Outside the Beltway

After months of fits and starts, it appears anti-Gaddafi forces are on the verge of victory.

Will the trial of Hosni Mubarak actually change anything?

A summary of the status of the “Arab Spring” uprisings with links to news coverage and commentary.

Once again, an American President thinks he can bring peace to the Middle East.

Ten days after sending American forces into kinetic military action in Libya, President Obama addressed the nation to explain “what we’ve done, what we plan to do, and why this matters to us.”

U.S. officials are making clear that the current mission in Libya may not lead to the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. If that’s the case, then why are we there in the first place?

Did President Obama pull off a diplomatic masterstroke? Or is he muddling through?

Establishing a no-fly zone in Libya won’t stop the Civil War, and it’s likely to draw the United States further into a conflict that it needs to stay out of.

An update on Tunisia.

The uprisings in the Arab world have led some to suggest that the Middle East isn’t “ready” to be free. They’re wrong.

Calls are coming from both sides of the aisle for the U.S. to do “something” about the situation in Libya. It would be better if we didn’t get involved.

Like in Bahrain, the Libyan authorities are not tolerating protests.

The protests in Bahrain have taken a different path than those in Egypt.

Knowing his downfall was imminent, the former Egyptian dictator moved vast wealth out of rich of Western governments.

Some in Washington are claiming the intelligence community missed the warning signs of unrest in Tunisia and Egypt in what looks like little more than an effort to create scapegoats if things go wrong.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s speech to the nation tonight seems destined to make the situation worse.

The US has limited influence over events in Egypt–something that recent history should underscore (although not everyone appears to understand this fact).

The Obama administration’s slow and cautious response to Egypt’s protest was frustrating. And correct.

The situatution in Egypt continues to escalate as the state strikes back at the prostests.

Anti-government protests raged in Egypt for a second day, and nobody seems to know where they’re headed.

Brief takes on foreign affairs

Information made public by Wikileaks appears to have played a role in sparking the protest movement that has brought down the President of Tunisia.