“Do you think that pursuing [the Muslim Brotherhood] is so important that you are willing to risk pulling resources from groups that have not just the intent and capacity to strike the United States but also a demonstrated track record?”
“[Given al-Sisi’s] penchant for labeling all of his critics as Muslim Brotherhood members, [a terrorist designation] would help delegitimize his opponents domestically and on the international scene.”
“In both Tunisia and in Morocco, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties are represented in the parliaments and they’re major players… [I]t would become impossible for the U.S. government to have diplomatic relations with them.”
“[C]itizens in highly repressive countries can sometimes manage to mobilize against autocrats and remove them from office. Sisi, of course, is betting that he will be an exception to this trend.”
“This is a significant resignation [from Counstitutional Council Chairman Tayeb Belaiz]. At the same time, I don’t think it’s enough to satisfy the demands of the protesters who really want a genuine transition that’s led by independent figures.”
“It won’t be easy, but Algerian and Sudanese pro-democracy protesters need to stay unified around a core set of first-order demands about civilian-led democratic transitions and stay mobilized in the streets to press those demands.”
“The United States and Turkey will continue to have close areas of cooperation, but they’re going through a divorce…there’s a lot of bitterness that goes with divorces.”
“The…only reason for President Sisi to visit the White House right now is to obtain a strong endorsement from President Trump…He has calculated that he can intimidate his opponents and potential opponents with a show of support from Trump.”
