Shared by Tahir Mahmood

Egypt’s future trajectory rests not only on the policies of Egypt’s current military leaders, but also on the strategy adopted by the Muslim Brotherhood. Even before the army cleared protesters from their strongholds in the streets of Cairo and began arresting those Brotherhood leaders who were still at large, there were reports of generational divisions in the organization.

Some brothers remained committed to confrontation, accepting that such a course might lead to the party being outlawed and forced underground, as it was for decades before the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Many of the brothers spent years operating in the underground and now feel comfortable there.

Others believe the Brotherhood should stay in the political game, adopting the role of loyal opposition. The Brotherhood would remain a minority party, but it could continue to hold offices, provide social assistance that the government does not and demonstrate its continuing strength at the polls. Circumstances might change, providing an opportunity for the Brotherhood to eventually shed its minority status and return to power.

http://mobile.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/08/26/the-future-of-egypt-and-the-muslim-brotherhood

An article shared by Tahir Mahmood

It seems unlikely that al Qaeda holds conference calls to do business, and they probably don’t use PowerPoints. But for the sake of discussion, what if they did? And if they held one today, what would their presentation look like?

To al Qaeda, there would be much about which to gloat:

Slide one: “We have survived the infidel’s mightiest blows.” The terrorist group’s primary objective is to keep its jihad alive. Al Qaeda cannot control its own destiny, but it can try to exploit circumstances by insinuating itself into local conflicts.

http://m.rand.org/blog/2013/08/what-would-al-qaedas-powerpoints-say.html

Shared by Tahir Mahmood

Iran is unlikely to unleash a war in response to a military strike on its nuclear facilities, Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said, estimating that possible retaliation would include not more than “two or three days of missile fire” against Israel and/or Western targets in the region, causing “very limited damage.”

Speaking to The Times of Israel earlier this week, Steinitz predicted that Iran’s new President Hasan Rouhani will offer minor goodwill steps to signal his willingness to compromise on the nuclear question, which he will follow up with demands to ease the sanctions while the regime continues to inch toward weapons capability. Steinitz urged the international community not to be fooled by Rouhani’s seemingly moderate rhetoric, and called instead for an internationally endorsed deadline that, if crossed, would be followed by the destruction of the country’s military facilities.

In the second part of an extensive interview conducted in his Jerusalem office (read part 1), Steinitz, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was not sure whether the United States was currently willing to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities. If so ordered, the American army is capable of “relatively easily, or at least quickly and efficiently,” taking out those facilities, the minister said.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=643952