A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, April 26, 2010

Weekend Roundup

A few bits and pieces from over the weekend to get the week started (later today: links to the spring issue of MEJ).
  • Three anniversaries yesterday. Egypt celebrated Sinai Liberation Day, the anniversary of Israel's 1982 withdrawal from Sinai under the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty; Australia and New Zealand celebrated ANZAC Day, which today marks their dead of all wars, but still is held on the date of the landings at Gallipoli in 1915, so it has a Middle Eastern link; and yesterday also marked (though was largely unmarked) the 30th anniversary of the debacle at Desert One during the Iranian hostage crisis, which occurred over the night of the 24th-25th, and was revealed on the 25th.
  • Never mind: That Scuds to Hizbullah crisis? Not so much.
  • Mubarak Speaks: Husni Mubarak made his first public address since his surgery, venturing out of Sharm al-Sheikh as far as Ismailia, where he addressed the Second Field Army's commemoration of Sinai Liberation Day (see above). He promised free elections, among other things. Interesting his first venue was military, though.

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