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# What we are reading - February 13, 2012
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/what-we-are-reading-february-13-2012/
- Published: 2012-02-15T10:02:23.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:14:42.000Z
- Description: Our readers help us highlight what they are reading about the Arab Spring from around the web...
- Author: Arab Awakening
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 17:19

[Who said Gaddafi had to go?](http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n22/hugh-roberts/who-said-gaddafi-had-to-go?ref=opendemocracy.net) *London Review of Books,* Hugh Roberts

So Gaddafi is dead and Nato has fought a war in North Africa for the first time since the FLN defeated France in 1962\. The Arab world’s one and only State of the Masses, the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriyya, has ended badly.

[Egyptian Salafist preacher promises to replace US aid with donations](http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/34561/Business/Economy/Egyptian-Salafist-preacher-promises-to-replace-US-.aspx?ref=opendemocracy.net)*Al Ahram,* News

Influential Salafist preacher Mohamed Hassan has called for the replacement of the $1.3 billion annual US military aid to Egypt with local donations.

[Al-Azhar head demands Arabs stop Syrian bloodshed ](http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/658881?ref=opendemocracy.net)*Al Musry Al Youm,* MENA

Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb called on Arab countries and liberals worldwide to work to stop the bloodshed in Syria, calling the situation in the country “dangerous.”

[Tunisia’s Trade Deficit Doubles ](http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/02/14/tunisias-trade-deficit-doubles/?ref=opendemocracy.net)*Tunisia Live,* Bernard Yaros

Over 2,000 years ago, ancient Carthage dominated trade throughout the Mediterranean region, exporting textiles, agriculture, artisanal work, manufactured goods and precious minerals.

[Bahrain anniversary marked by clashes, arrests ](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gS0HJEq2WZ2Usu0HbDyu6Ly-PIKA?docId=CNG.880b78f26f99bffb6849ba1ec58fef3d.191&ref=opendemocracy.net)*Agence France Press,* News

Bahraini police fired tear gas and birdshot at pro-democracy protesters and arrested dozens in clashes that raged through the night and into early Wednesday, the opposition said, as the kingdom marked the first anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising.

**To suggest articles to be included in next week's recommendations, tweet us** [**@openAwakening**](https://twitter.com/openawakening?ref=opendemocracy.net)