Ali Abdullah Saleh
The Houthis have challenged the Rules-Based International System and must be defeated
In my first analysis and opinion piece on the so-called Axis of Resistance, I set the scene by describing Iran’s 45-year trajectory from the Khomeini revolution to its current challenge to...
Op-eds
The Saudi-Iran Agreement: Should Washington Be Worried?
While a few statements and photo ops here and there might suggest that Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) is in the process of replacing Saudi Arabia’s traditional partner,...
Op-eds
Helping Iran fail in Iraq
Hours after the failed Nov. 7 assassination attempt on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, pro-Iran militias in Iraq claimed responsibility but denied that Tehran had ordered the attack. Not only...
Op-eds
Standing With Saudi Arabia
How President Donald Trump has been forthright about the actual drivers of American policy in the Middle East
Op-eds
Saudi’s Young Leader Arrives to a Washington Divided Over Yemen
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince and architect of its war in Yemen, will ...
Op-eds
Yemen’s Houthi rebels target journalists
Yemen’s Houthi militants killed four journalists last wee...
Policy Briefs
Unfinished Business
Donald Trump is fond of claiming that his predecessor mismanaged America's role in the world. "And I have to just say that the world is a mess. I inherited a mess," the president noted durin...
Op-eds
Resolving the Conflict in Yemen: U.S. Interests, Risks, and Policy
Download the full testimony here. ...
Congressional Testimonies
Russia’s Middle East Offensive
Even before Russian bombers launched strikes into Syria from an Iranian air base last month, it was clear that one of President Barack Obama’s more dubious foreign policy legacies would be...
Op-eds
Osama bin Laden’s ‘Bookshelf’ Reveals al Qaeda’s Long Game
When 113 new documents recovered in 2011 during the fatal raid on...
Op-eds
The Gulf Cooperation Council Camp David Summit: Any Results?
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: thank you on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for the opportunity to testify before...
Congressional Testimonies
Containment: The Gulf States’ Game Plan for Yemen
The Saudi-led international coalition operating in Yemen announced ...
Op-eds
Understanding ‘Operation Renewal of Hope’ in Yemen
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen declared the end of Operation Decisive Storm yesterday, to be replaced with Operation Renewal of Hope effective midnight. Although coalition spokesperson...
Op-eds
Strategic Retreat
The war on terror is far from over. Why are we coming home?
Op-eds
Al Qaeda Round-Up, 2012
As we enter a new year, I wanted to outline the contours of, and analyze, a few issues that are likely to feature prominently in the fight between the U.S. and al Qaeda in 2012....
Op-eds
The Arab Winter of Discontent
Ten months on, the Arab explosion has shown its truer – more nuanced and complicated – colors.
Op-eds
AQAP Leader Pledges Oath of Allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri
Nasir al Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), pledged bayat, or an oath of fealty, to Ayman al Zawahiri, the new leader of al Qaeda's central command. Wuhayshi a...
Op-eds
Arab Spring Sprung?
How's democracy doing so far in the much celebrated and slightly mislabelled Arab Spring? There are 22 members of the Arab League, which include such Arab countries as the Comoros I...
Op-eds
Achieving the Impossible
President Barack Obama's response to the spread of unrest across the Middle East has been an unpredictable combination of neutrality (Tunisia), reluctant involvement (Egypt), and force...