Current Analysis Stuck (or Not) in a "Special Relationship" What to make of the anxieties surfacing [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/next-test-for-obama-soothing-the-saudis] in the press in advance of President Barack Obama’s stopover in Saudi Arabia? Is the US-Saudi “special relationship” [http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=10072] really Toby Jones • 3 min read
Current Analysis Romancing the Throne President Barack Obama plans an overnight stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 28-29 for a rendezvous with King ‘Abdallah. The enduring but always strange bedfellows [http://merip.org/mer/mer220/decline-not-fall-us-hegemony-middle-east] have been quarreling of late over Saudi Arabia’s bellig Sheila Carapico • 4 min read
Current Analysis In-Laws and Outlaws A jury today convicted on all counts Sulayman Abu Ghayth, a Kuwaiti preacher who made televised statements in support of al-Qaeda shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. As expected, war-on-terror liberals are seizing upon the outcome as proof that civilian courts are a superior alternative Darryl Li • 7 min read
Current Analysis The Diplomatic Dance with Iran A six-month diplomatic [http://www.dawn.com/news/1084989/iran-nuclear-deal-possible-in-six-months] dance with Iran is underway—each step as dainty as a minuet because any misstep is weighted with danger. The issue is Iran’s nuclear research program and the UN inspections that are taking place as a Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Sulayman Abu Ghayth's Last Stand It has been a dramatic week in a federal courtroom just off Foley Square in southern Manhattan, where the trial of Sulayman Abu Ghayth has been taking place. The Kuwaiti preacher and one-time confidant of Osama bin Laden was pulled off a plane while transiting through Jordan last year under mysterio Darryl Li • 4 min read
Current Analysis The First International Yemeni Film and Arts Festival March 18 was the third anniversary of what Yemeni “peaceful youth [http://merip.org/mer/mer269/demonstrators-dialogues-drones-dialectics]” call the Jum‘at al-Karama massacre, the day in 2011 when snipers opened fire on Friday of Dignity protesters in the space they had begun to call Midan al-Taghyir Annelle Sheline • 3 min read
Current Analysis Nowruz Mobarak It’s been a long, cold, snowy winter across much of the globe, so we thought we’d do something to celebrate spring. Nowruz is the traditional Persian new year’s holiday, observed in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdish lands and beyond where Persian culture has had an influence. A pre-Islamic holiday, Nowruz The Editors • 3 min read
Current Analysis A Darkly Intimate Thriller The first time I watched Omar [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2852406/], the latest Oscar-nominated work [http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/paradise-nows-understated-power] by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009463/?ref_=tt_ov_dr], I nearly leapt out of my seat as Max Weiss • 3 min read
Current Analysis Saudis' Mass Expulsions Putting Somalis in Danger In 2013, Mohamed, a 22-year old Somali, was making a living washing cars in Saudi Arabia. Late that year, due to increasing government pressure on employers of undocumented workers, he was fired. In December, after several weeks without a job, Mohamed handed himself over to the police. He spent the Laetitia Bader • 9 min read
Current Analysis Spring Break Reading Guide [/sites/default/files/200px-Adujivitam.jpg]For those fortunate enough to find a bit of time to read books not directly related to work over spring break or the summer, MERIP solicited recommendations from editors and contributors. Reading is often part of daily professional work, even a form of drud The Editors • 4 min read
Current Analysis Saudi Bullying of Qatar Just ahead of a planned state visit [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-plans-visit-to-saudi-arabia/2014/02/03/bd0463ec-8d03-11e3-95dd-36ff657a4dae_story.html] from President Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia is brandishing the threat [http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/saudi-arabi Sheila Carapico • 2 min read
Current Analysis Introducing the MERIP Blog's Guest Editors MERIP’s blog aims to complement our time-honored long-form analysis in Middle East Report and Middle East Report Online with a more spontaneous, ongoing conversation. MERIP’s blog is produced by our staff (Chris Toensing [http://www.merip.org/author/chris-toensing] and Amanda Ufheil-Somers [http://w The Editors • 1 min read
