Content

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2015

New Saudi King Has A Lot on His Plate

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab Sees ‘Profound and Generational Problems’ Saudi Arabia’s new king will have his hands full dealing with multiple challenges, both at home and abroad, says Atlantic Council analyst Bilal Y. Saab. King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who ascended to the throne following the death of his half-brother Abdullah on Friday, was quick […]

Saudi Arabia

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2015

A New King: Salman Will Keep Saudi Arabia on Course

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘Continuity, Cohesion, and Consolidation Will Be the Watchwords,’ Says LeBaron  Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is unlikely to depart sharply from the policies of his half-brother and predecessor, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who died on Friday, according to Atlantic Council analyst Richard LeBaron. “Continuity, cohesion, and consolidation will be the watchwords,” LeBaron, a nonresident […]

Saudi Arabia

MENASource

Jan 23, 2015

King Abdullah’s Legacy: Championing Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

By Stefanie A. Hausheer

As the moment has arrived to mourn the passing of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, my own experience with Saudis leads me to believe that the king’s greatest legacy to his own people—and to Saudi-US relations—will prove to be his pioneering of higher education initiatives.

Saudi Arabia

New Atlanticist

Jan 20, 2015

Here’s Why Saudi Arabia Has Let Oil Prices Fall—and Why They Could Revive by Year’s End

By David L. Goldwyn

The Saudi Kingdom Aims to Restore Its Relevance, and OPEC’s Discipline Analysts largely agree on the main reasons why the world’s benchmark oil price has dropped by half in the past six months, from $100 per barrel to $50. Supplies grew faster than expected, demand has been underwhelming, US imports of light crude oil declined, […]

Saudi Arabia
FSA rebels cleaning their AK47s, Oct. 19, 2012

NATOSource

Jan 16, 2015

US To Send 400 Trainers and Hundreds More Troops to Train Syrian Rebels

By Gordon Lubold, Defense One

The Pentagon will deploy more than 400 U.S. military trainers and hundreds more supporting personnel to four training sites in three countries as early as March as part of a long-awaited plan to help rebel forces to stabilize Syria.

Saudi Arabia Syria

In the News

Jan 6, 2015

Saab and Manning: Riyadh’s Oil Play

By Robert Manning, Bilal Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab and Senior Fellow Robert Manning write for Foreign Affairs on the recent trend of falling oil prices:

Saudi Arabia

In the News

Jan 1, 2015

Saab on Leadership Transition in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab

CNBC quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on what kind of transition will likely occur once Crown Prince Salman eventually takes over as king of Saudi Arabia:

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Dec 23, 2014

Manning: Saudi-Wielded Oil Price is Double-Edged Sword

By Robert Manning

Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Robert Manning writes for Global Times on the global implications of Saudi Arabia’s energy policy: 

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 10, 2014

Reading Saudi Tea Leaves in Yemen

By Danya Greenfield and Owen Daniels

The international press reported on December 4 that Saudi Arabia had suspended most financial aid to Yemen as a result of the Houthi movement’s ongoing occupation of Sana’a. As the most overt Saudi policy move in Yemen since the northern Houthis captured the capital in mid-September, it set off a chain of worrying political and […]

Saudi Arabia Yemen

Article

Sep 11, 2014

Column: Coalition Against Islamic State Must Include Iran

By Barbara Slavin

President Barack Obama is right to focus on the responsibility of the Sunni Muslim world to attack and expunge the cancer that is the militant group calling itself the Islamic State (IS). The group’s perversion of Islam in the service of its barbaric goals needs to be confronted first and foremost by those for whom […]

Iraq Saudi Arabia

Experts