To say that Saudi Arabia has been the lynchpin to U.S. foreign policy objectives in the Middle East and central Asia is to engage in massive understatement. For more than fifty years the Saudis have helped prop up U.S. foreign policy by exporting their oil to the world and taking only dollars in return. Their…
Davos really do think they are too clever by half. Despite prognostications to the contrary, negotiations with Iran over a new JCPOA are nearing completion which Biden/Obama will sign off on after putting up a bit more token resistance to lifting sanctions. Why do I say this? Nordstream 2. Biden backed down on Nordstream 2…
Tensions rise between neighboring Guyana and Venezuela over a piece of land that has been disputed since at least 1835. Both Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro have exchanged sharp words about the status of the Essequibo region, which both countries claim. Since 1990, the two countries have pursued their claims through a United Nations “good…
If you missed the big story of this week I wouldn’t blame you. It’s a big story, bigger than riots in D.C. Russia became the de facto controller of the marginal barrel of oil. This is a bigger story than what happened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday because that was a continuation of a story…
With the US facing a host of problems and the presidency in transition, regime change in Venezuela has become much less of a priority for the White House. No wonder, then, that Caracas has seized the moment to resume oil sales. Venezuela is reportedly exporting oil again. Despite crushing US sanctions having been imposed on…
It was the enduring image from Donald Trump’s 2017 visit to Saudi Arabia, in his first trip abroad as president of the United States. In it, Trump appeared alongside Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with their hands placed on a glowing orb of unexplained meaning or purpose. The photo immediately…
