THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CANDIDATE MOHAMMED MORSI'S ELECTION AS PRESIDENT OF EGYPT:  THE GOVERNANCE OF EGYPT UNDER THE COUNTRY'S FIRST POPULARLY ELECTED PRESIDENT -- MILITARY DICTATORSHIP, CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, OR ISLAMIST DICTATORSHIP?

WHAT THE U.S.A. & ITS ALLIES NEED TO DO, AS REGARDS EGYPT & IRAN:  DIRECT MILITARY ACTION AGAINST THE ISLAMISTS IN EGYPT & IRAN -- IN EGYPT:  SWIFT & EFFECTIVE U.S. MILITARY ACTION TO RESCUE AMERICAN HOSTAGES BEING HELD, AS WELL AS TERMINATION OF THE BILLION PLUS U.S. AID PROGRAM TO EGYPT -- IN IRAN:  DIRECT ALLIED MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES, ITS MISSILE OPERATIONS, & THE BARRACKS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS

THE CURRENT MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN EGYPT:  EVIDENCE THAT THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY RAN ARMORED VEHICLES OVER EGYPTIAN CIVILIANS -- THE U.S.A. AS THE LATEST VICTIM TO BE SCAPEGOATED FOR THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY'S CRIMES AGAINST ITS OWN CITIZENRY

THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN:  THE WORLD'S MOST RECENTLY-ESTABLISHED INDEPENTDENT, SOVEREIGN NATION-STATE -- A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOUTH SUDAN & ITS PEOPLE -- THE LINK BETWEEN SOUTH SUDAN & THE STATE OF ISRAEL -- THE LINK BETWEEN SOUTH SUDAN & THE U.S.A. -- THE PROBABLE IMPACT OF A SUCCESSFUL SOUTH SUDAN ON POWER POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EASTERN REGION

LIBYA, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, IRAN, & OBAMA MYOPIA:  U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S CLUELESS & OVER-CONFIDENT STATEMENTS REGARDING THE MIDDLE EASTERN SITUATION -- OBAMA'S PHONY CLAIMS OF U.S. FOREIGN & NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY SUCCESSES IN THE MIDDLE EAST -- HIS FAILURE TO GUARD HIS TONGUE & EXERCISE CAUTION -- WHAT WILL PROBABLY GO WRONG IN THE ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST -- WHY OBAMA & THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WILL SOON RUE THE PRESIDENT'S RASH BOASTS -- POLITICAL PROBLEMS AHEAD FOR OBAMA & THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS -- THE POLITICAL LEFT & THE ELECTORAL DISASTER IT IS LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE IN THE 2012 FEDERAL ELECTIONS & IN SUBSEQUENT U.S. ELECTIONS

WITH THE OVERTHROW & DEATH OF MUAMMAR AL-QADDAFI, WHAT TYPE OF GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM WILL EMERGE IN LIBYA?  WILL LIBYA BECOME SOME SORT WESTERN-STYLE CONSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY, RATHER THAN A HIGHLY AUTHORITARIAN, SHARIA-RULED ISLAMIST HELL-HOLE THAT WILL BECOME THE LATEST HAVEN FOR AL-QA'IDA?

AN APPRAISAL OF MU'AMMAR AL-QADDAFI'S FORTY-TWO-YEAR RULE OF LIBYA:  FAILURE OF QADDAFI TO REALIZE HIS DREAM OF UNIFYING ALL ARAB COUNTRIES INTO A SINGLE ARAB NATION-STATE, & THEN CONSOLIDATING THE ENTIRE MUSLIM WORLD INTO ONE UNIFIED ISLAMIC CALIPHATE -- HIS KEY ROLE IN THE INCREASE IN ENERGY PRICES THAT BEGAN IN 1972 & CONTINUES TO THIS DAY -- KICK ING OFF THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL THAT ALSO CONTINUES -- UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO SUBVERT THE GOVERNMENTS OF OTHER COUNTRIES -- A TURN TOWARD AFRICA & AN AMBITION TO DEVELOP WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION -- GIVING UP ON HIS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS -- THE BENGHAZI REBELLION, WHEN QADDAFI, IN RETREAT, REVERTED TO THE EXPLICIT BRUTALITY & VICIOUSNESS OF HIS EARLIER RULE -- LIBYANS IN GREAT NUMBERS REJECTING QADDAFI, HIS FAMILY, HIS REGIME, & HIS LEGACY

