In The News

The Washington Post: What the Royal Purge Means for Saudi Arabia and Oil

Steven Mufson November 6, 2017
Global investors study a series of events in Saudi Arabia and how those may disrupt global oil prices. The crown prince announced a modernization drive, Vision 2030, with plans to create a new city. He also launched an anti-corruption drive, quickly followed by arrests of princes and ministers who might be seen as potential rivals. Saudi Arabia is in the process of selling a small portion of...

The Diplomat: US Allies in the Age of Trump

Robert Dujarric November 3, 2017
Barack Obama had emphasized a “pivot to Asia," but the Trump administration promotes "America First" policies. US allies in the region will listen closely during Donald Trump’s 12-day trip to Asia for any signals on priorities. His policies, especially termination of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and baiting of Kim Jong Un in North Korea, do not align with the allies’ interests,...

The Economist: The Boycott of Qatar Is Hurting Its Enforcers

October 27, 2017
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt “closed their borders and cut diplomatic ties with Qatar” in June and in the four months since, the effects of the broad-based boycott have hit both ways, observes the Economist. The quartet continues to push the Qatar to stop supporting political Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and “to shut down Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s most popular...

The Washington Post: Parts of Niger and Mali Are Lawless; US Strategy Might Make It Worse

Max Bearak October 24, 2017
News reports emerged that four US soldiers were killed after a surprise attack in Niger, and US lawmakers expressed surprise that troops were stationed in the country. “The United States has about 800 troops in Niger, a number which has been steadily increasing since they first deployed there in 2012,” reports Max Bearak for the Washington Post, adding that the United States “is eyeing a larger...

The Japan Times: Abe Emerges Stronger With Win; Nation Still Divided Over Constitutional Revision

Reiji Yoshida October 23, 2017
Despite a low turnout by voters who had to contend with a typhoon, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition has won a supermajority in Japan’s Lower House of Parliament after Sunday’s election. Reporters in Japan expect a continued push for constitutional changes that would dispense with severe limits on the country’s self-defense. A national referendum for considering such changes requires two-...

Economist: Scrapping Iran Deal Could Embolden Hardliners

October 21, 2017
While US military forces have worked alongside Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, to counter the Islamic State in Iraq, political moves out of Washington may unravel any conciliatory efforts between the two countries. As Donald Trump works to undo many of former US President Barack Obama’s foreign and domestic policies, he simultaneously emboldens Iranian hardliners, argues the Economist...

The New York Times: Iraqi Forces Sweep Into Kirkuk, Checking Kurdish Independence Drive

David Zucchino October 17, 2017
The Kurds voted overwhelmingly in a referendum for independence from Iraq. Three weeks later the government of Iraq responded by sending the military to the oil-rich region. “In clashes that pit two crucial American allies against each other, government troops seized the vital city of Kirkuk and surrounding oil fields, ousting the Kurdish forces who had controlled the region for three years in...