The following is the Oct. 11, 2017 Congressional Research Service report Arms Sales in the Middle East Trends and Analytical Perspectives for U.S. Policy. Read More
Tag Archives: israel
Former Diplomat: Middle East on the Edge of Political, Social Implosion
Nabil Fahmy, then Dean at the School of Public Affairs, American University in Cairo in 2011. Chatham House Photo
One of the Middle East’s foremost diplomats warned the region remains on the precipice of implosion — split along sectarian, cultural and political lines. Read More
Randy Forbes: U.S. Needs Ways to Talk About China Strategically
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Naval Institute Photo
The Chinese “have got a right to talk about” their destiny to be a powerful nation, but “what about our destiny,” the chairman of a key House Armed Services Committee asked Tuesday. Read More
Agent Who Caught Jonathan Pollard: ‘He Should Stay in Jail’
File photo of Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan Pollard, the former intelligence analyst who stole more than a million pages of classified documents and sold them to Israel “should stay in jail,” Ron Olive, the federal agent who caught him, told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Opinion: Playing Deal or No Deal with Iran
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as he arrives at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2014, for a second day of meetings about the future of his country’s nuclear program. US State Dept. Photo
The Art of War says “Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.” Forty-seven members of the U.S. Senate seemed to have forgotten this timeless truth from the ancient war theorist Sun Tzu. Examining how well we know the enemy (Iran), and how well we know ourselves, is always a good place to start before taking actions that many believe are setting a course for war. Read More
Opinion: Cowboys and Iranians
By cutting through some of the noise surrounding the most recent debate over Iran — spurred by Benjamin Netanyahu’s pending speech before Congress — two schools of thought emerge that fall into the classic geopolitical camps of hawks and doves. Read More
Egyptian Patrol Craft Attacked by Ships with Possible Ties to Terrorist Arms Trade
An undated photo of Egyptian patrol craft.
Eight Egyptian sailors are missing after a Wednesday clash with four vessels that could have been supplying arms to Islamist terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Read More
Former Agent: Convicted Spy Pollard Never Asked for Parole
Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has never once asked for parole since he was eligible, one of the government agents who caught Pollard told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Opinion: Why Saudi Arabia and Israel Have Teamed Up Against Iran
As negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland work out the final details for an agreement that will allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to Iran’s nuclear facilities in return for relief of some of the economic sanctions on Iran, hawks in Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh have come together in opposition to the proposed deal. The P5+1 diplomatic initiative (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) reached an initial agreement with Iran in November. Read More
Jane’s: Saudi Missile Site Could Hit Israel, Iran
An alleged ballistic missile site outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jane’s Photo
Saudi Arabia appears to have a previously undisclosed ballistic missile site possessing launch sites oriented toward Israel and Iran, according to an analysis of satellite images from Jane’s Defence Weekly.
The site — believed to use Chinese DF-3 ballistic missiles acquired by Saudi Arabia in the 1980s — is about 125 miles southwest of the capital of Riyadh near the town of Al-Watah.
According to the report, one launch pad is oriented toward Israeli targets — including Tel Aviv — while a second pad is set to send missiles in the direction of Tehran. Read More
