China’s good relations with states at odds with each other could yield results at the negotiating table soon.
China: What Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Israel, and the U.S. Have in Common
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Saudi Arabia
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.
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...
Tunisia: Washington’s Grip Tightens
Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda party. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.Cross-posted from Open Democracy. Part One Two years ago it was a Tunisian uprising that triggered the events in Egypt which brought down Hosni Mubarek. Now it is the Egyptian mass...
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...
Take Syria Seriously–And Stay Out
Syria’s civil war has inspired some in Congress and in the media. Stupidity or insanity? Some people don’t learn from past mistakes. Why start another body count in a Middle East conflict with no direct relationship to U.S. security?
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.
Promoting Peace, But Fueling War in Syria
The international community largely supports the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on Syria: hope for peace, but failing that, throw more money at the conflict.
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.
The Wahhabi War on Indonesia’s Shiites
Indonesia’s Shi’a minority is under heavy attack. Men, women, and children have been assaulted, schools damaged, and villages burned to the ground. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Saudi Arabia’s intolerant brand of Wahabbi Sunni Islam—propagated far and wide by Saudi oil money—is behind most of assaults.