Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attempted to reconcile anti-regime protesters by announcing on Tuesday general amnesty for all political prisoners, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, that were taken into custody before May 31.  The president made his announcement as army forces used tanks against protesters in Talbisa and Rastan in central Syria, killing five people.  State Department Spokesman Mark Toner dismissed Assad's call for amnesty by reporting that " has talked reform but we ...

Writing for The Huffington Post, Sarah Margon argues that while President Obama's recent speech is significant in outlining the U.S. response to the Arab Spring, further steps must be taken to increase emphasis on development as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy in the region. President Obama's plans for debt relief to Egypt, economic assistance to Tunisia and Egypt, and the empowerment of civil society groups reflect the overall elevation of ...

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini met with Ali al-Essawi the Foreign Minister of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and called on Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi to step down saying, "The Gaddafi regime is finished, he must leave office, he must leave the country."   Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also announced plans to travel to the U.A.E. on June 9 to meet with the Libyan Contact Group to discus the ongoing military engagement and other ...

A draft electoral law announced on Sunday by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has triggered widespread criticism from a majority of opposition groups including the January 25th youth coalition. The proposed amendments would require two-thirds of the seats in the People's Assembly, the lower house of the Egyptian Parliament,  to be elected by the individual candidacy system, and the remaining one-third by the party-list (proportional) system for upcoming ...

Moroccan security services violently dispersed protests in Casablanca and its twin city of Sale on Sunday, beating protestors with truncheons and using motorcycles to disperse the crowds.  These protests follow a trend of increasing radicalization of demands, met with a more violent response by security forces.  The protests have been led by the February 20th movement who demand more political freedoms, democracy, and better living conditions.  The government's chief spokesman said ...

The U.S. pulled its human rights officer, Ludovic Hood, from Bahrain on Thursday following ethnic slurs and thinly veiled threats laid against him on a pro-government website and officially sanctioned newspapers. "It is unacceptable that elements within Bahrain would target an individual for carrying out his professional duties," the State Department said. The blogger on Bahrainforums.com accused Hood at once of orchestrating demonstrations in Bahrain, being a member of a ...

POMED’s Weekly Wire for May 31 is now available. This week’s edition includes coverage of condemnations of the violence in Syria and of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's continued refusal to step down.  International financial institutions and G8 leaders pledged their support for the Arab Spring while analysts discussed the role of Saudi Arabia in countering democratic movements. Protests continued in Yemen and Morocco ...

Yesterday, eight Libyan army officers, including 5 generals, appeared at a press conference in Italy stating they represented 120 military officers who defected from the camp of Libyan Muammar Gadhafi in recent days. The announcement came as South African Prime Minister Jacob Zuma met again with Gadhafi. He reiterated a previous call to follow an African Union peace plan. In Benghazi, Italian Prime Minister Franco Frattini announced 100 million euros in ...

On Tuesday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosted a debate to be aired on BBC's The World Debate on U.S. foreign policy in response to the uprisings in the Middle East. Matt Frei, anchor for BBC's World News America moderated the event and introduced the following panelists: Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment; Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Near Eastern ...

NATO has rejected an offer from the Libyan government for a ceasefire that was made on Thursday.  Libyan "Prime Minister" Baghdadi Mahmudi has sent a letter through Spain asking for a United Nations and African Union monitored ceasefire and said that the regime was to negotiate with the rebels and move toward a constitutional government.  At the G8 summit in France, Russia agreed to mediate an exit for Libyan leader ...

Blake Hounshell, writing at Foreign Policy, highlights the power brokers who are involved in the current unrest and who could spell out the future if Yemen divulges into civil war. The first and most important being current president Ali Abdullah Saleh who has ruled since 1978 and is described as a "lifelong military man" and a man who cares more about enriching himself and his family than building a country. ...