ABU DHABI [MENL] — The State Department has expressed concern over the prospects of anti-American unrest in Qatar.
Officials said after years of banning political activity, Qatar has decided to allow occasional political protests in the Gulf Cooperation Council state. They said these demonstrations could quickly turn into threats against Americans in the emirate.
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King Abdullah brushes aside the United States and seeks to take the lead in a strife-torn Middle East.
Yet now, say senior Saudi princes and members of the government, Abdullah has grown so angry and “emotional” about the disasters confronting the region that he’s decided to take on a new role. No longer will Saudi Arabia [...]

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The bullying, blustering bravado of the Iranians should not conceal the truth that Iran is massively vulnerable to international pressure. For example:
* Iran’s decrepit refineries cannot produce enough gasoline for Iranian drivers.
* Iran’s rusting industries, many of them state owned, depend heavily on parts and equipment [...]

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The US mechanism for keeping oil prices low was located in Saudi Arabia which could increase its output from 5 million barrels a day to 9 million to keep the global market in check. Saudi Arabia regularly helped America in the past, in particular, its two presidents, Carter and Bush Sr., on request. In 2004, [...]

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While Iran has the world’s second largest reserves of Natural gas and also one of the world’s largest reserves of oil the long term energy situation here is far from bright. This is the life line of its economy yet the Iranian government is investing surprisingly rather small sums in maintaining the infrastructure and [...]

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As anti-Americanism grows, China is learning the value of good PR and beating the United States at its own game.
Putin’s bear hug was no anomaly, and though done for good strategic reasons, also reflects Russian public opinion. Even as relations between Moscow and Washington continue to sour, China is growing more popular than ever; a [...]

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A new port is a boon locally, a potential military asset for Beijing and a worry to the U.S.
GWADAR, PAKISTAN — Along a scenic beach where fishermen mend their nets by hand, an endless row of storefronts stretches into the distance, all selling the same thing. Not sunscreen, umbrellas or cold drinks. Land.
Never mind that [...]

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The 15 “European” hostages aren’t making that much news in “Europe.” And, insofar as they have, other “Europeans” — i.e., Belgians, Germans and whatnot — don’t look on the 15 hostages as “Europeans” but as Brits. Europe has more economic leverage on Iran than America has. The European Union is the Islamic Republic’s biggest trading [...]

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The Shia Revival - How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future
An editors’ choice pick in the New York Times, which calls the book “a fast-moving, engaging, and ultimately unnerving book.”
As nations around the world struggle with the threat of militant Islam, Vali Nasr, one of the leading scholars on the Middle East, provides us [...]

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A great number of books have appeared in recent years focusing on relations between Taiwan and China. Most, if not all, have one thing in common: the narrative adopts a US-centric perspective. While the authors agree that Taiwan needs to be protected from Chinese political intrusion or military aggression, their exploration of the consequences of [...]

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The longstanding U.S.-South Korea alliance, more than five decades old, has gone through a difficult period as of late. Among the many issues bedeviling this once solid relationship: disagreement over how to handle Pyongyang following this summer’s missile tests, a generational divide in opinion on the alliance and the U.S. military presence which underpins it, [...]

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Beijing’s modern war machine is closing rapidly on its 2050 target.
A dramatic increase in the number of submarines being built in southeast Asia has sparked claims that a new arms race is under way beneath the waves in the Western Pacific.
Dozens of hunter-killers, armed with missiles and intelligence-gathering equipment, are being built, fanning fears of [...]

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