BLOG Post #462: Donald in Arabia 16 May 202515 May 2025 A Golden Age “In the United States, we’ve announced the golden age of America,” Trump said at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh. “And with the help of the people…
BLOG Post #430: Gathering of the Clan: The Trump Criminal Enterprise at the RNC 20 Jul 20241 Nov 2024 The Criminals Former FBI director James Comey once compared Donald Trump’s gang of loyalists to the Mafia. “Holy crap, they are trying to make each of us an amica…
BLOG Post #423: A Package Deal Full of Holes 17 May 2024 The Biden administration has been working on a package deal with Saudi Arabia that would guarantee a path to a Palestinian state in return for a permanent cease-fire and establishment…
BLOG Post #368: A Big Deal: China’s Middle East Diplomatic Coup 26 Mar 202325 Mar 2023 A Big Deal for Some By any stretch of the imagination, the March 10 announcement of China’s brokering of a Saudi Arabia-Iran agreement to resume diplomatic relations and exchange security…
Podcasts Russian Policy in the Middle East: A Conversation with Prof. Mark Katz 31 Jan 2023 Prof. Katz discusses Russia's relations with Iran, Syria, Israel and other countries; points out how Russia has effectively handled its Middle East ties in the midst of war in Ukraine;…
BLOG Post #354: Time to Reset Military Relations with Saudi Arabia 4 Nov 2022 An Uneven Balance Sheet Saudi Arabia and OPEC have decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. The President is miffed, and has signaled that he’s…
BLOG Post #345: Back to the Future: Biden in the Middle East 23 Jul 202229 Jul 2022 The audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/65600/54-back-to-the-future-bidens-middle-east-trip.mp3 President Biden has now completed his first visit to the Middle East. The trip was billed as an opportunity to…
BLOG Post #319: The US and Yemen: Putting a Disreputable Policy Right 29 Nov 202128 Nov 2021 An audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/44803/27-the-us-and-yemen-putting-a-disreputable-policy-right.mp3 In Yemen, Saudi Arabian and Iranian interests collide, a civil war involving multiple parties has devastated the country, important issues of…
BLOG Post #311: The US and Yemen: Putting a Disreputable Policy Right 15 Sep 202114 Sep 2021 In Yemen, Saudi and Iranian interests collide, a civil war involving multiple parties has devastated the country, a humanitarian crisis has been going on for several years, and important issues…
BLOG Post #233: Another Fake “Emergency” 25 May 201924 May 2019 Just a few months ago Saudi Arabia’s leader, Mohammed bin-Salman (MBS), was on the defensive. He had authorized the murder of an independent journalist, his domestic “reforms” had turned out…
BLOG Post #232: Baiting Iran 14 May 2019 Ever since Donald Trump became president, regime change in Iran has been a prominent US aim. Trump began by backing out of the nuclear deal and imposing harsh sanctions, setting…
BLOG Post #218: Getting Away with Murder 15 Oct 2018 In March I wrote about the visit to Washington of Saudi Arabia’s new leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At the time most of the media were reporting uncritically about…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 