WITH MUAMAR QADDAFI VOWING A WIN OR MARTYRDOM & BASHAR ASSAD BEING URGED BY THE WEST TO STEP DOWN, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE ARAB SPRING THIS SUMMER? HAS IT BEEN A SUMMER OF PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM & CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN THE ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST, OR IS IT A MEDIA DELUSION? WHERE STANDS THE ARAB SPRING AS WE PREPARE TO MARK THE TENTH ANNIVERSITY OF THE SEPTEMBER 11 ISLAMIST TERROR ATTACKS ON THE U.S.A.?

EGYPT'S MILITARY PRE-EMPTING THE EGYPTIAN CONSTITUTION:  HOW THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMED FORCES INTENDS TO HOLD ON TO ITS ABSOLUTE POWER IN EGYPT -- DECLARATION OF BASIC PRINCIPLES TO GOVERN THE DRAFTING OF A CONSTITUTION -- THE ARMED FORCES' ROLE IN THE CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT TO BE SPELLED OUT, POTENTIALLY SHIELDING THE DEFENSE BUDGET FROM PUBLIC OR PARLIAMENTARY SCRUTINY & PROTECTING THE MILITARY'S VAST ECONOMIC INTERESTS -- THE MILITARY TO BE GRANTED BROAD AUTHORITY TO INTERVENE IN EGYPTIAN POLITICS TO PROTECT NATIONAL UNITY OR THE SECULAR CHARACTER OF THE STATE -- AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP TO WIN OUT OVER CONSTITUTIONALISM, CIVIL LIBERTIES, & REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY -- GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE WORRIED ABOUT EMERGENCE OF AN ISLAMIST-DOMINATED GOVERNMENT -- BAD NEWS FOR THOSE SEEKING ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EFFECTIVELY FUNCTIONING CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AS THE GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF EGYPT

THE "ARAB SPRING" UPRISINGS:  THEIR ADVERSE IMPACT ON U.S. FOREIGN & NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST -- OBAMA'S UNDERMINING & DESERTION OF EGYPT'S MUBARAK, DESTROYING A U.S. ALLY & CONDEMNING THE ISRAELI-ARAB PEACE PROCESS TO FAILURE -- OBAMA'S JUNE 4, 2009, CAIRO SPEECH AS OBAMA'S STRATEGIC BLUNDER & THE DEFINING MOMENT IN THE GRADUAL EROSION OF THE U.S. POSITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECTION EMPLOYED AS A TACTIC IN THE POLITICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL WAR MUSLIMS ARE WAGING AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN MINORITY IN THE ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST:  ISLAMISTS PROJECTING THE WORST TRAITS OF MUSLIMS ONTO THE BELEAGUERED CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES LIVING AMONG THE OVERWHELMING MUSLIM MAJORITY -- EGYPTIAN COPTS ACCUSED BY ISLAMISTS OF DOING TO MUSLIMS EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS ISLAMISTS DO TO COPTS -- ABDUCTIONS, TORTURE, FORCED CONVERSIONS, FORCED MARRIAGES, & EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN IN FORCED DOMESTIC SERVITUDE, AS WELL AS THEIR SUBJECTION TO COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

AS EGYPT LURCHES INTO A NEW ERA, WHAT IS THE COUNTRY'S PROBABLE POLITICAL COURSE?  WILL THE SPIRIT OF TAHIR SQUARE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT?  WILL THE POLITICAL SYSTEM BE A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, AN ISLAMIST THEOCRATIC REGIME, OR A CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITARIAN RULE BY THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY?

