It is tempting but difficult to identify a single dynamic at the level of state and society that explains the many different conflicts across the Arab world. We do not lack candidates for the single answer that explains our messy region: A struggle for the soul of Islam? The end of the modern Arab state?… اقرأ المزيد
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes to grasp how they see the world is the best way to understand their behavior. I have been discussing conditions around the Arab world and the Gulf with friends and colleagues in Dubai this week, seeking to understand the reasons for the newfound militancy of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation… اقرأ المزيد
| The Daily Star The current visit to Washington by Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi comes at a decisive moment for his country and the entire region. Any policy agreements reached could have fateful consequences. Like other stressed and fragile Arab states that suffer ideological and military conflict, Iraq’s internal condition and its external relations are… اقرأ المزيد
So here is this week’s brainteaser about the endearing world of American foreign policy in the Middle East. What should we make of the juxtaposition of three dimensions of U.S. policy on display today: the U.S. president’s sensible statement that the real threat to Arab states, including those in the Gulf, comes as much from… اقرأ المزيد
The agreed parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program that were reached Thursday between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany represent a monumental achievement that affirms the power of reason and diplomacy over the ravages of fear and warfare. The… اقرأ المزيد
Analysts and ideologues will actively and inconclusively long debate the actual reasons and possible consequences of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, until the passage of a meaningful period of time – usually a few generations or so – allows us to note in retrospect the actual consequences of state actions. The important discussion now… اقرأ المزيد