Haaretz is emphatic: Jordanian King Abdullah II fired several senior officials over the past week following reports of a plot to destabilize the kingdom, including the general intelligence chief, the king’s adviser on policy and information and several other senior advisers. Citing a Kuwait newspaper, Al-Qabas, Haaretz describes a potential plot by the Hashemite Kingdom's intel … Continue reading Was there a coup attempt in Jordan?
Yemen, As Simple as Possible
The biggest battle of Yemen's most recent civil war is underway, and honestly, there's good reason not to know much about what's going on. From Reuters: Arab coalition troops stormed the airport in Yemen’s main port Hodeidah on Tuesday and captured large areas of the compound in battles with Iran-aligned Houthis, a Yemeni military source, … Continue reading Yemen, As Simple as Possible
Egypt’s War On Sunni Supremacism Goes To Libya
From Reuters: Egyptian air strikes destroyed 12 vehicles loaded with arms, ammunition and explosive material trying to cross the border from Libya, the army spokesman said on Tuesday. The airforce acted after hearing that "criminal elements" had gathered to try and cross the western boundary, the army statement said, without giving details on exactly where … Continue reading Egypt’s War On Sunni Supremacism Goes To Libya
Saudi Arabia’s Culture Wars Strain The Kingdom
Saudi clerics take to Twitter to condemn music. Saudis bark back. The culture wars reveal a Kingdom under stress.
Donald Trump is Going to Love Egypt’s Dictator
Abdel Fatah al Sisi will get big smiles from Trump, but perhaps not much else.
America’s Growing Boots on the Ground in Syria: Associated Press
Trump bragged a lot about killing the Islamic State, but his leaked first draft isn't much different than what Obama did.
Why the Middle East Never Went Secular
The great struggles in the Middle East are tinged with religion: Sunni supremacists in the Islamic State, Shi'a supremacists in Tehran, Arabs and Jews waging war on one another over the old mandate of Palestine, to name just a few. And yet, not so long ago, many Middle Eastern states were using the language of … Continue reading Why the Middle East Never Went Secular
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Made Super
And here we go again. Especially in the United States, Palestinian-Israeli violence always sucks up the headlines, siphoning valuable media and filling it with tried-and-true journalistic narratives that play to the myriad of biases that always come to the fore when discussing the Holy Land. Evangelical Christians get their dose of Biblical chaos, hoping beyond … Continue reading The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Made Super
Why Bringing Iran Back to the American Embrace Will Solve A Lot of Problems
There's massive incentive for both Iran and the United States to find a middle ground, and both sides have come to realize it.
The Failure of Qatar’s Foreign Policy Has Come; Or, Everyone Conforms Eventually, Even Rich States
From 1995 until 2013, Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani had one of the best jobs a world leader could ask for. His state, Qatar, was tiny, both in land size and population. That meant, for his day job, he had to balance fewer competing interests; fewer people means fewer needs. His borders were secure, having … Continue reading The Failure of Qatar’s Foreign Policy Has Come; Or, Everyone Conforms Eventually, Even Rich States
Rogue Geopolitics 