The Saudis and 9/11: Is It Finally Over?

by Thomas W. Lippman From the perspective of the Saudi Arabian government, no news was really good news. The long-withheld 28 pages of a 2002 congressional inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, released on Friday, provided scant… Continue Reading →

The Islamic State and Arab Muslim Regimes: Time for Another Look

by Emile Nakhleh The Islamic State (ISIS or IS) has claimed that the French-Tunisian truck driver who plowed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice killing nearly 100 people and injuring over 200 as one of their “soldiers.” The West… Continue Reading →

The Foreign Policy Implications of Turkey’s Attempted Coup

by Derek Davison Last Friday night, elements of the Turkish military attempted a coup d’état against the civilian government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). The attempt failed completely. In the days since, Erdogan… Continue Reading →

Conflict between Kurds and Syrian Refugees in Turkey?

by Robert Olson An estimated 2.5 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey. They are scattered all over Turkey including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and along the southern coast. There are also 600,000-700,000 in refugee camps. Increasingly, these refugees from Syria… Continue Reading →

Saudi Arabia’s Perspective on the U.S. Presidential Race

by Giorgio Cafiero and Joshua Hodge The Saudi leadership is coming to terms with the possibility of Donald Trump becoming America’s 45th president. From Riyadh’s perspective, a Trump presidency represents many risks stemming from countless unknown variables surrounding the Republican… Continue Reading →