What can be expected from the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit being held on Dec. 9 in Saudi Arabia? Many are wondering if, or how, this month’s summit will differ from the last one held a year ago in Kuwait. Although difficult to predict how the upcoming meeting will unfold, recent statements from Arab Gulf…
Middle East dictators, we like to believe, live in heaven. They have palaces, servants, vast and wealthy families, millions of obedient people and loyal armies who constantly express their love for their leader, not to mention huge secret police forces to ensure they don’t forget this, and masses of weapons to defend themselves, supplied, usually,…
THERE WAS A high-five from Vladimir Putin. And for Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi it was business as usual. At home, Saudi Arabia’s media trumpeted Mohammed bin Salman’s meetings with world leaders, tweeting pictures of his encounters, which also included the presidents of South Korea, Mexico, and South Africa. However, Western leaders appeared to avoid…
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS) is literally trying to buy Indian Prime Minister Modi off by getting him to ditch his country’s energy imports from Iran in exchange for billions of dollars of Saudi investment, and there’s a plausible possibility that this subtly American-backed strategy could succeed. Indian Prime Minister Modi and Saudi…
What does President Trump’s recent nomination of retired Army General John Abizaid to become the next U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia signify? Next to nothing — and arguably quite a lot. Abizaid’s proposed appointment is both a non-event and an opportunity not to be wasted. It means next to nothing in this sense: while once…
Reuters released a scandalous report alleging that members of the Saudi monarchy are conspiring against Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The outlet cited unnamed sources that supposedly revealed a plot to replace MbS with his uncle Prince Ahmed, emphasizing that the King’s will doesn’t necessarily have to be respected after his retirement or passing if…
