Steven A. Cook

From the Potomac to the Euphrates

Cook examines developments in the Middle East and their resonance in Washington.

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Showing posts for "Saudi Arabia"

Weekend Reading: Lebanon and Iran in Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and Rock Like an Egyptian

by Steven A. Cook
A man reads El-Watan newspaper at Tahrir square in Cairo, May 12, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters). A man reads El-Watan newspaper at Tahrir square in Cairo, May 12, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters).

Thanassis Cambanis claims that Lebanon’s Hizballah and the clerical regime in Iran are now fully vested factions in Syria’s civil war.

Hicham Mourad discusses the uneasy relationship between Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the leaders in Saudi Arabia. Read more »

Weekend Reading: Israel’s Defense, Saudi’s Trials, and Egypt’s War on Women

by Steven A. Cook
Muslim children read verses from the Koran at al-Amin mosque, in downtown Beirut, during the holy month of Ramadan (Jamal Saidi/Courtesy Reuters). Muslim children read verses from the Koran at al-Amin mosque, in downtown Beirut, during the holy month of Ramadan (Jamal Saidi/Courtesy Reuters).

Brent Sasley compares former Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to the newcomer in the position, Moshe Ya’alon.

The Saudi Twittersphere is stirring in reaction to the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) Trial. Read more »

Weekend Reading: Saudi Tweets, Ennahda’s Decline, and Ramadan’s Odd Missive

by Steven A. Cook
A clergyman sits at his bookshop in Tabriz historic market, 633 km (393 miles) northwest of Tehran (Morteza Nikoubazl/Courtesy Reuters). A clergyman sits at his bookshop in Tabriz historic market, 633 km (393 miles) northwest of Tehran (Morteza Nikoubazl/Courtesy Reuters).

An interview with anonymous Twitter user @Mujtahidd, who has been tweeting provocative things about Saudi Arabia’s rulers.

An article from Muftah, discussing the declining credibility of Tunisia’s Ennahda party. Read more »

Weekend Reading: Egypt’s Other Dialogue, Libya’s Revolution, and Saudi’s “Code”

by Steven A. Cook
Cars drive past parliamentary election campaign posters at a roundabout in central Amman (Ali Jarekji/Courtesy Reuters). Cars drive past parliamentary election campaign posters at a roundabout in central Amman (Ali Jarekji/Courtesy Reuters).

Nour Youssef on The Arabist offers her thoughts on the recent dialogue held between Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef and al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya member Nageh Ibrahim. Read more »

Meet the New Boss

by Steven A. Cook
Shite Muslim supporters of the Imamia Student Organization (ISO) shout slogans as they burn a U.S. flag during an anti-American demonstration in Peshawar (Fayaz Aziz/Courtesy Reuters). Shite Muslim supporters of the Imamia Student Organization (ISO) shout slogans as they burn a U.S. flag during an anti-American demonstration in Peshawar (Fayaz Aziz/Courtesy Reuters).

This article was originally published here on ForeignPolicy.com on Friday, September 14, 2012

The attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, this Sept. 11 echoed the worst moments of American impotence in the Middle East. They not only evoked memories of Iranian revolutionaries storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran almost 33 years ago, but their occurrence on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington further reminded Americans of the deep roots of anti-American rage in the Arab world. Read more »

Weekend Reading: Saudi Revolutionaries, Tunisia’s Constitution, and the SCAF Speaks

by Steven A. Cook
A man reads a newspaper at a street kiosk in downtown Tunis (Louafi Larbi/Courtesy Reuters). A man reads a newspaper at a street kiosk in downtown Tunis (Louafi Larbi/Courtesy Reuters).

On Jadaliyya, an interview with Saudi revolutionaries.

Tunisia Live gives an English translation of the final draft of the preamble to Tunisia’s 2012 constitution. Read more »

Weekend Reading: Action, but No Reaction in Syria, Morocco’s “Miracle,” and Cairo-Riyadh Blues

by Steven A. Cook
An Egyptian youth reads a newspaper in a cafe in Cairo (Suhaib Salem/Courtesy Reuters). An Egyptian youth reads a newspaper in a cafe in Cairo (Suhaib Salem/Courtesy Reuters).

Itamar Rabinovich says the United States is substituting symbolic action for real action in Syria–at the detriment of the Syrian people.

Aboubakr Jamai explains the Moroccan “miracle” of mild authoritarianism. Read more »

Don’t Fear a Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East

by Steven A. Cook
Iran's President Ahmadinejad speaks during a ceremony at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility (Caren Firouz/Courtesy Reuters) Iran's President Ahmadinejad speaks during a ceremony at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility (Caren Firouz/Courtesy Reuters)

This article was originally published here on ForeignPolicy.com on Monday, April 3, 2012. 

On March 21, Haaretz correspondent Ari Shavit wrote a powerful op-ed in the New York Times that began with this stark and stunning claim: “An Iranian atom bomb will force Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt to acquire their own atom bombs.” Indeed, it has become axiomatic among Middle East watchers, nonproliferation experts, Israel’s national security establishment, and a wide array of U.S. government officials that Iranian proliferation will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. President Barack Obama himself, in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) last month, said that if Iran went nuclear, it was “almost certain that others in the region would feel compelled to get their own nuclear weapon.” Read more »