By JAY SOLOMON And CAROL E. LEE Leading Persian Gulf states want major new weapons systems and security guarantees from the White House in exchange for backing a nuclear agreement with Iran, according to U.S. and Arab officials. The leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the …
Read More »These are the odds of who will win the 2016 election
HUNTER WALKER AND ANDY KIERSZ Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) isn’t just surging in the polls. Gamblers are also increasingly putting their money on him to win the 2016 presidential race. Business Insider got updated odds on the election from Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker, on Tuesday. As she was …
Read More »Al-Shabaab’s Dangerous Evolution
Alex Dick-Godfrey In the past five years, the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab has lost most of its senior leadership, surrendered its control of southern Somalia, and seen its cash flow shrink. The group has certainly seen better times. But as the success of recent attacks in Kenya and Mogadishu indicate, the group is …
Read More »White House Looks to Ease Arab Fears Over Iran Nuclear Pact
By HELENE COOPER The Obama administration is scrambling for reassurances it can present this month at a Camp David summit meeting to persuade Arab allies that the United States has their backs, despite a pending nuclear deal with Iran. Officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the …
Read More »Comparing Al Qaeda and ISIS: Different goals, different targets
By: Daniel L. Byman Prepared testimony before the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Chairman King, Ranking Member Higgins, distinguished members of the subcommittee, and subcommittee staff, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. The Islamic State’s influence and model are …
Read More »The Pentagon’s ‘Long War’ Pits NATO Against China, Russia and Iran
By Pepe Escobar Whatever happens with the nuclear negotiations this summer, and as much as Tehran wants cooperation and not confrontation, Iran is bound to remain — alongside Russia — a key US geostrategic target. As much as US President Barack Obama tried to dismiss it, the Russian sale of the …
Read More »Iran and Saudi Arabia on a Collision Course
Farzin Nadimi To prevent recent airline and shipping incidents from escalating into a wider military confrontation with Iran, all sides will need to exercise great caution in the Persian Gulf and the skies over Yemen. On April 28, Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombed runways at Yemen’s al-Rahaba Airport to …
Read More »GCC to have unified terror blacklist; KSA efforts hailed
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has agreed on a concerted effort against terrorism by blacklisting terrorist organizations and individuals, while hailing Saudi Arabia’s efforts in tackling the menace. The decision was taken at the 16th consultative meeting of GCC interior ministers in Doha on Wednesday. Qatari Prime Minister …
Read More »What Did Saudi Arabia Achieve in Yemen?
By Daniel Depetris Hundreds of air strikes later, Hadi remains in Riyadh and the Houthis remain near Aden. Riyadh needs a new approach. After nearly four weeks of consistent aerial bombardment against Houthi military positions across Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — with full backing from its colleagues …
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