Egypt

• The Huffington Post: The Big Lie Egypt's Military (And America!) Are Selling The World (Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, July 19)
• "To understand the extent to which Egypt's military dominates its society, look no further than its economy: the military owns all kinds of businesses and sells all sorts of products, controlling vast unknown amounts of Egypt's economy, estimated at upwards of 40 percent."
  
• The New York Times: After Morsi’s ouster, Egypt’s old guard is back — and Muslim Brotherhood is out (Abigail Hauslohner, July 20)

• "The overthrow of Morsi has yielded a new appreciation for military rule in a country that so recently shunned it, and a striking return to the way things were before the 2011 revolution against a Mubarak regime that was widely considered irredeemably corrupt and exploitative."
  
• Foreign Policy: Cashing in after the coup (Shana Marshall, July 18)
• "Rarely is there a single discrete event that provides the ultimate test case for understanding the interests at play in U.S. foreign policy decisions. When the Egyptian military placed former President Mohamed Morsi under house arrest after he allegedly failed to agree to a referendum on his presidency, this was a coup d'état."
  
• The Economist: Winning few friends and little influence (July 17)
• "IN 2011, as Egypt embarked on its transition to democracy following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, anti-American sentiment appeared to soar. Two years later, it seems to be happening all over again, as Egypt undergoes another transition, following the coup on July 3rd against Muhammad Morsi."
  

• Wall Street Journal: In Egypt, the 'deep state' rises again (Charles Levinson & Matt Bradley, July 19)
• "In the months before the military ousted President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's top generals met regularly with senior aides to opposition leaders, often at the Navy Officers' Club nestled on the Nile. The message: If the opposition could put enough protesters in the streets, the military would step in—and forcibly remove the president."
  

Israel/Palestine

• The New York Times: Kerry achieves deal to revive Mideast talks (Michael R. Gordon & Jodi Rudoren, July 19)
• "Israeli and Palestinian leaders have “established a basis” to resume direct peace negotiations for the first time in three years, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Friday, after an intense round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at reviving the dormant Middle East peace process."
  

Syria

• Reuters: Syria cracks down on Assad's non-violent opponents (July 19)
• "Syrian government forces have detained a dissident left-wing painter in a new wave of arrests of non-violent critics of President Bashar al-Assad."
  
• The Independent: Picture of the day: The scale of Syria’s suffering (July 19)
• "What looks like a sprawling city has emerged from the desert dust in northern Jordan. It is in fact a camp holding refugees from Syria’s civil war and a reminder of the terrible human toll the conflict has wrought."
  
• Foreign Policy: Why Russia’s guns won’t save Assad (Joseph Singh & Bilal Y. Saab, July 19)
• "So if the S-300 is unlikely to deter military intervention in Syria, then why is Russia expending political capital on this transfer? As the world's second-largest arms exporter, foreign military sales contribute over $14 billion to Russia's economy. Global focus on the Syrian conflict provides a useful opportunity to showcase one of Russia's most advanced and widely exported military products..."
  

Turkey

• Zaman: Turkey, Russia ties at standstill as balances shift in Middle East (Gozde Nur Donat, July 19)
• "Since Turkey and Russia have further parted ways due to their different interests in the Middle East -- stemming from problems in the region that have boiled over in places like Syria and Egypt -- the relations between the two important economic partners are now in a state of inertia, analysts say."