THE PURPOSE & GOALS OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN ISLAMIC NORTH AFRICA:  OBAMA EXPLAINING HIS ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY TOWARD LIBYA VIA SENTIMENTAL & IDEALISTIC PLATITUDES, RATHER THAN ON THE BASIS OF REALITY, THE LONG VIEW, OR JUST PLAIN COMMON SENSE -- INVOKING MORALIZING INTONATIONS, INSTEAD OF SPECIFYING CONCRETE U.S. NATIONAL INTERESTS AS JUSTIFICATION FOR OUR MILITARY INTERVENTION INTO THE NORTH AFRICAN CRISES -- OBAMA'S BLIND SPOTS & FAULTY LOGIC, AS REGARDS THE POSSIBILITY OF THE ISLAMISTS RISING TO POWER IN NORTH AFRICA -- THE RECENT U.S. MILITARY & POLITICAL HISTORY LESSONS THAT OBAMA HAS FAILED TO GRASP & PROFIT FROM

A QUESTION PROMPTED BY RECENT FIGHTING IN LIBYA:  SHOULD U.S. TROOPS BE DEPLOYED TO LIBYA IN ORDER TO FIGHT A GROUND WAR AGAINST & ASSIST IN THE OVERTHROW OF MU'AMMAR AL-QADDAFI'S TYRANNICAL REGIME? THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED IN ENDEAVORING TO MAINTAIN A NO-FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA -- ALTERNATIVES TO A NO-FLY ZONE -- THE LEGITIMATE PURPOSE OF U.S. MILITARY ACTION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES:  TO ACHIEVE HUMANITARIAN GOALS FOR OTHER PEOPLES, OR TO FORWARD SPECIFIC AMERICAN NATIONAL INTERESTS?

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION:  NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION & THE IMPORTANCE OF U.S. MILITARY READINESS TO COPE WITH THE THREAT -- MUAMMAR QADDAFI'S ULTIMATE CAPITULATION TO THE U.S.A. ON THE MATTER OF LIBYA'S SEEKING TO ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONRY -- THE INTRANSIGENCE OF IRAN'S MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, WHO IS PRESSING FORWARD IN HIS RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, WITH NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER OF ARRIVING AT A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT ON THE MATTER WITH THE U.S.A. -- U.S. SUCCESS IN GETTING LIBYA TO TERMINATE ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM & U.S. FAILURE TO PERSUADE IRAN TO DO LIKEWISE -- THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BASED ON STRENGTH & PRINCIPLE & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MIRED IN BLIND IDEALISM & WEAKNESS

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN & THE "AL-QADDAFI INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS":  ERDOGAN'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE PRIZE & ACCOMPANYING SPEECH IN TRIPOLI, LIBYA, THREE MONTHS AGO PRETTY WELL DEFINES HIS PERSONALITY, CHARACTER, & IDEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION.

"DEMOCRACY" DOES NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDE THE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM OR CIVIL LIBERTIES GUARANTEES ASSOCIATED WITH WESTERN-STYLE CONSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.  "DEMOCRACY" CAN & OFTEN DOES MEAN UNLIMITED RULE BY THE MAJORITY, WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PROTECTION OF MINORITY RIGHTS.   "DEMOCRACY" CAN MEAN "MAJORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP," OR "TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY," RATHER THAN A FREE, PLURALISTIC, & SECULAR SOCIETY

EGYPT & THE QUESTION OF ITS NATIONAL CULTURE:  ARE THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE PRIMARILY EGYPTIAN, ARAB, OR ISLAMIC?  EGYPTIAN NATIONALISM VERSUS PAN-ARAB NATIONALISM, OR PAN-ARABISM -- EGYPTIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY OR A COMMON ISLAMIST IDENTITY?  REVIVAL OF THE PHARAONIST MOVEMENT -- CAN PHARAONISM DEFEAT BOTH PAN-ARABISM & MILITANT ISLAM?

THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IN EGYPT & THE COUNTRY'S POLITICAL FUTURE:  THE MILITARY LEADERSHIP'S WEIGHTY RESPONSIBILITY OF SHEPHERDING THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION TOWARD FRUITION OF THE POPULAR DEMANDS FOR POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY, THE RULE OF LAW, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY -- CAN THE ISLAMISTS BE PREVENTED FROM SEIZING CONTROL OF EGYPT?  HAS EGYPT'S MILITARY LEADERSHIP LEARNED & MATURED ENOUGH TO GOVERN THE COUNTRY EFFECTIVELY & HONESTLY?  DOES IT REALIZE THAT CONTINUING TO PURSUE ITS SELFISH INTERESTS WILL LEAD TO FURTHER DECAY & CORRUPTION?

GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES:  CAN A SYSTEM OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY BE MADE TO WORK SUCCESSFULLY IN A MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRY? POSSIBLE, BUT HIGHLY IMPROBABLE -- TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC POLITICAL CULTURE, AS WELL AS ISLAMIST RADICAL IDEOLOGY, NOT CONDUCIVE TO OR SUPPORTIVE OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF MODERN CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS CONSTITUTIONALISM, THE RULE OF LAW, AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY APPLYING MODERN CIVIL LAW, MULTIPLE, VIABLE & COMPETITIVE POLITICAL PARTIES, MAJORITY RULE COUPLED WITH PROTECTION OF MINORITY RIGHTS, EFFECTIVE OPERATION OF VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, RELIGIOUS TOLERATION, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, MOVEMENT & ASSEMBLY, & EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS

PROSPECTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN EGYPT:  A STABLE, CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IS NOT LIKELY TO BE THE IMMEDIATE OUTCOME OF THE CURRENT UPRISING AGAINST THE MUBARAK REGIME IN EGYPT. SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN HOLDING ELECTIONS & MAJORITY RULE, CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY REQUIRES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY, MEANING SUCH COMPLEX & COUNTERINTUITIVE INSTITUTIONS AS THE RULE OF LAW, AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY, MULTIPLE POLITICAL PARTIES, MINORITY RIGHTS, VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, MOVEMENT, & ASSEMBLY. CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IS A LEARNED HABIT THAT REQUIRES DEEP ATTITUTUDINAL CHANGES SUCH AS A CULTURE OF RESTRAINT, A COMMONALITY OF VALUES, A RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES OF VIEW, THE CONCEPT OF LOYAL OPPOSITION, & A SENSE OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY. SUCH A TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY TAKES DECADES, IF NOT CENTURIES, TO FULLY IMPLEMENT.

THE OUTCOME OF THE EGYPTIAN UPRISING:  WILL THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION RESULT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOME SORT OF PLURALISTIC CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AS THE GOVERNING SYSTEM OF EGYPT, OR WILL THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TAKE OVER CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY & IMPOSE AN ISLAMIST DICTATORSHIP?  WHAT SHOULD THE U.S.A. DO ABOUT THE SITUATION IN EGYPT?  SHOULD AMERICA GIVE SUPPORT TO THE SECULARISTS & OPPOSE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD?

EGYPT'S MOMENT OF CRISIS & THE PROBABLE CONSEQUENCES:  THE UPRISING IN EGYPT & THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION OF 1979 -- THE IRANIAN ISLAMISTS & THEIR ASPIRATION FOR DOMINANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST -- THE MIDDLE EAST & THE REGIONAL COLD WAR -- THE IRANIAN-LED RESISTANCE BLOC VERSUS THE SAUDI-LED STATUS QUO BLOCK -- THE MILITARY FORCES VERSUS THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT -- THE OLD GUARD IN TUNISIA & WHAT IS LIKELY TO BE THE OUTCOME OF THE TURMOIL IN EGYPT -- U.S. FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD THE MIDDLE EAST -- THE SITUATION & ROLE OF ISRAEL IN THE REGIONAL CONFLICT

THE CONTEXT OF THE TURMOIL IN THE ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST:  THE CULTURE & HISTORY, PAST & RECENT, OF THE COUNTRIES & PEOPLES COMPRISING THE MIDDLE EAST -- GEOPOLITICAL RELEVANCE OF THE MIDDLE EAST TO AMERICAN & WESTERN INTERESTS -- LOCATION, PEOPLES, & NATURAL RESOURCES -- WESTERN IMPERIALISM -- THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE -- WORLD WARS I & II -- THE ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT -- ARAB NATIONALISM & PAN-ARAB NATIONALISM -- ABSOLUTE MONARCHIES & DICTATORSHIPS -- RISE OF THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT -- JIHADIST ORGANIZATIONS -- RISE OF AN ISLAMIST IRAN SEEKING TO BECOME A NUCLEAR POWER -- A BRIEF HISTORY OF MODERN EGYPT

