity in the Arab world.
Grouped Articles
Washington Post 10/18/2011
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2009
Islam and demography: A waxing crescent
Economist 02/21/2011
George W. Bush: The Arab Spring and American Ideals
Wall Street Journal 05/17/2012
Middle East Challenges Obamaâs âLight Footprintâ
New York Times 11/17/2012
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
Osama Bin Laden and Al Quaeda
01/05/2009
The death of Osama Bin Laden in a U.S. raid at Abbotabad in Islamaba on May 1, 2011. During 2011 the face of the Middle East and most Arab countries began to change with the democracy protests. The result is a region where ordinary Arabs are taking the first steps to determine their own future and look to good governance and democratic processes as critical elements in social and economic change. This leaves little room for the kind of movement Osama Bin Laden led. For the U.S., Arabs and the Muslim world the shift is to other priorities.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
New Test for U.S.-Pakistan Relations
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
Bin Laden's Death Brings Calls for Afghan Pullout
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
In Assault on Bin Laden, Copters Departed From Afghanistan
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
Operation Is Blow to al Qaeda, Taliban
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
Ferjani in Tunisia, El-Haddad in Egypt, Belhaj in Libya and other Arab leaders in the democracy protest movement who are changing Arab thinking
02/01/2011
The change in thinking of the Islamists and other Arab leaders in governmment to adopt democratic ideas and seek foreign investment to modernize their economies, after the failure of the first generation of Arab leaders to deliver freedom and economic development. Shadid covers Ferjani in Tunis in one of his last reports from the region for the New York Times.
Grouped Articles
Morsi’s ouster spells trouble for region’s other Islamist movements - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/04/2013
New York Times 07/04/2013
U.S. must suspend aid after Egypt’s coup - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/05/2013
Tunisian Islamist Finds Hope in Challenging Time
New York Times 08/03/2013
Second Opposition Leader Assassinated in Tunisia
New York Times 07/25/2013
High-Ranking Muslim Brotherhood Leader Is Seized in Egypt
New York Times 10/30/2013
Friedman on Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and the Arab World's Transition to Democracy
02/10/2006
Friedman says the protests are about Egypt above all else, and its about Egypt and Egyptians desire for a freedom, democracy, better education, better economic opportunities and better lives. He describes the need in other parts of the Arab world to transcend sectarian, tribal and other loyalties, to establish moderation and build the institutions for citizenship and democratic government.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 09/10/2013
Pulling the Curtain Back on Syria
New York Times 09/07/2013
New York Times 09/07/2013
New York Times 02/08/2011
New York Times 02/10/2011
New York Times 03/01/2011
The Muslim Brotherhood after the July 2013 coup in Egypt following street protests by liberals- discussion within the Brotherhood and the political quandary for the U.S.
11/26/2011
The questions raised by Muslim Brotherhood leaders in the Arab world range from discussion about the errors in governing Egypt without reaching out to other groups, to a sense that the west will never accept the Muslim Brotherhood in government. The latter vew cites the military coup in 1952 following similar protests in Egypt and the annullment of elections won by Islamist parties in Algeria in 1992, and the futility of voting in elections. Islamist parties participate in Tunisia and Libyan politics and government and in government in Turkey, and the U.S. limits itself to a constructive role for all parties, which makes the situation very different today.
Grouped Articles
For Islamists, Dire Lessons on Politics and Power
New York Times 07/04/2013
U.S. must suspend aid after Egypt’s coup - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/05/2013
Onetime Morsi Supporters Allege Egypt Leader Shifted
Wall Street Journal 07/03/2013
Fouad Ajami: Egypt on the Brink—With No Clear Way Back
Wall Street Journal 07/02/2013
Morsi Spurned Deals, Seeing Military as Tamed
New York Times 07/06/2013
Egypt Crisis Finds Washington Largely Ambivalent and Aloof
New York Times 07/05/2013
Gomaa, Saleh, El-Haddad and Morsi- anguish, hope and an opportunity to forge a new path for Egypt where the modern world thrives alongside a open tolerant Islam
02/04/2011
An opportunity to set the Arab world and the Middle East in a new direction. The European Renaissance began with one of the important influences being ideas and books brought back from open and tolerant Islamic societies, the opportunity for leaders in the Middle East to borrow in the same way from open and tolerant Christian societies in Europe and America and forge their own path to a modern world and make their own contributions.
