Research & Commentary Results

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.

Prior to the outbreak of protests in Daraa in 2011, media in Syria was state-controlled and heavily regulated. However, in the face of escalating conflict with the Assad regime, independent media outlets emerged that gave voice to Syrian journalists and civil society activists sharing information domestically and to an international audience.

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.

Read the full article on The National Interest

Turmoil in Aden over the past few weeks has underlined the existential crisis confronting Yemen. The alliances that have been at the center of the three-year-old civil war—the Hadi government and its Saudi-led coalition of supporters versus the Houthi alliance with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh—have fractured.

The Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta is the site of a humanitarian disaster unfolding day by day as the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian backers have maintained a massive aerial assault that has killed hundreds. MEI Fellows Ibrahim al-Assil and Charles Lister join host Paul Salem to discuss the conditions on the ground and what led to the campaign that has turned Ghouta into a “Hell on Earth.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised Syrian President Bahsar al-Assad as a “great fighter” and reiterated Tehran’s support for Syria as a “front line” state against the United States and Israel, the Iranian media reported. “Today, Syria is the front line. Therefore, it is our duty to support the Syrian resistance. Indeed, Mr. Bashar al-Assad emerged as a great fighter and stood up firmly and without hesitation.

Yemen’s national emblem depicts a relief of the Marib Dam, Yemen’s greatest manmade feature—and a coffee plant, Yemen’s most storied natural resource. This is no coincidence. Coffee drinking, as we know it today, originated in Yemen in the 15th century when Sufis discovered red coffee berries in the country’s mountain highlands.

Over the course of the last three years, the Middle East Institute convened a regional dialogue involving participants acting in their personal capacities from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The dialogue also involved participants from China, Europe, Russia and the United States. The discussions resulted in the following declaration of good neighborhood principles for the Middle East agreed in Baghdad 15-16 December 2017.
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The Middle East dialogue, which began its twice-a-year meetings in October 2012, convened its eleventh meeting in Baghdad 15-16 December. Participants included current and former officials and senior experts from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates as well as China, Europe, Russia, and the United States.

Sayed Ali-Asghar Hosseini, an Afghan national living in Iran, says he hopes to quickly recover from injuries he sustained in the Syrian conflict in order to return to the Arab country and take part in the next phase of war against Israel and Saudi Arabia. “Our real war with Israel and the al-Saud family is still there.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Marvin G. Weinbaum, Charles Lister, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the placement of Pakistan on a global terrorist financing “gray list,” the ongoing assault on eastern Ghouta following a UNSC cease-fire resolution, and diplomatic efforts on the war in Yemen.

Read the full article on The American Conservative

It should be no surprise that Washington’s Syrian Kurdish allies—who have long had daggers drawn and pointed at our fellow NATO member Turkey—are now reconciling with our Syrian enemy President Bashar al-Assad.

Dozens of Iranian fighters have joined the ranks of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the northern Syrian city of Afrin to fight the Turkish military and its allies trying to expel the Kurdish forces from the region,