Middle East & North Africa

23 Items

The Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, that the U.S. Navy says was damaged by a limpet mine, is anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

The Last Time a ‘Tanker War’ Broke Out in the Persian Gulf, It Lasted for Years

| June 14, 2019

As tensions mounted between the United States and Iran, European nations pressed for a calm response, fearing that any escalation could disrupt trade through the region’s vital Strait of Hormuz, which carries up to a third of global crude oil exports traded via ships. If the strait is blocked or trade there is disrupted by conflict, analysts predict oil prices would surge.

President George H.W. Bush

Associated Press

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

Once Upon a Time, U.S. Foreign Policy Worked

| Dec. 02, 2018

George H.W. Bush's administration was evidence of what the establishment was capable of. I worked on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff during the last two years of the late President George H.W. Bush’s administration. It was my first job in government and an extraordinary period in world history. As I came on board at Foggy Bottom, Bush had just facilitated Germany’s unification. The international coalition that he’d mobilized was in the process of evicting Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. In a few months’ time, Bush would help manage the peaceful unraveling of the Soviet Union and the launch of historic peace talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors via the Madrid process.

Panel discussion at Halifax International Security Forum 2018

Halifax International Security Forum

Analysis & Opinions

Future Tense - Our World in Ten

| Nov. 19, 2018

This year’s Halifax International Security Forum paid respect to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, but in its final plenary session, Future Tense: Our World in Ten, the attention shifted to the future. How will the issues discussed throughout this year’s Forum play out over the next decade? Will democratic states be able to defend their values and institutions from growing threats like great power politics and cyber-warfare? This diverse set of panelists spoke confidently and optimistically about the resilience of democracies to withstand this challenge.

Jamal Khashoggi speaks during an interview at an undisclosed location in March 2018

Associated Press

Analysis & Opinions - Newsmax

Ambassador Nicholas Burns: US Must Condemn Saudis' 'Barbaric Act'

| Oct. 21, 2018

The United States must stand up against Saudi Arabia after the "barbaric act" of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi's murder, according to former Bush administration Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns.

"Sometimes America needs to stand up and say the right thing and do the right thing and lead the rest of the world to a moral judgment – and the judgment here has to be: This was a barbaric act by the Saudis, and we have to disassociate ourselves from it," former Amb. Burns told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y.

Mike Pompeo meets with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his recent visit to Riyadh.

Reuters

Newspaper Article - The New York Times

U.S. Spy Agencies Are Increasingly Convinced of Saudi Prince’s Ties to Journalist’s Disappearance

WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials are increasingly convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is culpable in the killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an appraisal that poses challenges to a White House intent on maintaining a close relationship with the kingdom.

President Donald Trump addressing the United Nations

Getty Images

Analysis & Opinions - Deep State Radio

Enough About My Solipsism, What Do You Think of My Solipsism?

| Sep. 25, 2018

We have the most solipsistic president in American history offering up the most solipsistic foreign policy ever at a time when the me-me-me generation are busy taking selfies and other pols the planet over are trying to play that self-centeredness to their advantage. Have we reached Peak Solipsism? And what does that mean for the international system. We discuss in honor of and in the context of this week’s meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York City with David Rothkopf in New York, Ambassador Nicholas Burns in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rosa Brooks in Washington, DC and Kori Schake in London, England.