Although Hezbollah looks increasingly likely to weather Syria’s civil war, blowback from hardline Sunnis at home may prove a longer-term challenge.
Bluster and Blowback in Beirut
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Saudi Arabia
China: What Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Israel, and the U.S. Have in Common
China’s good relations with states at odds with each other could yield results at the negotiating table soon.
In a Changing Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia Cling Together
As unrest simmers in the Middle East and the United States edges toward detente with Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia are trying to ride out the storm together.
Strange Bedfellows: Israel and Arabs United in Opposition to Iran
Ironically, a negotiated settlement between the United States and Iran could trigger yet another war in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia’s Temper Tantrums and What They Mean for the U.S.
Saudi Arabia recently rejected a coveted seat on the U.N. Security Council it had campaigned for over two years to get. The sense of surprise in the policy analysis world has been palpable, with analysts scratching their heads trying to understand why the oil-rich...
Forces Amassing to Undermine P5+1 Nuke Talks With Iran
As the U.S. and its allies prepare for another round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, powerful and wealthy opponents—from the halls of Congress to Middle East capitols—are maneuvering to torpedo them. At stake is the real possibility of a war with...
Egypt: The Deck Reshuffled (Pt. 2)
Read Part 1. While media in the United States has focused on the Egyptian uprising that triggered a military-led coup in which the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) led government was dissolved, hardly any media reports here have considered the regional implications of the...
Emphasis Added: The Foreign Policy Week in Fragments
The U.S. military, “witch burning,” negotiations with Iran, among other affairs.
Dumb and Dumber: A Secret CIA Drone Base, a Blowback World, and Why Washington Has No Learning Curve
Approximately two years ago, the CIA got permission from the Saudi government to build one of its growing empire of drone bases in a distant desert region of that kingdom. The purpose was to pursue an already ongoing air war in neighboring Yemen against al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula.
Yet news outlets didn’t publish this story until almost two years later – not for any lack of awareness, but because these editors, urged on by the CIA and the White House, had done their ‘patriotic duty’ and kept the news from the public.
Washington Post Keeps Administration’s Secret About Drone Base in Saudi Arabia
The U.S. drone base based in Saudi Arabia was used to kill Anwar al-Awlaki and his son.