Make Sense of the world
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As Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continue their blockade of Qatar, the pair often justify their campaign by accusing Doha of sponsoring terrorism. Most analysts have cast this claim as hypocritical, given Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s history of links to extremist groups from...
When Norah O’Donnell, interviewing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), boldly opened the dialogue with the question the world has been waiting for hard-hitting journalists to ask — “Did you order the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?” — no one, including O’Donnell, could have been...
In an interview that will appear in a documentary called "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" to air on PBS, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), we discover, deigned to speak in December 2018 about his responsibility concerning the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The...
After Iran shot down a $220-million US unmanned aerial vehicle over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, President Donald Trump said the United States was “cocked and loaded” to retaliate. He apparently rescinded his decision only 10 minutes before the attack was to be carried out, after his...
On the morning of May 12, unidentified perpetrators attacked four oil tankers off the Fujairah port in the Gulf of Oman. Two of the tankers belonged to Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. The attacks occurred during Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s state visit to Tehran, which...
Following the attack on Saudi oil facilities, US President Donald Trump has finally responded with action by sending troops to the Middle East. He has left his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, the challenge of justifying why the US even needs to take action. The impression that emerges for a naive...
Ever since that fatal morning in 2001, the families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been seeking to understand the level of complicity of the Saudi government in the funding, logistics and execution of the attacks. While the identities of two Saudis, whose names were redacted in the...
“If we don’t go to the Middle East, the Middle East will come to us.” That prophetic comment was once shared with me by an American general defending US policy — now questioned by many in the country, including President Donald Trump — to remain actively engaged actively in the Middle...
Recent clashes in Aden lay bare the untenable sociopolitical status quo in southern Yemen. Weeks of attacks and conspiracies reveal a strained Saudi-Emirati alliance and unaddressed southern Yemeni grievances. A tenuous partnership between forces of the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognized...
People around the world, including Americans, have argued that the world can get along without US leadership. Today, they may want to scan the global landscape. While acute crises and violent conflict may not seem imminent at the moment, the view isn’t a hopeful one. For Americans, naively...
Tensions have steadily risen in the Persian Gulf. It seems Iran and the US are on a collision course. Attacks on oil tankers, the shooting down of drones, aggressive rhetoric and Tehran’s decision to start enriching uranium again have led to a major crisis. The UK impounded an Iranian oil...
