Author Archive
Ideas
A defense treaty is not how Biden should fix the Saudi relationship
To fend off Iran, Riyadh must improve its military, not rely on U.S. protection.
Ideas
How to Advance US-Saudi Defense Cooperation
There’s room for progress short of a formal alliance.
Ideas
The Risks of De-escalation
At the wrong time and place, it can do more harm than good—as its Mideast track record shows.
Ideas
The Future-Seeking, Team-Building 5th Fleet Is Busier Than Ever
The commander of the U.S. Navy’s Persian Gulf forces explains how they epitomize the Pentagon’s new strategic approach to the Middle East.
Ideas
CENTCOM’s Got a New Mission. It Needs More Support.
Ending free-ridership and promoting regional security cooperation requires policy coherence from Washington.
Ideas
Could Ukraine Offer a Template for Better US-Gulf Security Relations?
The outpouring of aid to Kyiv shows that a formal defense alliance is inessential to effective wartime assistance.
Ideas
The Security Dimension of the Abraham Accords
A year and a half later, a look at what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what still might.
Ideas
Diplomacy Is the Key to Reducing US Forces in the Mideast
The Pacific pivot need not reduce Middle East security—if the U.S. can get its partners on board.
Ideas
Move the US-Iraq Relationship Out of Crisis Mode
Think fewer troops, more institution-building.
Ideas
Biden’s Idea for a Saudi Offensive Arms Halt Is Unfeasible
A solid defense needs a potent deterrent, which requires a credible offense.
Ideas
Esper’s Curious Partners-and-Allies Initiative
Why now? And are the combatant commanders on board?
Featured eBooks
Ideas
The Coming F-35 Fiasco
Now that Qatar is asking for the jet, it’s time to consider an entirely different approach to helping Gulf nations defend themselves.
Ideas
We Need a Better China Policy in the Middle East
With allies and direct lines to Beijing, Washington must do more to keep China’s presence in the region from becoming a threat.
Ideas
For Saudi Arabia, What Now?
Riyadh has military options for retaliating against Iran. The Trump administration needs to persuade Saudi leaders not to use them.
Ideas
Trump’s New Arms-Sales Policy Is Good but Sounds Awful
We must reintegrate arms exports into the U.S. foreign-policy process — and do a far better job of explaining why than the Trump administration has managed so far.
Ideas
Obama's Last Chance To Change the Saudi Arabia Playbook
The U.S. can't be the sole guardian of the Gulf forever. It's time to bring in some more friends.
Ideas
Beyond Airstrikes, How the US Can Accelerate the Islamic State’s Defeat
Time is not on Washington’s side, despite greater clarity of the military, political and economic efforts it will take to defeat the Islamic State. By Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas
Why the Persian Gulf Isn’t Ready for Joint Security
Stop pretending, U.S. partners in the Persian Gulf don’t trust each other or agree on Iran. By Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas