Middle East Policy

At the same time as the U.S. various sources are revealing and hailing the advanced stage of the undergoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia for a security agreement, the Saudis are in China to discuss the strategic defense partnership between Riyadh and Beijing and to discuss " ways to strengthen military and defense cooperation". Some Yemeni Houthi sources informed the Lebanese pro-Iranian Al-Akhbar newspaper that Saudis are exploring the possibility of requesting China’s mediation with the Houthis. Meanwhile, many U.S. media outlets and analysts are still insisting that all Saudi policies, moves and agreements with China are directed at the U.S. as maneuvers or teasing to promote the relationship with the U.S or to attain its assistance in particular fields despite a very significant series of developments in terms of KSA-China relationship and the Chinese changing role in the Middle East.  In this regard, I am wondering about the threshold of which the U.S gover...

With the comeback of the Syrian regime to the Arab Autocratic/Authoritarian League, the system of this regional institution has been restored to the normal operation condition. This is per se constitutes an achievement for the Arab mutual cooperation and for this institution, which has not any democratic member among 22 member states of the Arab League. This significant long-awaited breakthrough achievement finally restores the status of the Arab system to 'business as usual'. For the whining activists about tremendous atrocities, destruction and humanitarian catastrophe in Syria, they should answer a very simple question. Why around a million killed Syrians and more than 10 millions of Syrian displaced and refugees and undefined number of disappeared, tortured and raped Syrians besides a continued humanitarian disaster should affect the Arab regimes' 'business as usual' and the Arab League's normal condition? What is the relation or the connection ...

A meme putting the Iranian president in the seat of Syria at the Arab League.  One hard thing for political analysts and researchers when they find difficulty in understanding or analyzing some political development or course of action. A lot of ink has been spilled lately by political analysts and commentators trying to explain the unexpected and inexplicable decision of the Arab League to re-admit the Syrian regime after 12 years of suspension because of the atrocities committed by this regime against the Syrian people among other causes according to the suspension decision along with a started Arab normalization course with the Syrian regime. I am trying to explain this decision by spelling major reasonable causes and eventually derive the strategic significance of this political development.  - First thing to do here is to ask about what has changed in the context of the Syrian crisis and the suspension decision. The answer is nothing except for the military vi...

Once again, my empirical realistic perspective proves its competency and applicability. At the significance level, nothing exceptional can be inferred from the Iranian president's visit to Damascus should we apply conventional political analysis methodology. But this will not be the case if we put this visit in the context and perspective set by my latest related articles posted in the latest weeks. Starting from Iran's rising power in Syria and going through my conclusion about Iran's intention and plans to achieve a geopolitical change and advance its interests reaching to the realities of the changing Middle East accompanied by Iran's 'changer' role , we can transparently find out the significance and importance of this visit and its outcomes. - In general, through the lifespan of the Syrian war, there were no breakthroughs or considerable accomplishments at the level of state-to-state relations between Iran and Syria. Many agreements had been...

Admitting frustration over Saudi's China-brokered rapprochement with Iran and Syria's new deal after implicit denial of their significance or strategic nature is a very good first step provided that it be complemented with considering the fact of being consequences of US policies and checking and reviewing these failed policies.  I said it before, it is a strategic move and new deal:  Middle East’s New Era: China’s Prominence and the U.S. Retreat And it is a consequence of the US frustrating and failing policies: The Middle East Is Heading East: Ending the Western Era?

  Less than 3 months before this major development, I wrote this  commentary , which was faced with underestimation by many western fellow scholars. They wouldn't believe it considering the announced strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia as just tactical maneuver by Saudi Arabia the well-established US backyard ally for timely purposes and gains. This position was widely adopted by the US political and governmental circles as well. I can understand this western stance as a typical behavior because the leading powers along with their mentalities are usually reluctant to recognize and acknowledge ‘change’ that affects their supremacy in general. This  Chinese-backed agreement  constitutes a double blow to the US stand and interests in the Middle East in political terms for the following reasons. Firstly, China has shown and proved in the most practical and factual way that it has interests wide beyond the previously-established renown and accepted econom...

This may be the beginning of the end for the West's supremacy in the Middle East, especially for the United States. It is actually the harvest season for what the US policies has planted in the region, in particular the #Obama administrations' policies. We can't understand the current developments in the Middle East without getting back to Obama's policies there. Obama was the ultimate sponsor of the region's terror organizations, especially #ISIS and #al-Qaeda, which controlled northern Iraq and the most of Syria during his terms, and in the same time he was also the ultimate supporter of the Iranian regime, which controlled four Arab countries and Gaza strip as they publicly claim. #Biden administration is staying the course of course. Now we know that this is a natural policies of the US #Democrats and expect these results from Democratic administrations by default. In general, they betray their values and norms, particularly the liberal democracy and human right...