... very difficult strategic environment. If you think about the Gulf, one thinks of both the regional powers such as Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the global actors: the US, UK, Russia. I decided to look at something else, at Bahrain, the smallest state in ... ... answer. And the answer is simple—smart leadership, strong citizenry, and functional alliances.
The recent video appearance of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has sparked concerns among experts who warn that more terror attacks could be expected. In your ...
... Vision’); in 2018 a small fraction (5%) of Saudi Aramco’s shares will be listed on capital markets, a fact which might be a sign of further openings — but it is still early to say. Possible new sanctions on Iran and Venezuela’s persistent crisis might further prop up oil prices, but Saudi Arabia has to rely on its own forces, not on more or less favourable international conjunctures.
The third big issue, despite ISIS’ demise, remains that of terrorism. It is now time to think about a post-ISIS world, to ‘win the peace’. Fundamentalism ...
... would terrorists be given nuclear weapon manuals unless such a device may magically appear for a yet unknown reason and target? Did the recent farcical siege of Incirlik yield a few nuclear weapons to Turkey? Did the Pakistan deliver a few nukes to ISIS-backer Saudi Arabia?
Any social fallout from the destruction of Mecca and Medina may yet be contained as Pakistan showed on its “Day of Love”. NATO members have also instituted a variety of emergency laws between the Sept 11 attacks and the ongoing ...
... since WWI, what will America do now?
Going forward, here’s what we can expect:
1.) America will try very hard to distance itself from the Gulf.
It’s amazing that it’s taken us so long to realize how much our money going into Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf states comes back to haunt us: though Joe Biden recently got in trouble for saying so, support for ISIS and other Islamic extremists and terrorists from very wealthy individuals motivated by the Saudi state-sponsored and ever-present-throughout-the-Gulf religious cult of Wahhabism/Salafism streams out of the Gulf like an oil spill, polluting the entire ...
