Question: The Iraqi Prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Saturday 31/12/2011 the beginning of Iraq's celebrations due to the departure of the American forces. This was preceded by Al-Maliki visiting America for two days on the 12/12/2011 in which he met President Obama and Vice-President Biden who is responsible for overseeing the Iraqi issue along with secretary of state Hilary Clinton so as to discuss the arranging of the Iraqi situation after the American withdrawal.

1. On the anniversary of the Arab spring what has changed in the Muslim world?

The Arab spring began in January 2011 and has now reached its first anniversary. The uprisings when they began initially started in Tunisia and then spread to Egypt eventually engulfing most of the Muslim world. After a year, regime change has only taken place in Libya, whilst in Egypt and Tunisia, the rulers may now no longer be in power, but their regimes still remain. The reason why much of the political architecture prior to the uprisings remains is because of the interference from foreign powers – namely the US. The Arab revolt that started in Tunisia and spread to several Arab countries was manipulated by America to move closer to its goal of creating a new Greater Middle East, where old European powers have marginal influence.