Arab & Islamic Politics

By disorganizing Egypt's most cohesive Islamist group, the generals have turned hundreds of thousands of deeply ideological Muslim Brothers into free radicals who may no longer listen to their typically cautious leaders.

With the Brotherhood's power bids failing across the Middle East, Turkey has turned to the Kurds to shield itself from regional instability.

Michael Totten, a contributing editor for World Affairs, interviews Dr. Trager regarding the direction of Egypt's political dynamics since Morsi's ouster.

If Israel continues to act as Cairo's proxy terrorist hunter, it could erode the Egyptian military's reputation, undermine General Sisi's popularity, and attract even more militants looking to wage jihad from the Sinai.

The government's total failure to deliver security or basic services has given Ansar al-Sharia in Libya ample room to recover from the backlash that followed last year's consulate attack.

Although Washington cannot dispel the existential fight between the military and the Brotherhood, it can exert influence in other ways.

If Riyadh concludes a major arms deal with Moscow in return for reduced Russian backing of the Assad regime, it will come at the expense of U.S. influence in the Middle East and possibly across the world.

The Guardian website recently launched a new feature asking readers to weigh in on current affairs, then having an expert respond to them. In this edition, the editors asked Washington Institute fellow Eric Trager to assess the viability of a detailed plan (submitted by reader "2cents") for putting Egypt on

The endgame in Syria might be a weak state with jihadists left roaming around, so Turkey should work more closely with allies to monitor the situation.