Saudi Arabia’s Nepotism Problem

by Derek Davison Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) has been rising through the ranks of Saudi nobility for several years. Since entering government as an adviser to his father in 2009, when the future King Salman was governor… Continue Reading

Turkey and the Kurdish Vote for Independence in Iraq

by Omer Taspinar Recent developments in Iraq, with the Kurdish referendum for independence taking place as scheduled on Monday, put the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan between a rock and a hard place. According to most recent press reports, more… Continue Reading

No Good Reason for Trump Not to Certify Iran Nuclear Compliance

by Mark Fitzpatrick US President Donald Trump would have no substantive grounds for following up his broad hints to decide in the negative when the 15 October deadline comes for re-certifying that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal struck two years… Continue Reading

Unintended Consequences of Abrogating Iran’s Nuclear Deal

by James M. Dorsey US President Donald J. Trump’s targeting of a two-year-old agreement curtailing Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons could not only spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, but also tilt European-Chinese competition for domination… Continue Reading

Hyping the Iran Threat in the Middle East

by Charles D. Smith A drumbeat of warnings about an Iranian threat to Israel specifically, and American interests collaterally, has intensified in recent months. Alarmist articles by former and current New York Times reporters have hyped the threat of Tehran… Continue Reading