Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Amid rising terror threats, meaningful security sector reform risks being delayed indefinitely.
Questions clearly remain about whether the Obama approach in the Middle East reflects applied wisdom or over-learned lessons.
As Arab Gulf leaders turn down invitations to President Obama’s Camp David Summit, U.S.-Gulf relations appear to be approaching a new low.
Falling government revenues are pushing Bahrain’s government to implement economic reforms, but it will need to make political concessions to pursue long-term changes.
Amid a region beset by civil wars and terrorism, the Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council are facing growing challenges from an increasingly youthful population, aging rulers, economic pressures, and a new information environment.
Upcoming elections in Bahrain are likely to prompt more opposition protests, rather than providing a means of channeling and containing opposition activity.
Many Arab governments are fueling the very extremism they purport to fight and looking for U.S. cover. Washington should play the long game.
The contribution of Gulf Arab countries in the fight against the Islamic State should not be overstated and should be caveated with an awareness of the risks and costs—for both the Gulf regimes at home and U.S. interests in the region.
If the United States does not respond to Bahrain’s expulsion of U.S. diplomat Tom Malinowski, it will not just be interpreted as weakness by other countries, it will also damage America’s ability to conduct foreign policy.
Gulf states’ reasons for intervention in Syria are complex, and their policies are unpredictable and frequently contradictory.
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