Grouped Articles
Morsi blames corruption, conspiracy for Egypt’s problems - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/27/2013
Morsi Faces Ultimatum as Allies Speak of Military âCoupâ
New York Times 07/01/2013
Onetime Morsi Supporters Allege Egypt Leader Shifted
Wall Street Journal 07/03/2013
Fouad Ajami: Egypt on the Brink—With No Clear Way Back
Wall Street Journal 07/02/2013
Egypt's Adly Mansour: Top Judge for Two Days, Now Interim President
Wall Street Journal 07/03/2013
Morsi’s ouster spells trouble for region’s other Islamist movements - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/04/2013
Dubai's prime minister Al Maktoum on the problem of youth unemployment approaching 50% in the Arab and Muslim world
06/03/2009
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2009
After Terrorist Attacks, Many French Muslims Wonder: What Now?
New York Times 01/10/2015
What Drives Young Muslims to Radicalization
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2015
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
Iraq splintering into three regions in 2015- Sunni, Shiite and Kurd
03/26/2015
The situation on the ground with the intolerance of the previous Maliki government in Baghdad, the rise of Islamic State, and the Kurdish state in the north, have created conditions on the ground that are leading ordinary Sunnis and Shiites in the 2.5 million plus refugees to see the division of the country between Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish as permanent partition of the country. Beyond the partition is the wider sectarian conflict between Shiites and Sunnis that the conflict in Syria-Iraq has created, and its spread to other parts of the Middle East including Yemen., drawing a coalition of Arab states led by the Saudis and Turkey opposing Shiite Iran.
Grouped Articles
Iraq Inches Toward 3-Way Split
Wall Street Journal 03/26/2015
Who’s Willing to Fight for Iraq?
New York Times 06/01/2015
With More Cash, Iran Poised to Help Mideast Friends
Wall Street Journal 07/16/2015
America’s Marxist Allies Against ISIS
Wall Street Journal 07/25/2015
Turkey Riles U.S. Ally in Fight Against Jihadists
Wall Street Journal 07/28/2015
Sinjar Victory Bolsters Kurds, but Could Further Alienate U.S. From Iraq
New York Times 11/13/2015
Bernard Lewis on the Middle East
04/02/2011
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/25/2015
Wall Street Journal 04/02/2011
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
Syria's economy- mismanagement, drought and the protests
07/12/2013
Grouped Articles
The Economic Blunders Behind the Arab Revolutions
Wall Street Journal 07/12/2013
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
The shift in the Saudi position in 2013 to actively bring down the Assad regime in Syria
08/25/2013
Grouped Articles
A Veteran Saudi Power Player Works To Build Support to Topple Assad
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2013
U.S., Allies Prepare to Act as Syria Intelligence Mounts
Wall Street Journal 08/27/2013
With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas
New York Times 09/07/2013
Saudi Arabia gets forceful on foreign policy - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/25/2013
Wall Street Journal 10/25/2013
U.S. and Saudis in Growing Rift as Power Shifts
New York Times 11/25/2013
A personal account of the Syrian people's struggles and the Assad era
06/26/2011
Grouped Articles
What if the U.S. doesn’t intervene in Syria? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/09/2013
Andrew Roberts: Syria's Gas Attack on Civilization
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2013
With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas
New York Times 09/07/2013
My Syria, Awake Again After 40 Years
New York Times 06/26/2011
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
The Arabs, 9/11, and the sense of oppressive suppression of liberties in their countries that frames a view of the world
09/10/2011
Grouped Articles
The Lower Manhattan revival, now featuring One World Trade Center - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/01/2014
Ten years after 9/11, we’re still in the dark - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/10/2011
Ten years after Sept. 11: The gains outweigh the mistakes - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/10/2011
The covert commander in chief - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/10/2011
Atta's Sister Won't Dwell on 'Why'
Wall Street Journal 09/10/2011
Tunisia Islamists Test Ideas Decades in the Making
New York Times 02/17/2012
Arab states, democracy, public opinion, economic and social development and one party rule.
