Mar 28

Geeks meet Sheiks

Internet, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, U.S. policy, United Arab Emirates Comments Off

“U.S. Products Help Block Web in the Mideast,” says WSJ.com.

McAfee Inc., acquired last month by Intel Corp., has provided content-filtering software used by Internet-service providers in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to interviews with buyers and a regional reseller. Blue Coat Systems Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has sold hardware and technology in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that has been used in conjunction with McAfee’s Web-filtering software and sometimes to block websites on its own, according to interviews with people working at or with ISPs in the region.

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Nov 26

Obama’s travels don’t change the global narrative

Asia, Europe, India, Middle East, Pakistan, Russia, United Arab Emirates Comments Off

So says Analysis Intelligence, a Web site published by Recorded Future, a data mining startup that is jointly funded by Google and the Central Intelligence Agency.

we can say that the White House was successful in changing the story of their midterm defeat, but the success was temporary.  The world still writes about the President much more positively than negatively, and the President received better coverage in our biggest rivals’ blogs than in their mainstream media sources.

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Mar 02

Israel’s Dubai hit undermines Obama

Americas, Australia, extrajudicial execution, Germany, Israel, Middle East, political violence, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates Comments Off

With assassination suspects possibly still on U.S. soil, the Dubai assassins have dragged America into row over fake passports, says Times Online in London.

With police investigations already underway in Australia, Ireland, and Germany, the Obama administration is going to deal with this. WashPost and NYT are still playing the story inside, appropriate  in light of the fact that there has been no official U.S. reaction, but that’s not going to last long.

For the Obama administration, this is where the rhetoric of the president’s Cairo address meets the realities of Middle East decisionmaking. Of course, Israel has the right to defend itself, and of course the U.S. assassinates al-Qaeda leaders every day. But the leaders and the publics of Arab countries (like the United Arab Emirates, where the hit took place) that are open to peace with Israel (and some of whom want U.S. help to deter Iran) are not going to be satisfied by the talking points that go over well in Washington and on cable TV.

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