THE CRISIS IN EGYPT, THE ISLAMISTS, & AMERICAN INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCE FOR THE U.S.A., IF THE UPRISING IN EGYPT IS TAKEN OVER BY THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD & OTHER ISLAMIST GROUPS?  THE GREATEST GEOPOLITICAL CONCERN AT THIS POINT:  THE FATE OF THE SUEZ CANAL -- THE LARGE VOLUME OF CRUDE OIL THAT TRANSITS THE CANAL, COUPLED WITH AMERICA'S HEAVY DEPENDENCE ON MIDDLE EAST OIL -- THE ULTIMATE PROBLEM:  A U.S. PRESIDENT WHO IS INTELLECTUALLY, EMOTIONALLY, PHILOSOPHICALLY, & IN ALL OTHER WAYS, NOT UP TO THE TASK OF DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH U.S. FOREIGN POLICY & NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST OR ANYWHERE ELSE

THE ISLAMIC HOLOCAUST AGAINST CHRISTIANS:  A NEW HOLOCAUST ABROAD IN THE WORLD, DIRECTED AT CHRISTIANS, PARTICULARLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST & THROUGHOUT AFRICA, WHEREVER ISLAM IS THE DOMINANT RELIGION -- THE PERSECUTION THAT HAS SPREAD EVERYWHERE BEFORE & SINCE THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, SPARKED BY EVENTS IN IRAN IN 1979 -- THE PERSECUTION HISTORICALLY DIRECTED AGAINST JUDAISM NOW COMMONPLACE IN ITS MORE LETHAL MANIFESTATIONS AGAINST CHRISTIANS -- AMERICANS, EUROPEANS, & CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE LOCKED IN A RELIGIOUS WAR WITH ISLAM -- A WAR AGAINST ISLAM BECAUSE ISLAM HAS BEEN AT WAR WITH ALL OTHER FAITHS SINCE ITS INCEPTION -- A WAR THAT CHRISTIANITY MUST ENGAGE -- THE PACIFISM OR SILENCE OF CHURCH LEADERS NO LONGER AN OPTION

THE OVERTHROW OF ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI & THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN TUNISIA: CONVERGENCE OF NEW FORCES IN TUNISIA, CREATING AN INFITADA & QUICKLY OUSTING AN ENTRENCHED DICTATOR -- THE ISLAMIST IMPLICATIONS OF THIS UPHEAVAL -- DOES INTERIM TUNISIAN PRESIDENT FOUAD MEBAZZA, AGE 77, HAVE THE SAVVY OR POLITICAL CREDIBILITY TO MAINTAIN POWER? WILL THE MILITARY KEEP THE OLD GUARD IN POWER? DO MODERATE FORCES HAVE THE COHESION & VISION TO DEFLECT AN ISLAMIST SURGE? HOW WOULD AN ISLAMIST TAKEOVER IN TUNISIA IMPACT ON EUROPE & THE ISLAMIC WORLD? WHAT SHOULD THE U.S.A. DO IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE EMERGENCE OF AN ISLAMIST TUNISIA?

THE DIRE SITUATION IN WHICH CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT FIND THEMSELVES:  TODAY, AS EGYPT REVERTS TO ITS MEDIEVAL CHARACTER & ALL BUT SPEARHEADS THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT, THE COPTS FIND THEMSELVES AGAIN IN A PERIOD OF SEVERE PERSECUTION, DISCRIMINATION, HUMILIATION, & OVER ALL SUBJUGATION IN THEIR EGYPTIAN HOMELAND.  THERE APPEARS TO BE NO ONE IN EGYPT WHO IS WILLING TO STOP THE TYRANNY.  EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT THE POLITICAL REGIME OF HOSNI MUBARAK IS INTENTIONALLY INCITING EGYPT'S MUSLIMS AGAINST THE COPTS. THE REGIME IS SACRIFICING THE COPTIC SCAPEGOAT TO APPEASE THE EVER-BURGEONING ISLAMIST MONSTER THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN NURTURING FOR SOME FOUR DECADES.

