Unlike some of Stewart’s other interviews with foreign statesmen, this one achieves the right balance between humor and substance.

..or so states my Foreign Policy Watch co-blogger, David Dryer. While Dryer does not deny that the use of security contractors has “almost certainly been detrimental to long-term security and political goals [in Iraq],” he argues that such forces are necessary because they allow us to avoid instituting the draft here at home. Although I find his conclusions troubling, and while I don’t personally subscribe to this argument, the points he makes are a useful contribution to the debate....

Whatever you think about Jimmy Carter’s presidency, it’s hard not to have great respect for the post-presidential work he’s now doing in Africa.

Marc Lynch, a professor at George Washington University, is one of those must-read commentators on the Middle East. He’s extremely knowledgeable, has got a good sense of humor, and he doesn’t appear to harbor any particular agenda. Lynch, in a major way, has helped to shape my view of the Iraq debate. Unlike many other analysts, Lynch actually reads Arabic and has an extremely good understanding of the dynamics between various players in the region. Recently, he spoke at the CATO Institute...

…has been “pathetic.”

Some Saudi women are getting tired of being harassed by the country’s religious police. Asharq al-Awsat reports: Head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the Eastern province Dr. Mohamed bin Marshood al-Marshood, told Asharq Al Awsat that two of the Commission’s employees were verbally insulted and attacked by two inappropriately-dressed females, in the old market in Prince Bandar street, an area usually crowded with shoppers during the month of Ramadan....

As the Iraq example has shown, transitioning to democracy is smoother in some states than in others. Matt Eckel, a blogger and international relations guru who writes at Rational International, has written an interesting and detailed post about the conditions by which countries can be said to be “ready” for successful democratic governance. The full piece is here.

Our illustrious public diplomacy guru at the State Department, Karen Hughes, is at it again. This time, she plans on sending Cal Ripken Jr. around the world (first stop: China) to act as a cultural liaison for the United States. The video sort of tells it all, but I have a few comments which I’ll include below. Honestly, it’s not that this latest initiative is that absurd, per say; it’s more the incredibly naive way in which Hughes and Rice act as though this will somehow transform...

Interestingly, while this story has been all over the Arab press, few English papers have picked up on it. Salman al-Oadah, bin Laden’s mentor, wrote a letter recently that harshly condemned the use of violence. He sought to remind bin Laden that Islam does not even condone the killing of a sparrow, let alone “innocent people, regardless of what justification is given.”

(NOTE: This was run on the weekend when readership was lower. Due to our growing interest at TMV on foreign issues and a request to run it on a weekday, we are reposting it now). On Thursday, I linked up to a recent piece by myself and Shadi Hamid at The American Prospect. For those who haven’t had a chance to read it, the article is meant as a wake-up call about the poor pace of political reform in Morocco and, more broadly, about the failure of American democracy-promotion. Michael Van Der...

Although the Saudi government is often portrayed as hard-line and inflexible, some important reforms are starting to take place. John Burgess, a Saudi expert and a blogger at Crossroads Arabia, argues this point in the second piece in a two-part series on Saudi reform. Amongst other signs of progress, Burgess points to government efforts to expand the role of women, restrictions placed on the country’s notorious religious police, and attempts by a prominent Saudi prince to allow for the formation...

Shadi Hamid and I have a piece out at The American Prospect today on the recent Moroccan elections and, more broadly, about American democracy-promotion. We note that while Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has been held up as an example of an “enlightened monarch” leading his country towards economic and political progress, the reality on the ground is much different. Here’s a teaser: In 2004-5, with landmark elections in Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, observers heralded what would...

Polling data shows that most Iraqis want the US to leave. But, as my co-blogger David Dryer wonders, how heavily should Iraqi popular opinion be weighted when considering what to do next in Iraq?

Since the United States has abandoned its democracy-promotion strategy in the Middle East, things have gone to hell. Arab monarchies have cracked down hard on opposition groups, press has been stifled, and elections have been blatantly rigged. This is particularly evident in Egypt, where the Mubarak monarchy is literally trying to eviscerate all opposition. Besides the jailing and harassment of numerous anti-government activists, the independent press has also taken a beating in recent days: Ibrahim...

Ali Khan, a young American of Pakistani descent:

In July, I wrote a piece at Foreign Policy Watch about Pakistan and the war on terror. I noted that while Pakistan is often touted in Washington as a major ally against Islamic radicalism, signs indicate that Musharraf is playing a double game. Highlighting a recent report that had been released by Carnegie’s Frederic Grare, I pointed out that many analysts are similarly skeptical: [In the report, Grare suggests] that Musharraf is not so useful of an ally and that the billions of dollars...

A must-see for all foreign policy watchers.

John Burgess, a former US Foreign Service Officer who also blogs at Crossroads Arabia, has written a fascinating piece about the prospects for reform in Saudi Arabia. (His conclusion? There are, in fact, some positive signs.) For those interested in the Middle East, it’s definitely worth a read.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: Ryan Crocker, the current US ambassador to Baghdad and lifelong Foreign Service Officer, was an initial opponent of the US invasion of Iraq.

It’s not just Muslims who are becoming more radicalized in Europe. FPPassport notes that anti-Semitism as well as anti-Islamic and anti-foreign sentiment are on the rise throughout the region. In Switzerland, for example, there is an effort to initiate a new — and absurdly harsh — deportation policy in which “entire immigrant families would be kicked out of Switzerland if their children committed a violent crime, a drug offense, or benefits fraud.” FPPassport goes on...

The news that Israel conducted a flyover of Syrian territory has caused something of a diplomatic incident between the two countries. Syria has expressed strong outrage that its sovereignty was violated, and proudly claims that it effectively retaliated by hitting one of the invading planes with anti-aircraft weaponry. Israel, meanwhile, has not been forthcoming with an explanation, so rumors are rife as to what exactly the flyover was meant to accomplish.

UPDATE: An unexpected outcome has emerged. Despite the predictions of most analysts and pollsters, it now appears as though Morocco’s main Islamist party didn’t do nearly as well as expected. At this point, it’s still unclear why this is, though it raises the obvious question of electoral fraud. (Please note that the following post was written before the news of this surprising outcome. In fact, I wrote it last night when all indications suggested that the PJD was set for a major...

It is no surprise that the recent election of Abdullah Gul as the president of Turkey has sparked an intense and heated debate. The presidency is a powerful position, and whoever controls it has the ability to appoint key members of the government as well as the right to veto legislation. Critics of Gul allege that he has an overtly Islamist agenda, and that he will use his newfound authority to turn Turkey’s traditional secular republic into a hard-line Islamic state. Turkey will soon be the...

It’s a mistake to think that a thriving democracy is right around the corner for Pakistan. The announcement recently that the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, would be allowed back into the country (after many years of forced exile) was a step in the right direction, but a far, far cry from anything resembling a democratic realignment. For starters, the Pakistani military stands right in the middle of any transition to democracy. It largely dominates the government, and has done so since...