07/23/2009
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/25/2015
Washington Post 04/12/2016
Clinton Assails Arab Leaders, Urging Reform
New York Times 01/13/2011
New York Times 01/15/2011
Wall Street Journal 01/15/2011
As Tunisia Events Play Out Live, The Middle East Watches Warily
Wall Street Journal 01/14/2011
Policies of France towards former colonies in Africa and the Arab world
01/24/2011
France and the protests in Tunisia and Egypt.
Grouped Articles
Tunisia’s Perilous Path to Freedom
Wall Street Journal 01/16/2015
Sarkozy Says He âUnderestimatedâ Tunisian Crisis
New York Times 01/24/2011
New York Times 01/27/2011
U.S. Military Urges Egyptian Army to Use Restraint
New York Times 01/29/2011
Wall Street Journal 01/28/2011
Obama Presses Egypt for Change
New York Times 01/29/2011
Tariq Ramadan on sentiment in the Arab and Muslim world in 2012-2013
01/05/2009
Ramadan on the Arab Spring and the rapprochement between the U.S., Europe and the Muslim world.
Grouped Articles
What Drives Young Muslims to Radicalization
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2015
Wall Street Journal 09/25/2015
Waiting for an Arab Spring of Ideas
New York Times 09/30/2012
Wall Street Journal 10/04/2012
Pentagon Chief Sees Opportunities In Russia and the War on Terrorism
Washington Post 01/05/2009
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
Libya in 2014-2015 - the conflict between rival militias and interference from Arab countries
08/26/2014
Grouped Articles
U.S., European Allies Raise Alarm About Escalating Violence in Libya
Wall Street Journal 08/26/2014
Libya's Prime Minister Presents Cabinet for Parliamentary Approval
Wall Street Journal 09/18/2014
Libya’s High Court Rules Parliament Unconstitutional
Wall Street Journal 11/07/2014
Libya Struggles to Extinguish Oil Storage Tanks After Assault
Wall Street Journal 12/30/2014
Road to Extremism for Tunisian Museum Gunmen Went Through Libya
Wall Street Journal 03/26/2015
As Libya Crumbles, Calls Grow for Feuding Factions to Meet Halfway
New York Times 04/13/2015
Israel, Saudi Arabia and the democratic transition in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Syria and the Arab world- 2011-2012
05/14/2008
Grouped Articles
Syria Condemns Israel for Air Assault Near Damascus
New York Times 05/05/2013
Israel Escalating Efforts to Shape Alliesâ Strategy
New York Times 08/18/2013
A Veteran Saudi Power Player Works To Build Support to Topple Assad
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2013
U.S., Allies Prepare to Act as Syria Intelligence Mounts
Wall Street Journal 08/27/2013
Saudi Arabia gets forceful on foreign policy - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/25/2013
As the Middle East Burns, the Saudis Ease Up at Home
Wall Street Journal 06/25/2014
The evolution of the war in Syria in different phases after the Arab Spring- 2011-2017
11/18/2015
Liz Sly of the Washington Post provides an excellent account of the different phases of the war in Syria from its beginning in the Arab Spring in 2011 as a democracy protest movement, to rebels fighting the Assad regime, the entry of Russia and Iran into the conflict, to current situation with the Islamic State and other rebel groups in control of different areas in Syria. The war ends up turning half of the Syrian population of 22 million into refugees or displaced status, with millions in refugee camps in Turkey, and hundreds of thousands moving towards Germany for asylum. As the conflict evolves it becomes more complicated than when pro-democracy rebels were fighting the government in Damascus- as Russia intervenes in the conflict and the U.S. stays on the sidelines, the Kurds defending their areas with Turkey worried about Kurdish autonomy, and the Shia-Sunni sectarian aspect dividing the Shia Iran supported government in Iraq and Sunnis in Iraq, and France under Hollande switching earlier policy to conduct an air campaign after terrorist attacks in 2015.
