By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — Watching Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia nowadays, is like Kremlin-watching in the old days of the Cold War. It is not as if most Western journalists have a really good idea of the maneuverings inside the Saudi palace or know why exactly things happen. Since King Salman […]
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Qatar
Saudi-led attacks in Yemen demonstrate the Gulf’s new assertiveness
By James M. Dorsey | ( Your Middle East ) – “Everything is underground, nothing is public.” The current Saudi-led intervention in Yemen designed to prevent Iranian-backed forces from gaining power symbolises the Gulf’s new assertiveness. This is unfolding as the various Gulf states seek to hedge their bets with different strategies that complement rather […]
The Arab Political Crisis: It isn’t a Matter of Civilization and it isn’t Unique
By Juan Cole Hisham Melhem has a piece on what he calls the collapse of Arab civilization. The piece is riddled with contradictions and fuzzy thinking and with all due respect to Milhem, who is a knowledgeable and experienced correspondent, I am going to disagree with it vehemently. I think he is arguing that Arabs […]
Under World Cup Pressure, Qatar reforms Guest Worker Laws, abolishes Sponsorship System
Qatar to end sponsorship system for foreign workers (via AFP) Qatar, host of the 2022 football World Cup, said Wednesday it will abolish its controversial sponsorship system for foreign workers, whose treatment in the energy-rich state has stirred mounting international criticism. FIFA chief Sepp Blatter described… ——- AFP: “Qatar to end sponsorship system for […]
The Ukraine Crisis and Qatar’s Ascendancy should Make us think Big Solar, not Gas
Originally published on SolarWakeup.By Yann Brandt Solar may be a small portion of energy production globally but the importance in geo-politics continues to grow. All energy usage may be local, when a homeowner plugs in their cell phone charge into…
Will the US side with Saudi or Qatar in the Great Gulf Civil War?
(By Omar Ali) The Saudi strategy of offering military support to the US while exporting Muslim militancy and portraying itself as the protector of the two holiest sites in the Islamic world has backfired for both Saudi Arabia and the US. Tensions are increasing in the Persian Gulf, with Qatar on one side, and Saudi […]
The War on Terror Jumps the Shark as Everyone in the Mideast accuses everyone else of Terrorism
(By Juan Cole) In early December of last year, Lebanese Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah of Hizbullah accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, i.e. charged Riyadh with terrorism. Then in the middle of December, a small terrorist group that calls itself “Helpers of Holy Jerusalem” blew up the […]
A New Arab Cold War: Saudi Arabia Pressures Qatar on Muslim Brotherhood, American Think Tanks
(By Juan Cole) Saudi Arabia’s listing of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and the withdrawal of the Saudi, Kuwaiti United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain ambassadors from Qatar signal a big geopolitical realignment in the Middle East. Qatar is the Red Prince of the Middle East. Despite being fabulously wealthy because of its natural […]
The Crimean Crisis and the Middle East: Will Syria & Iran be the Winners?
(By Juan Cole) The Russian intervention in the Crimea is more direct and dramatic than the one in Syria, with actual troops deployed. But there are similarities. One of the little-noted rationales for Russian support for the Baath government in Damascus is that it is seen as more favorable, being secular and minority-dominated, toward Syria’s […]