Lynch on the Anti-ISIS Coalition, Syrian Options

Marc Lynch was one of the pioneers of Middle East blogging with his "Abu Aardvark" blog. He retired it when he started blogging for Foreign Policy, then shifted to editing their "Middle East Channel." and is now writing for The Washington Post's "The Monkey Cage"  site.

But the blogging bug has never died and he has recently resuscitated Abu Aardvark. True to his old form, his first two regular posts are both worth reading:

• "When Arab Regimes Confront Terrorism" Short version:

But there's just one point I want to throw out there now, because it doesn't seem to be getting much play: when Arab regimes set out to fight "terrorism" they almost always use it as pretext for political repression. When I hear an Arab leader talking with the United States about confronting terrorism these days, what I see is the journalist Mohammad Fahmy and the dedicated activists Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Ahmed Maher and Mahienor al-Masry rotting in an Egyptian prison on trumped up charges while Secretary of State John Kerry opines on Cairo's path to democracy.

•  "Previewing the Syria tourniquet." I can't do this one justice with a pull quote, so just read it already, OK?

Welcome back to the blogosphere, Marc Twitter doesn't leave room for nuance.

But there's just one point I want to throw out there now, because it doesn't seem to be getting much play: when Arab regimes set out to fight "terrorism" they almost always use it as pretext for political repression. When I hear an Arab leader talking with the United States about confronting terrorism these days, what I see is the journalist Mohammad Fahmy and the dedicated activists Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Ahmed Maher and Mahienor al-Masry rotting in an Egyptian prison on trumped up charges while Secretary of State John Kerry opines on Cairo's path to democracy. - See more at: http://abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaardvark/2014/09/when-arab-regimes-confront-terrorism.html#sthash.4Ihx0wub.dpuf