Nawaf Obaid, senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, says that reports of the downfall of the Saudi monarchy as "inevitable" are grossly exaggerated.  The speculation that mass uprising will reach Saudi Arabia is based entirely on casual perusal of Facebook pages calling for protests, he says : "17,000 Facebook fans or 'protesters' do not necessarily translate into 17,000 Saudi rioters The kingdom has long ...

Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Senator John Kerry (D-MA)  stated that the U.S. policy toward the Middle East needs a "readjustment to reflect the new realities of the region Too often over the past decade we have seen regimes in the region chiefly as bulwarks in the fight against terrorism, while looking away from abuses we find unconscionable."  He also noted that democracy and human rights concerns have been ...

Speaking from Jerusalem on Friday, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) called on Obama to establish a no-fly zone in Libya to be organized by NATO, abandon its recognition of the Gadhafi government, transfer recognition to a transitional government formed by the rebels, and provide the opposition with support. "When a government massacres its own people, it loses legitimacy. So, we should no longer recognize the existing government of Libya," McCain ...

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held its first Members’ briefing on Tuesday. The briefing focused on the future of Sudan following the completion of referendum elections on secession. To discuss the issues facing the country, the committee – chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) in attendance – requested the testimony of three individuals: Princeton Lyman, Special Advisor for Sudan, U.S. Department of State; Richard S. Williamson, ...

On Wednesday, the United States Institute of Peace hosted a panel discussion on the future of Iraq following December elections titled “Iraq’s New Government: Now Comes the Hard Part.”  Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President of U.S. Institute of Peace introduced the panelists: Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, Minister of State and Spokesperson of the Iraqi Government, Dr. Wisam Al-Ubaidi, the Al-Wifaq Al-Watani Party’s representative to the United States, Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan ...

In a recent interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, Joost Hiltermann calls the new Iraqi government "a good basis for setting out," while also expressing concern about the power-sharing agreement. Hiltermann says the newly established National Council for Strategic Policy has yet to be fully defined, and that it remains to be seen whether "Allawi feels that it satisfies his earlier demands for having a real check against ...

The Iranian government slashed subsidies for gasoline yesterday according to a report in The New York Times. "After midnight on Sunday, the price of subsidized gasoline jumped to about $1.44 a gallon from about 38 cents a gallon." The report also states that there was an increase in the presence of security forces in anticipation of any unrest. Tehran Bureau provides reactions from Iranians in Tehran. Muhammad Sahimi explains that ...

Denise Natali writes at The Middle East Channel that the Kurds of Iraq face a number of challenges going forward and that compromising on their "highly-charged nationalist agenda" may be the best way to secure "long-term political and economic prosperity." Natali argues that the Kurds position has been fundamentally weakened due to their status as "a politically expedient swing vote" and the "ceremonial" nature of the presidency, which is ...

While many assume that Iran stands to benefit most from the current political situation in Iraq, Ranj Alaaldin argues that the involvement of Iran has spurred the US to support the attempt by Ayad Allawi to form a coalition with the Kurds (who hold 57 seats) and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (who hold 18 seats.) "These developments mean that the Kurds have emerged as kingmakers," because both Allawi ...

The Brookings Institution held an event today entitled “The Sudan Referendum: Dangers and Possibilities.” The featured speaker for the event was Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States House of Representatives. The discussants for the event were Richard Williamson, non-resident fellow on foreign policy at Brookings, and Mike Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the ...

Ranj Alaaldin writes at The Guardian's Comment is Free that the deal reached to make Nouri al-Maliki the Prime Minister is one of compromises and back room deals. "This had always been the likely outcome," Alaaldin writes, noting that the deal between Maliki's State of Law party, the Sadrists, and the Kurds was based on "strategic bluffs and manoeuvring," meant to force more concessions from Maliki. Alaaldin suspects that the ...

The vote on a referendum to determine whether southern Sudan becomes an independent nation is set to be held in just over four months. However, some question if the referendum will even be held. Rebecca Hamilton writes in the Washington Post "... with negotiations between north and south stalled over border demarcation, and preparations for the vote lagging perilously behind, the likelihood of the referendum proceeding as planned ...

As combat troops are withdrawn from Iraq, questions remain about how this will affect its emerging democracy. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Stephen Hadley argues, "The six-month stalemate in forming a new government is worrying, but virtually all Iraqi leaders accept the need for a broadly inclusive government." Mohammad Bazzi believes that Iran has been the true beneficiary of the war, which may have repercussions across the ...

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing to explore the history, efficacy, and enforcement of sanctions that target companies who do business with both the United States and Iran. The committee invited three individuals to provide testimony: Danielle Pletka, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; Joseph Christoff, Director of International Affairs and Trade at the Government Accountability Office; and ...

The Senate Committee of Foreign Relations hosted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the FY2011 International Affairs Budget for the Department of State. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, commenced the hearing by thanking Secretary Clinton for her hard work and travels. Citing a range of issues from the need to fight HIV/AIDS to the importance of supporting diplomats in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, ...

In an article for Sky News, Steve Davies reports on the Yemen Security Summit scheduled for tomorrow.  Davies remarks that international concern regarding Yemen as a security threat has escalated dramatically since the Christmas Day terror attack by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab,  a Nigerian member of al Qaeda based in Yemen.  In response to the international concern over security and stability issues, the Yemeni government has attempted to become more ...

Kenneth Pollack warns that "while has made tremendous progress in both the security and political realms, all of those gains are fragile and could evaporate quickly if strained."  Pollack argues "the mistake we are in danger of making in Iraq is that as our military steps back, our civilians are not always stepping up." If Iraqis begin to question our resolve, then ordinary Iraqis will have no choice but to support ...

Time Magazine explores the potential fallout from U.S. assistance in strikes and raids against Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen. The article quotes Gregory Johnsen who warns "you can't just go kill a few individuals and the al-Qaeda problem will go away," especially when such attacks result in civilian casualties. As Mohammad Quhtan of Yemen's opposition Islamist al-Islah party explains, "Al-Qaeda will be able to recruit a lot more young people, at least from ...

The Middle East Institute hosted a lecture by Thomas Lippman entitled “Saudi Arabia: The New Dynamics.” Lippman, who has been traveling to Saudi Arabia for over thirty years, recently returned from a month-long trip to the desert kingdom. While Lippman admitted there have been some “really bad books” written about Saudi Arabian history since September 11th, he is currently writing a new book that will focus on the country’s future. For ...