ALGERIA:  ARABIZATION, ISLAMISM, & THE STRUGGLE FOR KABYLE AUTONOMY -- THE ALGERIAN GOVERNMENT'S ENDEAVOR TO RESTRICT USE OF THE KABYLE LANGUAGE & SUPPRESS THE MOVEMENT FOR POLITICAL AUTONOMY IN THE KABYLE REGION -- THE ISLAMISTS AS ENEMIES OF THE KABYLE PEOPLE & THEIR STRIVING FOR ETHNIC OR REGIONAL SELF-GOVERNMENT -- FERHAT MEHENNI AS LEADER OF THE MOVEMENT ADVOCATING LANGUAGE RIGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE OF KABYLE, AUTONOMY FOR KABYLE, & TURNING ALGERIA INTO A FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BASED ON THE AMERICAN MODEL

THE LACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS IN EGYPT:  ABSENCE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION -- GOVERNMENT SUPPORT OF & PARTICIPATION IN HARASSMENT, IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE, & EXECUTION OF PERSONS WHO CONVERT FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY OR WHO FACILITATE THE WAY FOR MUSLIMS TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY -- USE BY THE POLICE OF BEATINGS & THREATS IN ORDER TO DISPERSE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATORS PEACEFULLY PROTESTING DEPRIVATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS -- DENIAL OF MEDICAL TREATMENT TO PERSONS INJURED WHILE PARTICIPATING IN PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS

THE MISSION OF TUNISIAN POLITICAL DISSIDENT MOHSEN MARZOUK:  OPPOSING DICTATORSHIP & PROMOTING THE DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN TUNISIA & THROUGHOUT NORTH AFRICA AS A WHOLE

ACHIEVING MODERNITY & MODERATION IN THE MUSLIM WORLD:  THE TUNISIAN MODEL FOR AN ISLAMIC REFORMATION -- TUNISIA'S DEVELOPMENT IN RECENT YEARS OF AN ENVIRONMENT OF CO-EXISTENCE AMONG JEWS, CHRISTIANS & MUSLIMS, AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH MODERNITY SERVES AS A COMMON DENOMINATOR & RELIGION DOES NOT GET IN THE WAY OF ONE'S DAY-TO-DAY LIFE -- TUNISIA'S POLITICAL STABILITY, WESTERN-ARAB SYNTHESIS, & ECONOMIC VISION:  A POSSIBLE PARADIGM FOR OTHER MIDDLE EASTERN STATES

EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE BALANCE & OBJECTIVITY IN THE EXAMINATION & ANALYSIS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD:   SEEKING LESS POLITICIZATION, GREATER DIVERSITY OF PERSPECTIVE, MORE ATTENTION TO THE THREAT OF MILITANT ISLAM, & AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE POST-COLONIALIST & ANTI-WESTERN BIASES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP & SOCALLED "SCHOLARSHIP" LONG DOMINANT IN THE FIELD OF MIDDLE EAST & ISLAMIC STUDIES -- THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF THE MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA:  FORMED TO PROVIDE A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION THAT WOULD BE MORE INDEPENDENT & REFLECT THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY MORE THAN POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES & SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST:  DE-EMPHASIZING PROMOTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY & ONCE AGAIN EMBRACING MIDDLE EASTERN REGIONAL STABILITY AS A U.S. FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITY -- FACING THE DOWNSIDE OF A STRATEGY BASED ON THE IDEA THAT DICTATORS BRING STABILITY TO A REGION -- INSTABILITY AS A LOOMING THREAT IN FOUR WESTERN-ALLIED DICTATORSHIPS THAT MANY AT HIGH LEVELS IN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PERCEIVE AS BULWARKS OF STABILITY:  EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA, TUNISIA, & OMAN

