You might need a translator for this interview.
The Adventures Of Abu Muqawama
Syrian Air Force Intelligence claims Abu Muqawama is in charge of inciting sectarian strife from Aegypt to Aleppo in an effort to divy and conquer a distracted Arab League. How of much of a role did you play in igniting that flaming hot Arab Spring?
"Well, like a lot of people who claim to know something about the region, I actually never saw this one coming. A few voices out there – my friends Shadi Hamid and Steve McInerney come to mind – have been warning of the instability of Arab autocracies for years now. But most political scientists working on the region have, as Greg Gause points out, neglected to carefully study Arab state militaries over the past few decades and have thus missed a lot of the signs that might have pointed toward regime collapse."
"I myself am just happy to have been able to spend some time in Cairo in the days following the collapse of the Mubarak regime. The environment there, as well as in Little Satan during the 6 August protests, was intoxicating. No wonder so many journalists and other observers are getting swept up in the excitement."