US Opinion and Commentary

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Showing Archived Posts

To the Future President of the United States

Posted April 8th, 2016 at 4:24 pm (UTC-4)
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We understand that perspective is hard to come by at this stage of the race, and you are obsessively watching the polls and attempting to shape your image to a media ready to pounce on every slip. But the world is watching at a time of great uncertainty

Making Sense of the Mideast Oil Muddle

Posted March 21st, 2016 at 12:37 pm (UTC-4)
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Low oil prices don’t just affect the wealthy sheiks of the Gulf, but also the Kurdish peshmerga fighters operating on the front line against the Islamic State group. With the decline in market value comes a decline in oil exploration, and diminished budgetary expectations in countries like Iraq that are already hanging on by a thread.

A Presidential Rebuke to the Saudis

Posted March 21st, 2016 at 9:25 am (UTC-4)
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Mr. Obama has now forced a behind-the-scenes conversation about the Saudi-American relationship into the open. Is there anything Washington can do to encourage transformative reforms?

The World Through Obama’s Eyes

Posted March 11th, 2016 at 4:23 pm (UTC-4)
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Fresh chum was tossed into Washington’s foreign policy fishbowl Thursday with publication of “The Obama Doctrine” by The Atlantic. Using President Barack Obama’s decision to back away from the red line he drew over Syria’s use of chemical weapons as a central theme, author Jeffrey Goldberg gave readers tremendous insight into Obama’s decision-making process and how he thinks U.S. muscle should be flexed. Goldberg reveals details of Obama’s sometimes curt interactions with his national security staff, his disdain for Washington’s think-tank establishment and his admission of failure with regards to Libya. It’s not a light read; more than 19,000 words (some of which are, shall we say, salty.) And thousands more words have already been written in reaction.

The Upside of Plunging Oil Prices

Posted March 3rd, 2016 at 1:25 pm (UTC-4)
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Many big oil exporters just aren’t the kind of countries you’d want to bring home to mother….And in many cases — Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, for instance — their hydrocarbon bounty has enabled them to intimidate neighbors, fuel adventurism, and generally project a baleful influence.

A Plague of Black Swans in the Middle East

Posted February 25th, 2016 at 10:04 am (UTC-4)
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[T]he Obama Doctrine…is a cruelly pragmatic strategy…(assuming) the U.S. cannot solve all the problems of the region…and is unwilling to act as a surrogate for our friends in the region…none of the (presidential) candidates would likely go back to a policy that was politically and financially costly, often related only distantly to actual U.S. interests,

Fight or Flight

Posted February 22nd, 2016 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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If the next U.S. president is unwilling to commit to stepping up to stabilize the Middle East, the only real alternative is to step back from it…civil wars do not lend themselves to anything but the right strategy with the right resources, trying the wrong one means throwing U.S. resources away on a lost cause.

More War Than Peace

Posted February 17th, 2016 at 3:29 pm (UTC-4)
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Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz two centuries ago gave the pithiest answer to the question of why we resort to violence: War is an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” But can force alone compel the submission of the Islamic State and the demise of jihadist extremism in the Muslim world?  

Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria

Posted February 16th, 2016 at 4:42 pm (UTC-4)
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While the world might be fixated on ISIS, the Saudis…know that much of the violence plaguing the Middle East is rooted in Assad and the Iranian-created Shia militias. If they decide to go after these terror nurseries, it will be time for the White House to finally decide exactly whose side it is on.

Yemen Teeters on ‘Fringes of Famine,’ Top US Aid Official Says

Posted February 16th, 2016 at 11:51 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin With global attention focused on the humanitarian crisis in Syria, an increasingly dire situation in Yemen is not receiving sufficient notice. Some 21 million of the country’s 26 million people need outside aid, according to Andrew Pitt, director of North African and Arabian Affairs at the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID). By […]

The Death Throes of Oil

Posted February 3rd, 2016 at 9:25 am (UTC-4)
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The possibility that the use of fossil fuels will one day be restricted creates a powerful incentive for oil producers to sell as much as they can before the limitations take effect. This logic might be behind Saudi Arabia’s response to plummeting oil prices: rejecting calls by OPEC to cut production.

Shifting Alliances

Posted January 19th, 2016 at 4:04 pm (UTC-4)
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One of the many ripple effects of the U.S.-Iran prisoner swap and Tehran’s verified compliance with the historic nuclear accord is a new world order in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia – a long-time rival of Tehan – is nervous and talking tough, as the lifting of costly Western sanctions is set to propel Iran’s economic might. Not long before the latest developments, Saudi Arabia had already stoked tensions by beheading the prominent Shia cleric Sheik Nimr al-Nimr. That provoked a violent attack on the Saudi mission in Iran, which in turn, gave the House of Saud a reason to sever diplomatic ties. Meanwhile, both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the use of diplomacy to win the release of five Americans in a prisoner swap with Iran, simultaneously praising Tehtan for pausing its nuclear program. Where does all this leave the traditional, and sometimes co-dependent, U.S.-Saudi relationship? Making friends with Iran was a big gamble. It appears the Obama administration believes the benefits outweigh the costs.

Can Iran Change?

Posted January 19th, 2016 at 9:53 am (UTC-4)
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In an outlandish lie, Iran maligns and offends all Saudis by saying that my nation, home of the two holy mosques, brainwashes people to spread extremism. We are not the country designated a state sponsor of terrorism; Iran is.

America Needs Iranian Cooperation

Posted January 15th, 2016 at 3:54 pm (UTC-4)
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The recent strife between Saudi Arabia and Iran, regional powers that have commanding influence in the Sunni and Shia worlds respectively, has made the Middle East even more volatile. By pursuing legislation to sink the Iran deal, the U.S. Congress will be adding fuel to the fire.

The Saudi-U.S. Relationship: Shakier Than Ever

Posted January 11th, 2016 at 10:58 am (UTC-4)
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Both countries still need each other, but less than before. They’re still partners — but colder, more distant partners now.