Pompeo in Cairo: Anti-Obama, Anti-Iran, and Little Else

by Paul R. Pillar Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a campaign speech in Cairo that seemed written to please an audience of one—President Donald Trump—along with the domestic political base to which Trump’s own rhetoric is designed to appeal.… Continue Reading

The Battle for Control of the Grand Mosque in Brussels

by James M. Dorsey It’s hard to prove beyond doubt a direct causal link between militancy and Saudi-inspired ultra-conservative forms of Sunni Muslim Islam. That hasn’t stopped Belgium’s Parliament from attempting to wrest control from Saudi Arabia of Brussel’s downtown Grand… Continue Reading

No, Neocons, America Is Not “Tilting toward Iran”

by Derek Davison Jim Lobe has already noted the swarm of neocons rushing to defend Saudi Arabia in the latest escalation of its ongoing rivalry with Iran, and Eli Clifton has explained how big money has bought a certain fealty… Continue Reading

Saudi Arabia’s Quagmire

by Thomas W. Lippman Three months after Saudi Arabia rounded up a few allies and began an intensive bombing campaign against the rebels known as Houthis across the border in Yemen, a conventional wisdom has developed. “It has not worked,”… Continue Reading

Washington’s Worries Grow Over Saudi Ties

by Jim Lobe via IPS News As the administration of President Barack Obama continues wrestling with how to react to the military coup in Egypt and its bloody aftermath, officials and independent analysts are increasingly worried about the crisis’s effect… Continue Reading