On Nov. 21, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia launched a drone attack against the Dhabba Oil Terminal in Yemen’s Hadramawt Governorate. The threat of further attacks on oil ports and military targets remains high as the militant group tests the tolerance and response of Yemen’s government and the international community while increasing its demands.
The Future-Seeking, Team-Building 5th Fleet Is Busier Than Ever
In recent years, the United States has stepped up its efforts to promote a Middle East security order in which cooperation is more widely preached and effectively practiced among like-minded nations. Nowhere has this multilateral approach to regional security been more credible and fruitful than in the maritime domain.
As terrorist groups expand in the Sahel, is Algeria the missing link?
Over the past two years, the steady expansion of terrorist and fundamentalist threats in the Sahel has not gotten the attention it deserves. Algeria’s regional diplomatic clout, military might, and experience in fighting terrorism could help Sahelian states ward off an imminent political and security collapse.
Morocco and Israel: Economic Opportunities, Military Incentives, and Moral Hazards
The December 2020 Moroccan-Israeli normalization deal has evolved from a vehicle enabling Morocco to gain long-sought U.S. recognition of its claims on Western Sahara to a broader strategic partnership with Israel. But the relationship further strains relations with neighboring rival Algeria.
Dispatches from Sharm el-Sheikh: Reviewing COP27 from the MENA perspective
Participating in COP27 provided a unique opportunity to view the proceedings firsthand and evaluate the effectiveness of the meeting in advancing critical climate priorities that can alter the alarming trajectory of future climate change.
Sudan is geostrategically important to U.S. interests in both Africa and the Middle East. The country’s military rulers, Lt.-Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Lt.-Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as “Hemedti”), are banking on that fact as they seek to press the Biden administration to focus its Sudan policy on stability, rather than supporting calls for democracy.
Dispatches from Riyadh: Reflections on the Global Cybersecurity Forum
MEI’s Center for Strategy and Emerging Technology participated in the second annual Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh this past week. Here are our reflections on the conference, the conversations we had there, and the GCF’s overall agenda.
Will Kuwait’s new parliament resolve its political impasse?
Kuwait’s Sept. 29 parliamentary elections were supposed to bring change to the gridlock and governmental churn that had plagued the country in recent years. Kuwaitis initially appeared optimistic about the results, calling on the amir to appoint a strong government to work with the National Assembly. Questions remain, however, as to how well the government and the majority opposition parliament will be able to cooperate to implement the necessary reforms.
The Arab Peace Initiative returns. Will it supplant the Abraham Accords?
Although the Abraham Accords have been the main focus of Arab-Israeli peace-making since they were signed, the Arab Peace Initiative (API), introduced by the late Saudi King Abdullah 20 years ago, remains relevant and may be the better reflection of a path forward for Middle East peace
Algerians’ clandestine exodus: A complex national tragedy
The growing wave of Algerians illegally trying to reach Southern European shores while risking death is by no means a new development. But these perilous trans-maritime voyages are also a reminder of the bleak political and economic situation in which Algeria finds itself three years after the 2019 protest movement sparked hope for fundamental change.
