Saudi Arabia is acting panicked by Iran’s rise.
Saudi Arabia v. Iran as Much of a Schism as Arabs v. Israel
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Middle East & North Africa
Here’s the Thing About Terrorism Obama Won’t Tell You
Our wildly inflated fear of terrorism is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Removing Cancer of the Islamic State Can Kill the Patient
The efforts of the U.S. and Iraq to extract the Islamic State have left Ramadi uninhabitable.
Recent Beheadings Show Saudi Arabia Is the One Really Running Around Like a Chicken Without Its Head
One goal of Saudi Arabia’s recent mass executions, including a prominent Shiite cleric, was to goad Iran into over-reacting.
Islamic State Seeks to Lure West Into Ground War
Just like bin Laden and Al Qaeda, the Islamic State views attacks on it as a means to win recruit more fighters and suicide bombers.
Conn Hallinan’s 2015 “Are You Serious?” Awards
Each year Conn Hallinan presents awards to individuals, companies and governments that make following the news a daily adventure.
The Geopolitics of Cheap Oil
Economists said the market would save the planet. It didn’t.
The Ultimate Blowback from U.S. Foreign Policy? Donald Trump.
How the CIA, bad trade deals, and wanton military intervention caused the social crises that gave us the Donald. (Really.)
Saudi Arabia Executed a Nonviolent Shiite Cleric. It’s Going to Cost Them Big.
By raising sectarian temperatures throughout the Middle East, the Saudis risk escalating the unaffordable proxy wars they’ve already bogged themselves down in.
10 Good Things About the Not-So-Great Year 2015
2015 had more than its share of bad news. But it also saw groundbreaking victories on climate, marriage equality, the drug war, and diplomacy.