By William Beaver

The protests that are taking place in the Middle East are similar to the protests that swept the Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union from 2000 to about 2005. Over that period, it seemed like many governments were sick with some sort of illness that spread quickly throughout the region and overthrew one long serving autocratic leader after another. However, not every autocrat succumbed.

For example, Vladimir Putin is still running Russia. In Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev took his father’s crown, and in Belarus Alexander Lukashenko just recently crushed …

By Mitch Steinfeld

With large-scale uprising in Egypt and demonstrations planned in other nations of the Middle East, the media is questioning the role of U.S. involvement in the region, and Americans are listening. A skeptic media is not new for Americans, but the source of it is.

Al Jazeera, the Doha-based, multilingual news service has positioned itself as an authority for in-depth, international coverage. Through their reporting in the Arab world, Al Jazeera has thrust themselves into American homes, beating out every other news source in coverage of Egypt.

The development of …

By Daniel R. DePetris

The first year of President Barack Obama’s administration has brought its fair share of attention to international affairs. Despite the somewhat quant security environment in Iraq, the United States continues to work behind the scenes with Iraqi politicians in the hopes of establishing an effective political system. In Afghanistan, the United States and its global allies find themselves in a tough and long-term fight against a resurgent Taliban: a movement that strives to kick out foreign occupiers in the name of Islam. Just across …