Alon Ben-Meir

Senior Fellow, NYU's Center for Global Affairs

Genuine efforts can and must be made to mitigate distrust through a peace process based on reciprocal and reinforced provisions, to which both Israelis and Palestinians must commit to reach a lasting peace agreement.

William Bradley

Political Analyst, NewWestNotes.com

Hillary Clinton might be unbeatable in the 2016 primaries. Add to that the former president, and perhaps even Obama himself, grateful for her work in the cabinet and eager to see the geopolitical pivot project proceed through its next phases, and it could be lights out.

Halle Eavelyn

Manager, Spirit Quest Tours

It's noon on my first day in Cairo and we are visiting Tahrir Square, heart of the recent revolution and home to most of the current uprising.

H.A. Hellyer

Nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution

The Muslim Brotherhood leadership is convinced that there are huge forces within Egypt that wishes to wipe it out. Yet, with the actions of the past couple of weeks, the MB has managed to increase the popularity of such sentiment.

Adam Klein

Assistant professor of English, American University of Afghanistan; author, singer, songwriter

"How are things?" I asked. "What things?" he responded tersely. "Oh, anything," I trailed off. "It's best not to ask open questions when you're in Egypt," he advised. I had decided to gauge the temperature of the people and being a tourist is a great ploy for playing dumb.

Mohamed Elmenshawy

Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC

Will the Muslim Brotherhood adopt the same tactics Hosni Mubarak used for three decades to sustain absolute power, in this case hiding their intentions behind the pretext that "free elections equal full democracy"?

Arianna Huffington

This week, several stories reminded us that life is often a contest between our better angels and our demons. On the demon side, a suspect was arrested in the horrific death of a man thrown in front of a New York subway train. On the angel side, three days later, a pair of bystanders helped save a person who'd fallen onto subway tracks. There was good news in Kate Middleton leaving the hospital, but bad news in the apparent suicide of the nurse who'd put through a prank phone call seeking medical information about the pregnant princess. In Egypt, the Arab Spring turned to winter, as thousands protested President Morsi's attempt to consolidate power -- while back home there was continued fascination with the cop who gave boots to a vet wrestling with demons of his own. Officer DePrimo's selfless act of kindness grabbed our imagination, and summoned our better angels to help guide us through the holiday season.

Tom Ginsburg

Spitz Professor of Law, University of Chicago

While controversy swirls around the reach of Islam and the scope of presidential power in Egypt's proposed constitution, the primary beneficiaries of the new Constitution -- the military -- are flying under the radar

Daniel Nisman

MENA Region Intelligence Director, Max Security Solutions

In recent months, China has ruffled feathers from Lake Victoria to Alexandria with its aggressive funding and building of dams in Ethiopia, a likewise aggressive contender for regional hegemony.

Seth Engel

Paris-based New York attorney

Though nominally a domestic issue, Egypt is facing a similarly vexing threat to international justice. This threat should be followed closely the world over.

Daoud Kuttab

Palestinian journalist

The constitutional debate is turning into a street battle, with the country's rulers insisting that the constitutional assembly's slight majority is empowered to decide for all Egyptians what the shape and text of their parliament should be.

Amb. Marc Ginsberg

Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco & White House Middle East Adviser

The ever-present turmoil in the Middle East compels a second edition of my Field Guide to the Middle East Mess.

Carina Kamel

Senior London Correspondent and Presenter, Al Arabiya TV

At one of the most critical moments in post-revolution Egypt and in the throes of a political tsunami I found myself laughing uncontrollably. I was watching the season premiere of Bassem Youssef's satirical news show Al Bernameg.

Firas Al-Atraqchi

Assoc. Professor of Practice in Journalism at American University in Cairo

With such an undertaking as Andrew Marr's History of the World, it's likely that a lot will be overlooked or omitted. However, there are some things -- fundamental building blocks of human history -- which cannot be sacrificed for expediency.

David Mednicoff

Director, Middle Eastern Studies, UMass-Amherst

Events in the Middle East in the last few weeks of November suggest a sad, simple, and scary conclusion.

James Dorsey

Senior fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

The renewed clashes on Mohammed Mahmoud Street are as much a protest against Mr. Morsi's granting to himself of powers that include immunizing his decisions against legal challenges as they are the highlighting frustration the failure to address reform of the security forces.