Author Archive

Bilal Y. Saab

Middle East Institute

Bilal Y. Saab
Bilal Y. Saab is senior fellow and director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute. He previously served as a senior advisor for security cooperation with oversight responsibilities for the U.S. CENTCOM Area of Responsibility in the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He is the author of Rebuilding Arab Defense.
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab and Melissa Horvath
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab and Barry Pavel
Ideas

Move the US-Iraq Relationship Out of Crisis Mode

Think fewer troops, more institution-building.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas

Biden’s Idea for a Saudi Offensive Arms Halt Is Unfeasible

A solid defense needs a potent deterrent, which requires a credible offense.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas

Esper’s Curious Partners-and-Allies Initiative

Why now? And are the combatant commanders on board?

  • Bilal Y. Saab
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab and Joseph Votel
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
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.

  • Bilal Y. Saab
Featured eBooks
Joint All Domain Command & Control (JADC2)
Special Operations Technology
Extremism vs. Equality: Building Diversity in Defense
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

  • 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

  • Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas

Forget the Second Carrier, It's Time to Rethink the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf

It’s not the size of the fleet, it’s how you use it, and PC ships are smaller, more agile and better for Mideast allies. By Bilal Y. Saab and Joseph Singh

  • Bilal Y. Saab and Joseph Singh