MIDEAST PROTESTS

U.S. Cables: Top Yemeni General, Now Siding With Protesters, Was

Linked to Corruption

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Yemeni anti-government protesters shout slogans calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration in central Sanaa on March 22, 2011. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

Several top military officials have split from Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the wake of a violent government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. In announcing their support for the demonstrators on Monday, the generals dealt a blow to Saleh’s power base, but will their influence be a boon for the protesters’ cause?

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND THE PROTESTS AND CRACKDOWNS IN THE WORLD

Overview of Middle East Crackdowns and the (Varying) U.S.

Responses to Each

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Police lay razor wire at Al-Sabiine square near the presidential palace to block Yemenis protesting in the capital Sanaa, on Feb. 13, 2011. (Photo credit: MOHAMMAD HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images)

As protests—and crackdowns—have been rippling through the Middle East, the U.S. response has varied by country.

US’ AID TO EGYPT AND THE PROTESTS

F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go—And

Who Decides How It’s Spent?

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

An Egyptian demonstrator looks up at a helicopter as he and others gather in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, on Jan. 31, 2011. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)

The protests in Egypt have prompted renewed questions about the U.S.’s aid to the country—an issue that the U.S. government has also pledged to reconsider. We’ve taken a step back and tried to answer some basic questions, such as how as much the U.S. has given, who has benefitted, and who gets to decide how its all spent.