Saudi Arabia’s puzzling effort to blacklist its tiny neighbor Qatar begs the question of who’s really isolated in the Gulf.
The Tortured Politics Behind the Persian Gulf Crisis
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gulf cooperation council
DC’s Dictator Summit
A Washington gathering of Persian Gulf autocrats sums up the absurdity of America’s relationship with some of the world’s most oppressive regimes.
The Gulf Cooperation Council Clueless About New Security Measures
The member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council have realized that the United States, thus far their biggest ally, is really just a fair-weather friend.
Kingdom of Slaves
In the smallest Gulf kingdoms, upwards of 90 percent of residents are immigrant laborers. Many face unspeakable abuse.
ISIS: The Spoils of the “Great Loot” in the Middle East
Adding yet more warfare to the current crisis in the Middle East will perpetuate exactly what the imperial powers set out to do: tear an entire region of the world asunder.
How Will the Gulf Cooperation Council React to a U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal?
The Gulf Cooperation Council needs to work together on a game plan for negotiating with Iran.
Bluster and Blowback in Beirut
Although Hezbollah looks increasingly likely to weather Syria’s civil war, blowback from hardline Sunnis at home may prove a longer-term challenge.
From Egypt to Syria: Is the Gulf Cooperation Council the Tail That Wags the U.S. Dog?
For U.S. policy-makers, the annual allocation of 1.3 billion dollars provided to Egypt has been a vital tool for maintaining its sphere of influence with the Egyptian government. When I read that the Egyptian military had issued an ultimatum to the Morsi government to...
Syria and the Monarchs: A Perfect Storm
The Obama administration’s decision to directly supply weapons to the Syrian opposition may end up torpedoing the possibility of a political settlement. It will almost certainly accelerate the chaos spreading from the almost three-year old civil war. It will also align Washington with one of the most undemocratic alliances on the planet, and one that looks increasingly unstable. In short, we are headed into a perfect political storm.
Echoes of Occupy in Western Sahara
Even with millions of dollars of aid at its disposal, it seems unlikely that Morocco will be able to put off the issue of Western Sahara’s right to sovereignty indefinitely. The Gdeim Izik case has drawn the scrutiny and condemnation of the international press, and already the sentenced prisoners have planned a hunger strike to protest their trial and the torture many of them received while detained.