CULF 3331: "Middle Eastern Revolutions"

IAEA now has restrictions on what they can and cannot report regarding Iran. Compliance between Iran and the JCPOA creates for very vague reporting about irans compliance with the deal and military dimensions of their program.

This article questions and takes into account the Muslim Brotherhood's role in shaping Egypt's future. Both the article and video concerning this topic interview individuals who experienced the Egyptian Revolution first hand.

This article focuses on the shift taking place in the brotherhood due to the revolutionary youth present. The comparison to violent jihadi groups are made, which highlight the violence.

Gives details on a specific incident that reinforces the violence that the Muslim Brotherhood is capable of. The role of the media was also brought to light in this article.

Highlights the strategy of the brotherhood to infiltrate from the inside out in order to gain the most power. Also focuses on the journey of one specific leader in the brotherhood to give the most accurate analysis.

This article discusses the media controls that Saudi Arabia put into place in order to avoid political revolutions like the ones in Tunisia and Egypt. It also discusses an attempted protest started via Facebook that was never actualized.

This article discusses the media controls that Saudi Arabia put into place in order to avoid political revolutions like the ones in Tunisia and Egypt. It also discusses an attempted protest started via Facebook that was never actualized.

This report discusses the conditions of the media in Saudi Arabia. It claims that in 2012 Saudi Arabia media environment "remained among the most repressive the the world." It also talked about the fact that their government justified this repression by saying that it violated the Islamic Sharia law. This brought up and interesting point, because I had never thought about freedom of speech and religious freedom being linked in this regard.

This is an in depth look at media in Saudi Arabia. It goes through and looks at different issues in media over several years and how they are linked to issues in justice, freedom of expression, and activism. One thing I found particularly interesting about this article was the use of dialog from actual activists in the country.

Fearing being drawn into a endless or devastating conflict, the Italian government has officially come out wary of military intervention in Libya. This comes as thousands of "refugees" and migrants routinely flee war-torn Libya for refuge in Southern Italy. Additionally, there is great fear among Europeans that ISIS militants might travel among these migrants in an effort to infiltrate and conduct terror attacks against Italy.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank in Washington DC, proposed various ideas to help build a stable government in Libya. They give several proposals that take on different ideas from the perspectives on globalization.

Last chance to stop bloodshed in Syria? This article explains that the truce in Syria sponsored by Washington and Moscow, according to opposition groups, could be the last chance at peace.

Yet another doom and gloom article that discusses how bad the Libyan state is in the eyes of the American military. General David Rodriguez, head of American military forces in Africa, called Libya a "failed state," probably one of the starkest declarations in the 5 years since the fall of the Qaddafi regime.

Syria's economy has been strangled by the ongoing conflict. This follows an orange co-op that has been turning to Russia trying to start an export business.

This op-ed piece by the Hindu, an Indian publication, states the obvious that has been discussed in my blog posts and bookmarks for weeks. It describes how ISIS, due to the relentless bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, has taken advantage of a weak government in Libya and has begun to move its operations to areas of Libya essentially free from the watchful eyes of Western forces.

Moscow's coordinated efforts with regional governments, as well as targeted strikes on key assets of terrorist and rebel groups, accomplished politically important objectives for Moscow. With the rapidly growing threat of ISIL, Russia's actions have convinced Western elites to rethink their opinion of Assad.

This report says that the Kremlin approved bombing raids in Syria on Sept. 30 after President Bashar al-Assad requested help in defeating ISIS. The article claims that Russian bombers are hitting 100 ISIS targets a day.

US special forces captured the head of the Islamic State militant group's effort to develop chemical weapons in a raid last month in northern Iraq, two senior Iraqi intelligence officials have told the Associated Press, the first known major success of Washington's more aggressive policy of pursuing the jihadis on the ground. This is a huge step in obtaining more information regarding the ISIS front.

US special forces were able to take an ISIS member into custody. Through questioning, the military men were able to learn that ISIS is now beginning to make plans to use mustard gas as a chemical weapon. The Red Cross has been identified because of the possible use of chemical weapons.

An Islamic State detainee currently in American custody at a temporary detention facility in Erbil, Iraq, is a specialist in chemical weapons whom American military officials are questioning about the militant Sunni group's plans to use the banned substances in Iraq and Syria, Defense officials said. The member of ISIS who is probably dead at this point reports say, told the miltants that they were planning on using mustard gas with upcoming attacks planned.

ISIS supporters and Syrian rebel groups are vowing to turn Syria into a "graveyard for Russians," launching what collectively amounts to an anti-Russia propaganda campaign that in part is calling on fighters to prepare for war against the major world power. Jaish al-Islam, a coalition of Islamist units battling the Syrian regime, is especially contributing to the online fight. This comes after the Russian military upped their bombing efforts against ISIS bases

Hundreds of combatants and civilians have been killed over the past week, and Russian aircraft have been dropping supplies to beleaguered army units. The regime of President Bashar al-Assad is battling to retain a foothold in the area. A key city in the country of Syria is being fought over by ISIS militants as we speak. This city is in the middle of the line that has been split between the several groups vying for power in Syria.