IRAN, AFRICA, & LATIN AMERICA:  THE IRANIAN REGIME'S PURSUIT OF A COORDINATED DIPLOMATIC, ECONOMIC, & MILITARY STRATEGY TO EXPAND ITS INFLUENCE IN AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA -- IRAN'S SUCCESS IN VENEZUELA, NICARAGUA, BOLIVIA, SENEGAL, ZIMBABWE, & SOUTH AFRICA -- CHALLENGING U.S. NATIONAL INTERESTS IN THE AFRICAN & LATIN AMERICAN REGIONS -- CHALLENGING THE MONROE DOCTRINE IN LATIN AMERICA -- AFRICA AS IRAN'S NEXT FRONTIER -- THE DAMAGE THAT CAN BE DONE BY AHMADINEJAD'S OUTREACH STRATEGY -- THE NEED FOR THE U.S.A. TO DESIGN & IMPLEMENT A STRATEGY TO REVERSE AHMADINEJAD'S RECENT GAINS IN PURSUIT OF HIS GLOBAL STRATEGY TO UNDERMINE AMERICA & THE WEST

THE ISLAMIST THREAT:  THE CLOSE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ISLAMISM & FASCISM -- THE WILL OF THE ISLAMISTS TO EXTERMINATE THE JEWS -- ISLAMIST DETERMINATION TO CONQUER THE WEST, SUBJUGATE CHRISTIANS, & EXTINGUISH POLITICAL OPPONENTS -- ISLAMISM VERSUS MODERATE ISLAM -- IRAN, ISRAEL, & THE WEST -- THE NEED TO FIGHT THE ISLAMISTS POLITICALLY, IDEOLOGICALLY, & MILITARILY

EUROPE'S CURRENT POLICY TOWARD LIBYAN DICTATOR, TERRORISM SUPPORTER, & INTERNATIONAL TROUBLE-MAKER MUAMMAR QADHAFI:  EUROPEAN LEADERS CLAIM SUCCESS IN THE REFORM & REHABILITATION OF THE LIBYAN POLITICAL REGIME & CITE THEIR SOCALLED "SUCCESS" AS EVIDENCE THAT EUROPE'S POLICY OF SLOW, DELIBERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH ROGUE REGIMES WORKS -- THE REALITY:  QADHAFI'S ATTITUDES TOWARD HUMAN RIGHTS & TERRORISM REMAIN UNCHANGED -- NOT ONLY DOES QADHAFI CONTINUE TO SPONSOR TERRORISM & VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS, HE MAY AT ANY TIME USE THE EUROPEAN INJECTION OF CASH & TECHNOLOGY TO RESURRECT HIS WMD PROGRAMS

HIGH TIME FOR A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE WEST'S POLICY TOWARD GAZA:  THE NEED FOR THE U.S.A. & OTHER WESTERN STATES TO DECLARE THE EXPERIMENT IN GAZAN SELF-RULE A FAILURE, WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR ANY POLITICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE GAZA STRIP & THE PALESTINIAN ARAB WEST BANK, & CONTRIVE THE RETURN OF GAZA TO EGYPT, PRESSURING THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT TO ANNEX, TIGHTLY CONTROL, & TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR GAZA

THE BUSH PRESIDENCY & UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY:  THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIPLOMACY & INTERNATIONAL POLITICS -- HOW A MAJOR WORLD POWER'S BROKEN PROMISES IMPACT UPON INTERNATIONAL CRISES -- THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF DETERIORATING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE U.S.A. & ONCE-STAUNCH ALLIES SUCH AS TURKEY, ISRAEL, TAIWAN, JAPAN, & SOUTH KOREA -- HOW WELL HAS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION LIVED UP TO ITS COMMITMENT TO PROMOTE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM & STABLE CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN ISLAMIC NORTH AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST?

