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MENASource

Oct 22, 2018

The Khashoggi reset

By Frederic C. Hof

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi—a resident of the United States and a citizen of a Kingdom that owed him protection—highlights the purely transactional nature of the relationship between Riyadh and Washington.

Saudi Arabia

IranSource

Oct 22, 2018

Dealing With Saudi Arabia Requires Lessons From Iran’s Global Assassination Campaign

By Gissou Nia

Gruesome details of the possible premeditated killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi state actors are gradually being revealed. This has invited inevitable comparisons between the brutality of Saudi Arabia to its regional rival, Iran. While the comparisons have prompted a fair number of social media snipes and tu quoque arguments, the parallels here […]

Iran Saudi Arabia

New Atlanticist

Oct 21, 2018

Trump to pull plug on arms control treaty with Russia

By David A. Wemer

White House officials, especially National Security Advisor John Bolton, have been pushing to abandon the treaty as they believe it is limiting Washington’s ability to counter China’s growing nuclear arsenal in East Asia.

China Missile Defense

MENASource

Oct 19, 2018

Murder in Istanbul and the Turkish Saudi rivalry

By Aaron Stein

On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national living in self-exile in the United States, walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. That was the last time he was seen alive.

Saudi Arabia Turkey

New Atlanticist

Oct 19, 2018

Why Afghanistan’s parliamentary election matters

By Roshni Majumdar

Holding the election is “an important measure of progress that underscores how far Afghanistan’s nascent democracy has come,” said Javid Ahmad, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center.

Afghanistan Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

Oct 19, 2018

State department official sounds warning on Russian, Chinese influence in Central and Eastern Europe

By David A. Wemer

“We must not see it as a foregone conclusion that countries will automatically remain friendly to America,” said A Wess Michell, assistant secretary for the US State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

Central Europe Eastern Europe

IranSource

Oct 19, 2018

Signs of a Spectacular Policy Shift in Iran

By Shahir Shahidsaless

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supported by religious conservatives, has the last word on major Iranian policy decisions, including relations with the United States. His long-standing position has been “no talks, no relations with America,” especially after US unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May. But there are signs that this hard line […]

Iran

SyriaSource

Oct 18, 2018

Consequences of the cold shoulder: US refugee policy and Middle East instability

By Seth Hershberger

On October 4, President Trump officially approved a refugee cap of 30,000—an all-time low. In August, despite previously increasing aid to Jordan, the US decided to end all UNRWA funding for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. This summer, the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s controversial travel ban that affects refugees and immigrants alike. Of the eight countries listed, five are in the Middle East/North Africa.

Middle East

New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2018

Gadhafi’s Libya and the importance of not shunning the past

By Karim Mezran

It is now common to hear in the streets of the capital Tripoli and other Libyan cities the wistful sentiment: “I wish we could go back to the golden period of Gadhafi’s rule.”

Democratic Transitions International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2018

Rome and Brussels go head to head in budget battle

By Álvaro Morales Salto-Weis

The proposal, which creates a deficit that is more than triple the level desired by the EU, has left investors jittery about the trajectory of the Italian economy.

Economy & Business European Union