Saudi Arabia Archives - Page 10 of 21 - Foreign Policy In Focus

The United States and the Prospects for Democracy in Islamic Countries

by Stephen Zunes | Jan 21, 2011

The unarmed insurrection that overthrew the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia has opened up debate regarding prospects for democratization in Arab and other predominately Muslim countries. Many in the West are familiar with the way unarmed pro-democracy insurrections have helped bring democracy to Eastern Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia and Africa. But they discount the chances of such movements in Islamic countries, despite Tunisia being far from the first. Meanwhile, the United States — despite giving lip service in support for democracy – continues to actively support authoritarian governments in Islamic countries.

Oil or Terrorism: Which Motivates U.S. Policy More?

by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed | Dec 15, 2010

Among the batch of classified diplomatic cables recently released by the controversial whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, several have highlighted the vast extent of the financial infrastructure of Islamist terrorism sponsored by key U.S. allies in the ongoing “War on Terror.”

U.S. Still Top Arms Supplier to South as Record Sale to Saudis Pends

by Jim Lobe | Sep 17, 2010

Despite an unusual dip in global weapons sales in 2009, the United States retained its spot as the world’s top arms supplier of developing countries, according to an authoritative new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Wanted: an Accurate Assessment of Arab-Iran Animosity

by Russ Wellen | Aug 13, 2010

When it comes to Arab-Iran animosity, a distinction needs to be made between the feelings of the ruler and the people.

Iran-Saudi Relations: Rising Tensions and Growing Rivalry

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Aug 6, 2010

For decades, the Persian Gulf region – subsumed under a latent Sunni-Shia divide – was animated by a drama of Iraq-Iran rivalry; each power balanced the other. The elimination of Saddam Hussein, by the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, introduced a new chapter in the regional affairs – Saudi Arabia and Iran as the twin pillars of the regional power-configuration. Historically, despite numerous efforts by each party to improve bilateral relations and deepen cooperation, Iran-Saudi relations have been fraught with intermittent rhetorical wars and grim strategic competition.

Arming the Middle East

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Jan 28, 2008

President George W Bush announced during his recent Middle East trip that he is formally serving notice to Congress of his administration’s decision to approve the sale of bomb-guidance kits to Saudi Arabia. This announcement follows notification on five other arms deals to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait that are part of a $20 billion package of additional armaments over the next decade to the family dictatorships of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf emirates announced by President George W. Bush last summer.

Barack Obama on Diplomacy

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Stephen Zunes | Jan 17, 2008

The rise in popular support for Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy reflects the growing skepticism among Democratic and independent voters regarding both the Bush administration’s and the Democratic Party establishment’s foreign policies. Indeed, on issues ranging from Iraq to nuclear weapons to global warming to foreign aid, as well as his general preference for diplomacy over militarism, Obama has also staked out positions considerably more progressive than the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

The Royal Treatment: Saudi Involvement in Iraq Overlooked

by Dahr Jamail, Erik Leaver | Sep 18, 2007

Gasoline for the Fire

by Matthew Duss, Erik Leaver | Aug 2, 2007

Like a gambling addict who has to keep betting more to cover his previous losses, the Bush administration’s recently announced plan to provide some $65 billion worth of advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel over the next 10 years represents a reckless, poorly considered attempt to mitigate the consequences of its ill considered invasion of Iraq. The deal also represents an admission of failure of several of the key elements of U.S. security policy in the Middle East, and, perhaps most significantly, it represents a clear abandonment of President Bush’s democratic reform agenda in the region.

Shiite vs. Sunni?

by John Feffer, Conn Hallinan | Apr 19, 2007

In 1609, a terrible thing happened: not terrible in the manner that great wars are terrible but in the way that opening Pandora’s Box was terrible. King James I of England discovered that dividing people on the basis of religion worked like a charm, thus sentencing the Irish to almost four centuries of blood and pain.