“He’s contaminated from top to bottom…Tomorrow he will be a hero.” – Captain Adnan Dayoub, a Syrian rebel commander in Hama, on the defection of General Abdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, head of the milita…

This is a guest post by Geoff Porter, an analyst with North Africa Risk Consulting, Inc. (NARCO). He is a specialist in North Africa and the Sahel. One month ago, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould …

As the "Arab Spring" swept the fake republics of North Africa--Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt--Algeria seemed immune. Media reports dwelled on its stability (see this 2011 BBC and this 2012 Deutsche Welle…

Significant Developments Syria. Regime fighters reportedly made significant progress against opposition forces in Homs this week, as Syrian military forces began entering rebel districts on Monday, …

People carry the body of a protester killed on Monday, February 14, 2011 in Bahrain. (Hamad I Mohammed/Courtesy Reuters) The Middle East has for decades seemed to be in permanent stasis, with little…