Could Gulf tensions lead to Iran-US war?
A surge of tensions in the Gulf has shown the risk of a military confrontation between arch-foes Iran and the United States, even if any conflict would likely be marked…
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
“Visions” are proliferating in the Arab sheikhdoms for quite sometime. The UAE embarked on “Vision 2021”, Qatar unfolded “National Vision 2030”, Kuwait unveiled “Vision 2035”, and Oman came up with “Vision…
The West owes Qatar a favour over Afghanistan. That was the point
Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world’s top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the…
Scenarios for Afghanistan with foreign troops all but gone
With the United States military presence in Afghanistan effectively over, the country faces an uncertain future with Taliban attacks rampant and the threat of civil war looming. Fears are growing…
Arabs ease Assad’s isolation as US looks elsewhere
While Bashar al-Assad is still shunned by the West who blame him for a decade of brutal war in Syria, a shift is under way in the Middle East where…
Filling a vacuum
Exactly 20 years ago, on October 7, the world’s only superpower, the US, along with its global allies, launched massive air strikes on the war-torn country of Afghanistan. During the…
Pakistan’s viable Afghan policy
It is no surprise that Pakistan's two top security officials are in the US to meet with their counterparts to discuss future cooperation in Afghanistan. The current state of Pakistan-India…
Durable peace in Afghanistan
While American troops have already begun leaving Afghanistan, as announced by US President Biden, the dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghan government regarding reconciliation and future political arrangement seems…
After the carnage?
As Israel continues to relentlessly bomb Palestinian homes for the second week across the nominally independent Gaza strip, the immediate fallout from the ongoing carnage hardly matters. Israel’s Prime Minister…
Shockwaves out of UAE
UNMARRIED men and women may live together, alcohol restrictions are gone, and honour killings will be judged a crime just as any other. This official decree took effect last week in the…
