Commentary

Saudi Arabia has come under intense scrutiny in recent months. Much of it centers on its more assertive and less accommodating foreign policy, as manifested in its unprecedented military campaign in Yemen. The shift in Saudi regional policy has spawned the sudden popularity of two narratives in the Western press, think tanks and even some...

Blink twice, and Yemen’s all-but-forgotten war — news of which is buried under grim headlines about Syria and terrorism and Middle East migrants — will be into its second year. On March 26, 2015, a coalition of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia began an air campaign designed to restore Yemen’s legitimate government and force...

One can readily understand why Saudi Arabia suspended a $3 billion (Dh11bn) aid package for the Lebanese Armed Forces to purchase French weapons, and cancelled outright an additional $1 billion in support for Lebanese internal security. But if no alternative or additional means are found to bolster Riyadh’s allies in Lebanon, the move could prove problematic.

Tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia are becoming a disturbingly prominent feature of political discourse in the two countries. Saudi commentators loudly complain about abandonment and betrayal by Washington, while unease about, and indeed resentment of, Riyadh is gaining ground in American analysis.

The closing of Al Jazeera America, expected in April, is a sad conclusion to a project that was by turns uplifting and inspiring as well as troubling and depressing. Its demise offers a lesson in both the limitations of public diplomacy and the obstacles to providing high-quality television journalism. Al Jazeera America was the latest, and perhaps...

As with much of the rest of the world, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including the UAE, view cybersecurity as a crucial priority. Given the increasing revolution in information technology, cybersecurity joins defence and water, food and energy security as a core national security imperative. To help enhance cybersecurity, the Arab Gulf States...

Is Saudi Arabia really preparing to send ground troops into Syria? When Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said on February 4 that Riyadh was willing to contribute ground troops or special forces to any international initiative to combat ISIL in Syria, most observers dismissed the idea. But this past week the logic of these statements has...

Amid uncertainty over whether U.N.-sponsored talks will take place in Geneva on Friday, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) – representing 35 opposition groups – insists it will not participate unless the Syrian regime stops its barrel-bombings and starvation policies against rebel-held areas. The regime’s denial of humanitarian organizations from providing basic supplies to rebel-held areas...