Grouped Articles
The long war against Islamist extremism has become more complicated than ever - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/18/2015
Teaming up with Russia in Syria could be a dangerous false step for the U.S. - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/19/2015
NATO faces new Mideast crisis after downing of Russian jet by Turkey - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/24/2015
Moscow promises retribution after Turkey downs military jet - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/25/2015
Range of Frustrations Reached Boil as Turkey Shot Down Russian Jet
New York Times 11/25/2015
On the Front Line Against Islamic State
Wall Street Journal 12/05/2015
U.S. president Obama's policy in 2015 as the Middle East descends into sectarian conflicts between Shiite Iran and Sunni Arab states
03/27/2015
Grouped Articles
Obama Struggles With a Messy Middle East
Wall Street Journal 03/27/2015
U.S. Boosts Aid in Saudi-Led Fight To Defeat Rebel Force in Yemen
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2015
U.S. Sends Ship, Planes as Iranians Seize Commercial Ship
Wall Street Journal 04/28/2015
With More Cash, Iran Poised to Help Mideast Friends
Wall Street Journal 07/16/2015
Saudi Arabia executes prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others in 12 cities - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/02/2016
Obama’s Mideast Mission: Get Saudis, Iran to Make Nice
Wall Street Journal 04/20/2016
Geography and borders of the new nations in the Middle East after the First World War
05/14/2008
Winston Churchill, as Colonial secretary, and the borders set for the new nations that were created out of the collapsed Ottoman Empire- Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/14/2008
Militarism and Humiliation Cast Shadow on Germany
New York Times 06/26/2014
Want to Defeat ISIS? Help the Syrian Opposition
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
Wall Street Journal 09/25/2015
Wall Street Journal 11/12/2015
With Iraq Mired in Turmoil, Some Call for Partitioning the Country
New York Times 04/28/2016
Hafez Assad and Bashir Assad, Syria
08/25/2013
Grouped Articles
Andrew Roberts: Syria's Gas Attack on Civilization
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2013
With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas
New York Times 09/07/2013
Assad Policies Aided Rise of Islamic State Militant Group
Wall Street Journal 08/22/2014
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
The insurgency in Iraq in 2014 against the Maliki government's sectarian policies- the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria
06/10/2014
Mosul on the border with Syria is taken by the insurgents ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) who operate on the Syrian side against Assad. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city with different ethnic groups. Foreign fighters operating in Syria have joined the ISIS. Maliki had lost support in Mosul with his increasingly sectarian policies favoring Shiites and marginalizing Sunnis. The Iraqi forces lack training and are poorly organized compared to the insurgents fighting the Assad regime in Syria. The U.S. lost any chance of maintaining peace in the region with policies of the Obama administration distancing itself in Iraq, Syria and towards Iran's non-sectarian democracy movement. With moderates left in the cold in the region, sectarian influences are taking control and undoing the hard work of previous administrations. The hopes of the heavily young demographic oriented Middle East region in 2011-2012 for economic progress are now fading first into religious extremism and then into sectarian religious conflict, with Putin's government in Russia allowed by the Obama administration to pursue reckless policies in Syria against the interests of people in the region. A no fly zone or action of the kind taken in Libya at very small cost to the U.S. was not taken by U.S. president Obama. The failed reelection bid of Sarkozy in France left Britain's prime minister Cameron with no allies to pursue prudent policies in Syria that would have advanced democracy and economic development in the entire region.
Grouped Articles
Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army Out of Mosul
New York Times 06/10/2014
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2014
Iraqi, U.S. Forces Trade Barbs Over Failures
Wall Street Journal 06/12/2014
Mosul Falls to ISIS, Endangering Iraq’s Democracy
New York Times 06/11/2014
U.S. Said to Rebuff Iraqi Request to Strike Militants
New York Times 06/11/2014
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 06/11/2014
Scott Anderson's interactive 2016 series on the breakup of the Arab World in the NYT
08/11/2016
A five part series on the fragmentation of the Arab World by 2016. Reflecting on this Anderson says he senses how fragile is this fabric of civilization that we take for granted, and how needed is the vigilance of all, and one should add the enlightened outlook of all men and women and education that embeds this enlightened outlook throughout society.
Grouped Articles
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
08/11/2016
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