Middle East & North Africa Archive

Recent remarks by a prominent Saudi Arabian royal have fanned new fears that Iran’s advancing nuclear program could kick-start a nuclear arms race in the region. Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and the kingdom’s ex-intelligence chief, suggested that given the failure to denuclearize the Middle East, Saudi Arabia should also consider an arsenal of its own. “Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran,” he said during a Gulf security forum in Riyadh. “Therefore it is our duty toward our […]

On Nov. 28, the Turkish government reluctantly imposed comprehensive sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Turkish leaders are now calling for Assad to step down, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan comparing him to Hitler. Thus far, the Turkish government has relied on diplomatic, political and economic instruments to achieve its goals of regime change in Syria. But the possibility of active military intervention, though previously excluded and still unlikely, is becoming more plausible. Historically, relations between Turkey and Syria have been troubled, but they experienced a noticeable improvement since Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party […]

During a recent visit to Ottawa, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Canadian counterpart, Defense Minister Peter MacKay, announced that military cooperation agreements between Israel and Canada would be forthcoming by end of the year. In an email interview, Rex Brynen, a professor of political science at McGill University, discussed Canada-Israel relations. WPR: What is the recent history of Canada-Israel diplomatic, economic and security relations? Rex Brynen: While Canadian-Israeli ties have long been very friendly, there has been a marked shift to even closer relations under Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and recent Conservative governments. This has been manifest […]

African migrants believed to be bound for Italy have been arrested in Libya, but claim they were tricked.

Times are changing in the Eastern Mediterranean, defined for the purposes of this article as the area bounded to the north by Greece and Turkey, to the south by Egypt and to the east by the Levantine coast. The area has recently been the scene of several naval incidents sparked by the Arab-Israeli and related conflicts as well as by equally well-established tensions between Greece and Turkey, largely — but not wholly — over the divided island of Cyprus and related issues. As U.S. naval priorities shift and those of Europe decline, major offshore energy discoveries have raised tensions and […]

Recent reports from Syria of military defectors attacking an Air Force intelligence building in Hasrata highlight the growing likelihood that Syrian military sites will become a target in the country’s ongoing conflict. While no other similar attacks have been reported since then, the Hasrata incident illustrates the possibility of escalating instability within Syria’s military command, which could in turn lead to difficulties in controlling and securing Syrian military assets. In such a climate, Syria’s alleged chemical weapons program is cause for particular concern. The international community suspects Syria of having a comprehensive chemical weapons program that includes production and delivery […]

Israel reportedly test-fired a long-range missile in early November capable of hitting Iran. In an email interview, Dinshaw Mistry, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of “Containing Missile Proliferation,” discussed Israel’s missile capabilities. WPR: What is the current size of Israel’s ballistic missile arsenal (short- and mid-range missiles and ranges, and long-range ICBMs)? Dinshaw Mistry: Israel is believed to deploy at least several tens of Jericho ballistic missiles. In the 1970s, Israel developed and deployed the single-stage Jericho-1 missile, which had a range of 250-300 miles and could reach Israel’s immediate neighbors. In the 1980s […]

I had the pleasure of participating in France 24’s panel discussion program, The World This Week, last Friday. The other panelists were Time magazine’s Vivienne Walt, Newsweek and the Daily Beast’s Christopher Dickey and France 24’s Melissa Bell. Topics included Islamist electoral victories in Tunisia and Egypt, and the European debt crisis. Part one can be found here. Part two can be found here.

If national security flows from economic strength, then the ongoing global economic crisis is poised to strike at one of the more underappreciated tools in the security kit — the checkbook. We’re all familiar with the term “checkbook diplomacy.” But “checkbook security” has played a largely unsung role in America’s approach to national security over the past decade — from “buying off” Sunni insurgents in Iraq as part of the Surge to funding development projects in Afghanistan as part of the war effort to helping countries in Latin America and Africa improve their capabilities to fight drug traffickers and organized […]

Amateur video posted on a social media website purports to show the funeral of three residents of the Syrian town of Homs, while others hold an anti-regime demonstration.

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of Richard Weitz’s “Strategic Posture Review: Russia,” published in February 2009. In light of the imminent return of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency, it is worth revisiting the mixed legacy of his previous eight years in that office and highlighting the significant changes in the regional and global environment that have impacted Russia’s foreign and defense policies in the four years since he left it. Upon assuming office on May 7, 2000, Putin began a major campaign to restore the authority of the Russian presidency, which had waned under the […]

One of the most striking aspects of Turkey’s transformation in recent years came in its innovative approach to foreign relations. Ankara’s policy of “zero problems” with its neighbors not only had a catchy name and a low cost of implementation, it also seemed to work — but only for a brief time. Despite its initial promise, the idea of getting along with everyone in a complicated part of the world proved unworkable. Now, with that formula discredited and discarded, Ankara is busy looking for a new policy framework — a new overarching strategy to maximize influence in a time of […]