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  • U.S. Defense Policy
    John McCain Poised to Control Senate’s Defense Policy

    As committee chairman, McCain would have an influential role in spearheading defense policy from Capitol Hill. That includes the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that outlines defense policy and tells the Pentagon what it can and can't spend money on. He'll also gain a megaphone to voice his frequent opposition to the Obama administration on military and national security issues. On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby downplayed any concerns over McCain gaining the top spot, but, at least publicly, the senator's relationship with the Pentagon has been rocky.

  • Faisal Al-Saud
    A new king in Saudi Arabia: November 1964

    Among numerous modernising reforms, Faisal established a new judicial system, abolished slavery, backed industrial development and introduced free health care. He built schools, hospitals, orphanages, airports and roads. He encouraged the development of women’s education in Saudi Arabia and of television, though cinema remained banned. At the same time he was a leading opponent of Israel and supporter of Palestinian nationalism, hugely admired in the Arab world, while skilfully keeping on good terms with the United States.

  • Entrepreneurship
    Want to push the MENA forward? Work for an entrepreneur

    As new programs in the region teach young people about the merits of starting a business, they also need to position working with a startup as a viable career choice. The two are symbiotic and the full potential of each track cannot be realized without the other. Moving forward, here are two recommendations to help shape efforts supporting entrepreneurship amongst youth:

  • France-Lebanon
    France, Lebanon sign Saudi-funded arms deal

    This deal will help to ensure the army’s mission to defend its territory and to fight terrorism at a time when Lebanon is threatened,” Fabius said.

  • Oil Slump
    Saudi Arabia is not declaring a volume war (yet)

    Some commentators have interpreted the U.S. price cuts as a signal the kingdom is initiating a deliberate price-war targeting U.S. shale producers. The reality is more complex.

  • U.S. Oil Exports
    BHP to sell Texas oil overseas without formal U.S. approval

    A major energy company will soon sell U.S. oil abroad without explicit permission from the U.S. government, another sign that the decades-old federal ban on crude exports is crumbling. BHP Billiton’s BHP, -1.68% BHP, -0.10% BLT, +0.00%  deal to sell about $50 million of ultralight oil from Texas to foreign buyers without formal government approval is likely to be only the first of many such moves as energy companies seek new markets and higher prices for the surge of crude now pumped in the U.S.

  • Religion and Violence
    Book Review: Karen Armstrong’s Fields of Blood: Is Religion Inherently Violent?

    All of Armstrong's arguments come back to the same basic point: It's impossible to explain contemporary or historical violence solely through religion. "Muslim fundamentalism ... has often—though again, not always—segued into physical aggression," she writes. "This is not because Islam is constitutionally more prone to violence than Protestant Christianity, but rather because Muslims had a much harsher introduction to modernity." (Here, she dates modernity to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.) In other words: Even religious history has to be read through the narrative lens of politics.

  • Lebanon
    Rivals Tehran, Riyadh pledge billions to Lebanon’s army

    Late last year, Riyadh agreed to give $3 billion worth of French-made weapons to Lebanon’s military at a still-unspecified date. It also granted $1 billion in emergency aid to the country’s military and intelligence agencies in August after militants linked to extremists in Syria briefly captured the Lebanese border town of Arsal. Combined, the pledges amount to more than double the military’s estimated annual budget. During a visit to Beirut in September, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, responded with an arms offer from Tehran. According to Lebanese media reports, that consists primarily of antitank weapons, artillery and heavy machine guns.

  • India and Pakistan
    A Suicide Bomber Attacks the Border of India and Pakistan

    Two Pakistani Taliban groups have claimed responsibility for the attack: Jamaat ul-Ahrar, which recently splintered from the Pakistani Taliban, and Jundallah, a veteran terrorist group whose bombing of a church in Peshawar killed 127 last year. In remarks to Dawn, a Pakistani news service, Jamaat ul-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed that the bombing was in retaliation for Pakistan's anti-jihadist military operations near the country's border with Afghanistan.

  • Sunni Arab Coordination
    Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance

    Talks on an alliance against extremists are well advanced, the Egyptian officials said. But the further idea of forming a joint force is more distant, and there are differences among the countries over the size of any force, funding and headquarters, and over whether to seek Arab League or U.N. political cover for operations, one of the Egyptian officials said. Past attempts at a pan-Arab military force have fallen apart. Still, even if no joint force is agreed on, the alliance would coordinate military action, aiming at quick, pinpoint operations against militants rather than longer missions, the officials said.