
Netanyahu Stumbles Before Election as UAE Deal-Signing Blocked
$10 billion for trains, ports, and pipelines was supposed to show off his peacemaking prowess.

The Libya Allergy
The 2011 Libyan intervention pitched the region into a decade of chaos and undermined U.S. confidence in the wisdom of using military force to save lives.

Biden Must Base Arms Sales on U.S. Interests—Not U.S. Jobs
Exporting advanced weapons systems to the Middle East will create very few jobs at home. Washington must base its decisions on national security strategy rather than domestic politics.

The Middle East’s Progressive Darling Abuses Its Women
What the harrowing saga of a Dubai princess reveals about her country’s international reputation.

The Conflict in Libya Is Getting Even Messier
A U.N. report suggests the UAE is using Sudanese fighters to battle the internationally recognized Libyan government.

The Qatar Blockade Is Over, but the Gulf Crisis Lives On
Efforts at regional reconciliation have done nothing to address the core differences that divide Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Qatar Is Using the Palestinians to Assert Its Regional Influence
It probably won’t work out well for either party.

Among the Unanticipated Outcomes of the U.S. Election: A Palestinian One
Abbas agrees to face voters more than a decade after his term expired.

For Modi, Courting the Arab World Begins With India’s Muslims
India’s tricky regional balance of power isn’t made any easier by sectarian tensions.

Israel and the Emirates Are the Middle East’s New Best Friends
The Abraham Accords didn’t just seal a wary detente. It cemented Israel’s first regional partnership.

Red Card for Emirati Royal’s Soccer Diplomacy?
A peculiar deal that symbolized the entente between Israel and the UAE could get nixed.

Palestinians Place Their Bets on Biden Undoing Trump’s Snubs
The shifting ground in the Middle East is creating new options for breaking the stalemate.

How Arab Ties With Israel Became the Middle East’s New Normal
Though Israel remains opposed to Palestinian independence, 2020 marked the year of its acceptance in the region.

Senate Effort to Stop Trump Arms Sales to UAE Fails
But the vote laid down a marker for the incoming Biden administration on Democrats’ opposition to Middle Eastern arms sales and U.S. involvement in the conflict in Yemen.

Pentagon Says UAE Possibly Funding Russia’s Shadowy Mercenaries in Libya
The Defense Department’s inspector general found that the United Arab Emirates is financing Russian Wagner Group mercenaries—just as Trump aims to sell the UAE billions of dollars worth of arms.

Trump’s Parting Gift to Biden: A More Stable Middle East
He was successful because only an iconoclastic president could have rejected false assumptions and failed strategies.

Sudan Will Decide the Outcome of the Ethiopian Civil War
As Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed goes to war against Ethiopia’s former rulers—the Tigray People’s Liberation Front—Khartoum’s moves will determine whether the conflict remains a local affair or a regional conflagration.