MODERN EGYPT:  ITS HISTORY, POLITICS, POLITICAL REGIME, PUBLIC POLICY, & POSITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST -- LIBERALISM, NATIONALISM, & ISLAMISM IN EGYPT -- RELATIONS BETWEEN EGYPT & THE U.S.A. -- A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE

THE MIDDLE EAST, MIDDLE EASTERN POLITICAL REGIMES, & UNITED STATES AID TO MIDDLE EASTERN DISSIDENTS:   TO WHAT ENTENT & IN WHAT WAYS SHOULD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGE & SUPPORT POLITICAL DISSIDENTS & PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS IN MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES GOVERNED BY OPPRESSIVE, TYRANNICAL REGIMES?   SHOULD PROMOTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY & INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY UNDER THE RULE OF LAW BE A FOREIGN POLICY GOAL OF THE U.S.A. IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

RAPPROCHMENT BETWEEN LIBYA & THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:  HOW & WHY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S CURRENT POLICY TOWARD LIBYA & MU'AMMAR AL-QADHAFI'S POLITICAL REGIME IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE -- HOW LONGTERM U.S. INTERESTS ARE BEING HARMED -- THE POLICY'S IMPACT ON THE LIBYAN PEOPLE

THE CURRENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIBYA & THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:  HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S SUCCESS IN RESOLVING ITS MOST VITAL DIFFERENCES WITH THE MU'AMMAR QADHAFI POLITICAL REGIME IN LIBYA BEEN THE RESULT OF A ROBUST U.S. POLICY OF FORCE PROJECTION IN IRAQ?  WOULD SIMILAR FORCE PROJECTION BY THE U.S.A. CREATE COMPARABLE COMPLIANCE FROM OTHER HOSTILE REGIMES, SUCH AS THOSE IN SYRIA, IRAN, & NORTH KOREA?

MIDDLE EASTERN POLITICS & AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY:  MIDDLE EASTERN SOCIETIES, THEIR POLITICAL HISTORY, THEIR POLITICAL LEADERS, & THEIR RELATIONS WITH THE U.S.A. -- AMERICAN NATIONAL INTERESTS IN SOUTHWEST & CENTRAL ASIA & IN NORTH AFRICA -- IRAQ, IRAN, KURDISTAN, SYRIA, LIBYA, & SOUTH YEMEN

ISLAMISM & AUTHORITARIANISM VERSUS CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST:  ISLAMIST POLITICS & THE EGYPTIAN DICTATORSHIP OF HOSNI MUBARAK VERSUS AGITATION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL REFORM IN EGYPT -- THE STORY OF EGYPTIAN DISSIDENT AYMAN NOUR

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S MIDDLE EASTERN POLICY & RELATIONS BETWEEN EGYPT & THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:   CHANGING REALITIES & THE DECLINING STRATEGIC RELEVANCE OF EGYPT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AS BEING AT THE ROOT OF THE GROWING TENSION BETWEEN EGYPT & THE U.S.A. -- THE CRITICAL QUESTION:  HAVE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO NATION-STATES GROWN TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT THEY OVERRULE THE POSSIBILITY OF A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL U.S.-EGYPTIAN BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP CONTINUING INTO THE FUTURE?

THE REAL STORY OF THE RECENT G-8 CONFERENCE IN LONDON:  ITS MASSIVE EXERCISE OF SELF-DELUSION & ITS FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE GREATEST THREAT TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION SINCE GERMANY'S THIRD REICH -- THE G-8 LEADERS' GROSS INCOMPETENCE, THEIR MISDIRECTED & DOWNRIGHT WRONG PRIORITIES & SOLUTIONS, THEIR REFUSAL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE BIGGEST & MOST DANGEROUS PROBLEM FACING AFRICA & THE REST OF THE WORLD IS POLITICAL ISLAM & THE WORLDWIDE ISLAMIST JIHAD, & THEIR CONSEQUENT FAILURE TO DEVELOP & ANNOUNCE A BROAD RANGE OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO PUNISH ANY NATION THAT HARBORS & SUPPORTS THE JIHADISTS

TUNISIA'S POLITICAL FUTURE:  PROSPECTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL REFORM IN TUNISIA -- A TUNISIAN DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTIONALIST & FOUNDER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN LIBERAL PARTY DISCUSSES HER IDEAS REGARDING THE NEED TO BRING AN END TO TUNISIA'S ONE-PARTY DICTATORSHIP & REPLACE IT WITH A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC MULTIPARTY POLITICAL SYSTEM

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