DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a sudden, unscheduled visit to Baghdad on May 7, 2019, meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham Salih. But he is also reported to have met a very senior Iranian official...
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
Iran has rejected pressures from Moscow and Beijing not to surge to dominate the Middle East. Where does this leave all the other players?
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
And how the Trump-Sisi summit marked a significant further decline in Washington’s influence in the region.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
The deep and intractable humanitarian morass of the Yemen conflict has diverted attention away from the broader strategic framework, with serious consequences.
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
Could the UK soon lose sovereignty over Diego Garcia? If so, the US would lose another key base in the Indo-Pacific. And how are Oman and Qatar planning for the future? Could the US even project force again into a major Afghan operation, or into Iraq?
HARDWARE, WEAPONRY & TECHNOLOGY
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
ECONOMICS & BUSINESS
US-Saudi and Saudi-PRC relations are a factor in continued US dollar dominance. Beijing is poised to become a major rival to the US for influence in Saudi Arabia, and this could become the hub of the launch of the renminbi as a global currency.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR