Saudi Execution of Shiite Cleric Infuriates Iran and its Allies
Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that it had exe...
House of Saud
Victory Without Soldiers?
With the war in Syria becoming ever more complex and murderous, it’s worthwhile to revisit a guiding principle of Barack Obama: The use of American military power is likely to do more harm...
Op-eds
It’s Time for the United States to Start Worrying About a Saudi Collapse
As if there weren’t already enough problems to worry about in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia might be headed for trouble. From plummeting oil prices, to foreign policy missteps, to growing t...
Op-eds
The Saudi Military Is Mobilizing. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The Saudis "will definitely be defeated," crows one Iranian general. Riyad...
Op-eds
Admiral Shamkhani, Rohani’s Iron Fist in an Iron Glove
President Hassan Rohani’s appointment of Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in September 2013 was initially seen as a...
Op-eds
All in the Family: Saudi Clique Takes Over the State
Saudi Arabia has the rare distinction of being a nation named after a single family. On Wednesday, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud doubled down on this authoritarian tradition with a bold...
Policy Briefs
Saudi King Salman’s Audacious Power Play
“You deserve more.” That’s what Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman tweeted to his peopl...
Op-eds
King Crude: How Iraq’s ISIS Crisis Restores Saudi Influence
While the world panics over the conquests of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Saudi Arabia, oddly enough, has reason to be thankful. Even though ISIS advocates the A...
Op-eds
Saudi-Qatari Rapprochement?
Today marked the first official trip abroad by the new Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Al-Thani...
Policy Briefs
Al Gore’s Al Jazeera Sellout
It was July 18th, 2008, the birthday of Samir Kuntar, and so Al Jazeera naturally had a birthday celebration. Fortuitously, Kuntar had been...
Op-eds
Perceptions of the “Arab Spring” Within the Salafi-Jihadi Movement
Co-authored by Tara Vassefi “The popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have not only shaken the foundation of the authoritarian order in the...
Op-eds
The Great Salafi Gamble
In serving their patrons in Saudi Arabia, ultraconservative religious Salafis are stirring violent protests and flexing political muscle in North Africa and fledgling Arab democracies. But the in...
Op-eds
The Kingdom Boils
Nearly a month after a crude film caricature of the Prophet Muhammad made headlines, protests in response to it continue across the Muslim world. Yet in the ultraconservative Kingdom of Saudi Ara...
Op-eds
The Israeli-American Divide
Israel fears a crisis in Egypt, but the U.S. remains calm. How did these allies come to see things so differently?
Op-eds
How Saudi Arabia Has Survived—So Far
On December 17, 2010, the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Muhammad Bouazizi, who was protesting the confiscation of his wares and harassment by the country’s authorities, touched...
Op-eds
Moderation, Saudi-Style
Women will always be serfs under sharia.
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia’s Terror Finance Problem
When al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, the response was swift. Saudi Arabia, home of the Wahhabi ideology that inspired 15 of the 19 hijackers, reacted somewhat more slowly....
Op-eds
The Arab Winter of Discontent
Ten months on, the Arab explosion has shown its truer – more nuanced and complicated – colors.
Op-eds
Falling for the Spin of the Gitmo Bar
On March 27, the Christian Science Monitor published an article (“Defending due process for Guantánamo detainees”) extolling the virtues of the attorneys who have rushed to the...
Op-eds
Religion and Realism After 9/11
In 1996, halfway through America’s "holiday from history", terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp published an article warning of a surge in religious fanaticism that would manifest itself in "sp...