In The News

The Guardian: US Will “Take Names of Those Who Vote to Reject Jerusalem Recognition”

Peter Beaumont December 20, 2017
The United Nations is an organization where small and less powerful nations can speak out against the powerful. A letter by Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United States, could be regarded as patronizing at best and bullying at worst. She warned UN members that she would be “taking names” of countries rejecting Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Jerusalem, controlled...

The Economist: America’s Neglect and Confusion Aggravate Problems in the Arab World

December 13, 2017
In his brief tenure as US President, Donald Trump’s foreign policy with regard to the Middle East has been muddled at best and disastrous at worst. The current administration’s support for Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammad has White House advisors like Jared Kushner anticipating that liberalized economic, social and religious reforms are emerging in the Gulf state and...

The Guardian: Abbas Warns World Leaders Over Trump's Recognition of Jerusalem

Peter Beaumont December 7, 2017
Mere days before Donald Trump announced that the United States intends to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel, President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas made a last-ditch effort to rally diplomatic support against such recognitionl. “Abbas placed a series of phone calls on Sunday with world leaders both to ‘explain the dangers of any decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem or...

Middle East Eye: “'Huge Implications” for Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem

Ali Harb December 6, 2017
Donald Trump, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, plans to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The plan overturns seven decades of US policy. Most countries maintain embassies in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area, and a few maintain consulates in Jerusalem. “While the decision may cement Washington’s pro-Israeli bias, analysts say, its symbolism insults not only...

The Atlantic: Saleh's Death in Yemen Sends a Message to Other Dictators

Krishnadev Calamur December 5, 2017
Allegiances change swiftly in the Middle East as a brutal proxy fight escalates between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The death of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh “at the hands of Houthi rebels who were his allies just a few days ago, shows not only the perils of that balancing act, but also the political shifts in a country wracked by civil war since 2015,” reports Krishnadev Calamur for...

Stratfor: Egypt and Russia’s Motives for Expanding Influence in the Middle East

December 1, 2017
Russia is taking steps to strengthen its presence in the Middle East with a five-year “preliminary agreement with Egypt on the reciprocal use of air bases in each country.” Egypt is expected to sign the agreement that gives Russia access to the Northern Africa-Mediterranean region to help contain Islamic extremism and gain new markets for arms and energy. Russia is also exploring an agreement for...

The New Yorker: Egypt Is in Trouble and Not Just from ISIS

Robin Wright November 30, 2017
A terrorist attack in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing more than 300 people, suggests that Islamic State fighters are finding new targets after being driven from Syria and Iraq. Egypt has had more than 1,700 terrorist attacks since 2013. “The mosque attack is the latest of many challenges facing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a former field marshal, as Egypt heads toward elections next year,”...