Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, interviewed by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman & Juan González

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Arab Spring Topics

Democracy Now! is following the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.

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  • Play_syria

    Syria Crackdown: Syrian Dissident Haitham al-Maleh Speaks from Hiding as Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz Remains Locked Up

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks into the country’s third city, Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old popular uprising against his autocratic rule. According to the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah, as many as 800 civilians have been killed since the uprising began. More than 10,000 people have been arrested. Today, we look at two cases. One of Syria’s most prominent human rights defenders,...
    May 09, 2011 | Story
  • Play_sharif

    Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports from Cairo on Rising Sectarian Tension in Egypt After Deadly Attack on Coptic Christian Church

    In Egypt over the weekend, 12 people died and more than 180 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo. Egypt’s army has said that 190 people were detained after the fatal clashes and that they will face military trials. Saturday’s violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo’s Imbaba district. They were reportedly protesting over...
    May 09, 2011 | Story
  • Saudi

    Oil Wealth, U.S. Backing Enables Saudi Arabia to Crush Dissent in Bahrain and at Home

    Saudi Arabia, the oil rich kingdom that is the birthplace and former home of Osama bin Laden, has staved off the widespread popular protests that have swept across the region since January. The country’s oil-rich Eastern Province, bordering Bahrain, has witnessed protests from the minority Shia Muslim population. In March, Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain to support its royal family after a month of protests. We speak with Toby Jones,...
    May 06, 2011 | Story
  • Play-bahrain

    Physicians Urge Obama Admin to Pressure Mideast Ally Bahrain to End Repression of Doctors, Patients

    The Gulf nation of Bahrain has announced that 47 medical workers who treated pro-democracy protesters during the nation’s popular uprising will be tried before a military court on charges of acting against the state. Some could face the death penalty for providing medical assistance to protesters. Human rights groups say the arrests are part of a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention, which guarantees medical...
    May 05, 2011 | Story
  • Weddingbutton

    Johann Hari: Frenzy around Britain's Royal Wedding "Should Embarrass Us All"

    Up to two billion people around the world tuned in to watch the British royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, a story which has dominated TV news for weeks. The wedding buzz offers a chance to look at the monarchy, Britain’s domestic policy, and how its colonial legacy around the world affects foreign affairs today. While all eyes were on the wedding procession and the first kiss, Democracy Now! spoke with Johann Hari, a columnist...
    Apr 29, 2011 | Story
  • Rulawebex

    Journalists Rula Jebreal and Issandr El Amrani on Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Hamas and Palestinian Authority

    Democracy Now! hosts a conversation between Palestinian author Rula Jebreal and Egyptian journalist Issandr El Amrani about the continued uprisings in the Middle East and Arab attitudes toward the U.S. Jebreal talks about growing up in Haifa and her autobiographical novel Miral, and El Amrani discusses the effects of the "Arab Spring" on Israel. [includes rush transcript]
    Apr 27, 2011 | Web Exclusive
  • Libya_button

    Inside War-Torn Libya: As NATO Intensifies Air Strikes, Rebels Struggle to Break Gaddafi's Control of Libya

    Anti-Gaddafi rebel fighters in Libya have called on NATO to offer them more assistance to try to end the military stalemate in the country. NATO patrols and air strikes are still trying to break the hold of forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Pro-government troops have been shelling the port area in Misurata, the only city in western Libya that is in rebel control. There are reports Gaddafi’s forces are using human shields in the city. Leila...
    Apr 27, 2011 | Story
  • Rula_button

    Arab Spring: A Discussion on Libya, Egypt and the Mideast with Palestinian Writer Rula Jebreal, Author of “Miral" & Journalist Issandr El Amrani

    With former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in detention and Libyan leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, under attack, we discuss the state of the region with two leading Middle Eastern writers. Rula Jebreal, a former broadcast journalist in Italy, reflects on Italy’s decision to join the NATO bombing of Libya. Issandr El Amrani of Arabist.net talks about Libya and post-revolution Egypt. [includes rush transcript]
    Apr 27, 2011 | Story
  • Gitmofiles

    Guardian Newspaper Editor Defends Publishing WikiLeaks’ Secret Guantánamo Files

    More than 750 "secret" Guantánamo prisoner "assessment" files released by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks cover almost every prisoner since the U.S. military base was opened in Cuba in 2002 and reveal the United States believed many of those held at Guantánamo were innocent or low-level operatives. Today The Guardian published a new series of reports based on the files that show how a single star informer at Bagram base...
    Apr 26, 2011 | Story
  • Syria_funeral

    Syrian Crackdown Intensifies: Over 150 Killed Since Friday as Assad Regime Attempts to Crush Protest Movement

    Syria has intensified its massive crackdown on demonstrators, despite the lifting of emergency rule last week that banned demonstrations. Al Jazeera reports thousands of troops backed with tanks have swept into the southern city of Daraa, where a curfew is in place, setting up snipers on rooftops and killing at least 20 people. Government security forces have also stormed the large Damascus suburb of Douma. These latest developments follow protests...
    Apr 25, 2011 | Story