Car bombings hit the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra

A series of car bombings have hit the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra on Monday, killing an estimated 48 people. No group has taken responsibility for the attacks which targeted several Shiite districts of the Iraqi capital as well as the oil-rich predominantly Shiite city of Basra, in southeastern Iraq. Bombs exploded at a restaurant and bus stop in Basra, and were followed by about nine car bombs in Baghdad. In a separate incident, 10 police officers were reported killed Sunday at a police station in Anbar Province and additionally, the bodies of five police officers who had been kidnapped were found. About 150 people have been killed across Iraq in the past week in the worst sectarian tensions seen since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 2011.

Syria

Fierce fighting continued into Monday between Syrian troops, backed by Hezbollah fighters, and opposition forces over the strategic town of Qusayr. Qusayr, about 18 miles southwest of Homs, links Damascus to government strongholds on the Mediterranean coast, and is also an important supply route for opposition forces and link to fighters from Lebanon, just 6 miles away. Clashes have been ongoing for weeks around Qusayr and government forces launched a major offensive Sunday, making significant advances. Syrian state news agency reported that the government had control of most of the town on Monday, but opposition activists denied reports the town had been overtaken. The fighting has brought the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah to the forefront, and underscores concerns of a spreading regional conflict. Between 30 and 40 Hezbollah fighters were reportedly killed in Qusayr on Sunday. The battle for Qusayr has been sited by government loyalists and opposition activists as a turning point, that according to one activist could, "decide the fate of the regime and the revolution."

Headlines

• The Egyptian army sent reinforcements into the Sinai Peninsula Monday after President Mohamed Morsi ruled out negotiations with the kidnappers of seven security personnel.
• Hundreds of Islamist Ansar al-Sharia supporters, protesting a ban on the groups’ annual congress, clashed with police in Tunis who arrested 200 demonstrators and killed one person in the violence.
• Iran executed two men on Sunday who were found guilty of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence services.
• Raha Moharrak has become the first Saudi woman to summit Mount Everest, climbing with the group "Arabs with Altitude" and fund raising for Reach Out Asia’s education projects in Nepal.
• Thousands of workers from Dubai’s largest construction company went on strike Sunday for a second day, joining workers in Abu Dhabi, in a rare protest for increased wages. 

Arguments and Analysis

Qatar and Syria (Financial Times)
"However, the Qataris’ intervention in Syria, while boosting the revolt against Assad, has also created confusion. The Saudis support the handful of secular rebel factions and Salafi groups fighting the Syrian regime. The Qataris, by contrast, are less discriminating over who they support, and work through the Muslim Brotherhood, which is anathema to Riyadh. As a result the Qataris and Saudis last year created separate and competing military alliances, a rivalry that has undermined the rebellion against Assad – and may have led to weapons ending up in the hands of jihadi militants.

The divisions between the Qataris and Saudis have partly come about because of the reluctance of the US to engage in the conflict. Washington has recently tried to streamline the flow of arms by Gulf states to the rebels, creating "operation rooms" in Turkey and Jordan to co-ordinate deliveries. But the US effort should have come earlier. In the meantime, the rebels’ fight against Assad will remain confused until the US, Britain and France supply some arms of their own to moderates fighting in Syria. That supply will give the west the leverage it needs to ensure that the pressure remains on Assad to quit."

Why Only Democracy Can Save Egypt (Bassem Sabry, Al Monitor)

"Whether the army is clearly repositioning itself as a distant watchdog over the political process or is just trying to further get out of politics is something that is still a bit premature to tell. But, and as things stand, the only thing that could truly save Egypt’s democracy from the excesses and misconduct of any one side has to be Egypt’s democracy itself. The Brotherhood must reform and usher in a more inclusive democracy. The opposition’s only true chance is themselves, and their abilities to create policy alternatives and to better reach out to voters to peacefully take over power through elections must be their primary weapons. The "free" media must do its role to objectively enlighten and inform citizens. Egypt needs to move forward to a growing democracy, no matter how elusive this increasingly seems now."

–By Jennifer T. Parker and Mary Casey