Israel must embrace reality, not ignore it
Once the dust settles post-Hamas, it will be crucial for Israelis to confront the harsh reality of the attack on Oct. 7. The escapist impulse to reduce the motive for…
The Audacity of Iran’s Foreign Minister
If the Persian language had a term for chutzpah, it should have been the title for Javad Zarif’s recent essay in The Atlantic. Written by Iran’s foreign minister and master propagandist, a man who…
Muhammad Bin Salman Is Here to Stay
On Oct. 2, 2018, the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. After his disappearance, politicians and pundits called on the United States and its allies…
Is Saudi Arabia Really So Angry at Canada Over a Tweet?
Last week, the Saudi government expelled the Canadian ambassador from Riyadh, and canceled flights, educational exchanges, and trade and investment activities between the two countries. This crisis was precipitated by a tweet —…
Scapegoating Saudi Arabia Won’t Help Us Fight Terrorism
Terrorism is a problem that we all still struggle to understand. That challenge only increases when partisan politics are injected into the mix. This is what happened earlier this month,…
Visions And Misperceptions On The Road To An Aramco IPO
Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) 2016 announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, commentators and analysts have maligned the plan’s “unrealistic” goals and time lines. Their negative assessment is based…
Saudi Arabia Post the Khashoggi Tragedy
WASHINGTON – The killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi has left the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its weakest diplomatic position since the horrific terror attacks of September 11. Khashoggi’s murder…
The Saudi Perspective on Iran
Since 1979, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has seen itself as facing a radical, militaristic and expansionist Iran that leverages Shi’a disenfranchisement, local power vacuums and a vast and growing…
ISIS’s Ultimate Target Is Saudi Arabia
As custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, and as leader of the 41-nation Islamic coalition established to combat terror, Saudi Arabia is on the front line of the…
What Saudi Arabia needs to hear from Trump
WASHINGTON — When Air Force One touches down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week, President Trump can be sure of one thing: His Saudi hosts have firmly pressed the reset…