U.S. Endgame in Afghanistan
Bottom Line Up Front The U.S. and the Taliban will soon resume talks in Doha, Qatar, as the peace process moves forward but without […] More
Qatar
Is Peace with the Taliban Possible?
Bottom Line Up Front After nearly two decades at war in Afghanistan, the United States seems to be seriously pursuing a negotiated peace agreement […] More
Qatar Exits OPEC
Bottom Line Up Front Qatar’s withdrawal from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is strongly correlated to Doha’s ongoing rift with the cartel’s […] More
Saudi Arabia’s Complicated Troubles
Demands for answers about what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi are increasing, as the U.S. Administration puts pressure on Saudi Arabia to provide more information. […] More
The Latest
The Future of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(Ed note: The Gulf Cooperation Council has been under significant strain for the past year, namely because of an ongoing rift between Qatar and its […] More
Is America’s Balancing Act in the Gulf Sustainable?
Bottom Line: As the ongoing dispute between Qatar and Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates enters its eighth month, […] More
Looking Ahead on Jerusalem, and Beyond
For this last week of 2017, we asked our experts to look back on key topics for this year, and predict what they see for […] More
View: Despite Gulf Crisis over Qatar, GCC Pushes Ahead
The failure of the recent Gulf Cooperation Council 2017 summit to resolve the six-month long crisis that pits Qatar against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab […] More
View: Washington Is Outsourcing the Qatar Crisis
The Trump administration is outsourcing the Qatar crisis to Kuwait, banking on the Kuwaiti monarch to bring the months-long crisis to a close. But ahead […] More
How Cyber Gray-Ops Became the New Norm in the Middle East
Cyber-enabled information operations in the Gulf, such as the one that seemingly spurred the ongoing feud between Qatar and its neighbors, represent the gray line […] More
With No End In Sight, Gulf Blockade Nudges Qatar Closer to Iran
Nearly five months on, the “crisis” between Qatar and a coalition of nine countries led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has reached […] More
D.C. Heavyweights Sound Off on Gulf Crisis
Qatar, Iran, and the Muslim Brotherhood were the targets of harsh criticism at a conference on Countering Violent Extremism hosted by the Hudson Institute in […] More
The Gulf Crisis isn’t Beyond Hope — Here’s How Washington Can Help
Five months have passed since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 over allegations […] More
Chances ‘Slim’ for a Quick Fix to GCC Standoff
The dispute between Qatar and its four regional counterparts – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – has entered into its fourth […] More
Threats to American Interests Increase as Gulf Diplomacy Dissolves
The ongoing dispute between Qatar and its neighbors – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – has thrown the U.S. into a […] More
Gulf Crisis Still Smolders as Washington Searches for Options
Well into its fourth month, the tense standoff between Qatar and the four Arab nations that severed diplomatic ties with Doha – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, […] More
Trump and Kuwaiti Emir Hint at End to Gulf Crisis
President Donald Trump and the Emir of Kuwait – one of two Gulf countries that has not cut ties with Qatar – said in a […] More
Kushner Stumbles on Bumps in the Road on Mideast Junket
The whirlwind Middle East trip last week by Trump son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and his team working to restart Israel-Palestinian talks highlighted the […] More
How Kuwait is Surviving the Gulf Crisis
Next week, on August 2, is the 27th anniversary of the day Saddam’s forces stormed across Iraq’s southern border with the goal of annexing their small […] More