Gulf Crisis Ties Global Soccer Governance into Knots

by James M. Dorsey International soccer governance is tying itself up in knots with football associations grappling with the fallout of the Gulf dispute between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Qatar that lays bare the contradictions embedded in their… Continue Reading

Libya’s Islamists and Their Qatari Backers Under the Gun

by Giorgio Cafiero and Dr. Theodore Karasik Six years ago, Qatar’s “pro-Arab Spring” foreign policy helped shape Libyan history. As a member of the NATO-led military intervention against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, Qatar attacked the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’s targets with its… Continue Reading

Saudi Bullying of Qatar: A Spurious Game of Thrones Crumbling

by Emile Nakhleh The Saudi-Abu Dhabi aggressive siege of Qatar has gone beyond a mere tribal feud pitting the de facto Saudi ruler Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud and the UAE Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nuhayyan against Tamim… Continue Reading

The Irrationality of Iran Vilification

by Danny Sjursen “Everywhere you look, if there is trouble in the region,” Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters on a mid-April visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, “you find Iran.” I must admit that when I stumbled across that… Continue Reading