Research & Commentary Results

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Bilal Y. Saab, Gerald Feierstein, Gonul Tol, and Ibrahim al-Assil provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the appointment of John Bolton to national security advisor, the Houthi missile attack on Riyadh, Egypt’s regressive referendum, the Yemeni war’s third anniversary, EU-Turkey diplomacy, and the worsening crisis in Ghouta.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman passed through D.C. this week to sell his Vision 2030 roadmap for transforming the Saudi economy. Karen Young, senior resident scholar Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and Gerald Feierstein join host Paul Salem to discuss this, as well as other key policy issues affecting U.S.-Saudi relations, from the war in Yemen to the Kingdom’s internal crackdown on corruption.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the shaping of U.S.-Saudi relations, Pompeo’s appointment to secretary of state, Turkey’s capture of Afrin, the future of Saudi energy, and Egypt’s efforts to unite the Libyan military.

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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will land in the U.S. on March 19 as part of a three week, multi-city tour. It’s his first extended foreign travel, which has already taken him to London, since being named Saudi heir apparent in June 2017.

Rex Tillerson’s unhappy tenure at State Department ends with a whimper – Gerald Feierstein        

Rex Tillerson was never an easy fit for the Trump administration. His management of the State Department was a source of constant frustration for the career staff as well as Capitol Hill. On policy issues, Tillerson hewed more closely than Trump to establishment Republican positions. Allied with Secretary of Defense Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster, Tillerson often acted as an anchor against the president’s more aggressive impulses.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Alex Vatanka, Nathan Stock, and Randa Slim provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Senate’s decision to pull out of Yemen, enduring Iran-Pakistan political strain, Egypt’s role in Palestinian reconciliation, and America’s dissolving influence in Syria.

The Middle East is the world’s most arid region and the one most dependent on renewable freshwater resources that originate outside its territories. These resources are largely contained in the Nile, Euphrates-Tigris, and Jordan river basins. An international law-based approach to transboundary watercourse development and management is vital for human security and regional stability. Applying legal principles in the Nile Basin is imperative, as unilateral actions by upstream countries can harm livelihoods on a large scale in downstream countries and destabilize their economies.

Since 9/11, American security strategy has focused on building the military capabilities of global allies in order to advance shared goals and address joint threats. In the Middle East, the results of this approach have been mixed at best. Frustration over U.S. security assistance to the region has grown in Washington, as funding and arms transfers to various state and non-state partners have led to unintended consequences, prompting the Trump administration to reevaluate U.S. aid to Egypt, Pakistan, and the Palestinians.

On Feb. 19, a consortium of oil companies led by the U.S.’s Noble Oil and Israel’s Delek signed a contract to supply the Egyptian energy company Dolphinus with up to 32 billion cubic meters of Israeli gas over ten years.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Eran Etzion, Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Gonul Tol provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump, the Saudi Crown Prince’s first extended travel abroad, the Taliban’s call for peace negotiations with the U.S., and Turkey’s pivot to Africa.

Reversing months of troubled relations, Saudi royal envoy Nizar al-Aloula arrived in Lebanon on Monday with messages of strong support for the country. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia sought strong and supportive relations with the Lebanese state and people, saying, “You will see a new approach from Saudi Arabia.” Aloula also extended an official invitation to Prime Minister Saad Hariri to visit Riyadh. Today Hariri is in Riyadh, where he met with King Salman and is due to meet with the crown prince.

With the absence of multilateral diplomatic forums in the Middle East and the Trump administration scaling back on U.S. diplomatic outreach, the role of backdoor diplomatic channels, known as “Track II” dialogues, has seldom been more important. Randa Slim, director of MEI’s program on conflict management and Track II dialogues, and Robert Ford, former US ambassador to Syria, join Paul Salem to discuss the role of these dialogues in addressing issues ranging from the Syrian civil war to the conflict in Yemen and regional tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Nowhere in the world are women more unequal than in the Middle East and North Africa, but there have been signs of progress in the region and several key reforms took place in 2017, such as Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift the ban on women driving. Manal Omar, founder of Across Red Lines, and Hala Aldosari, a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, join guest host Kate Seelye to discuss these reforms and whether they signal real change in attitudes toward women’s rights in the region.

As the slow wheels of government inch toward policies that lead to cleaner air, Egyptian drivers could be provided with faster results by an unlikely partner—Chinese auto companies.