السياسة العربية والإسلامية

Does Obama still have pull over Riyadh when the king's point man -- Prince Bandar -- is pulling the strings from afar?

King Abdullah's appointment of Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, his half-brother, as deputy crown prince could marginalize Crown Prince Salman.

The kingdom will have a raft of complaints for the president when he visits Riyadh.

Two former U.S. ambassadors to Ankara joined the head of NATO LANDCOM and the author of a new book on Turkey to discuss the AKP government's foreign and domestic policies. Read a summary or watch video.

The withdrawal of several ambassadors from Qatar is a setback to U.S. diplomacy with Gulf allies and another item for President Obama's upcoming meeting with the Saudi king.

Cairo's possible purchase of advanced weapons systems from Russia could become another irritant in U.S.-Egyptian relations.

The president's approach to recent crises shows an emphasis on the feasibility of successfully intervening, so he may yet decide to take action in Syria if his assessment of the stakes changes.

The military chief has some strong assets and likely staying power, but he will still face great pressure if he is elected as anticipated, since the benchmark for success will be his ability to satisfy an Egyptian polity filled with unrealistically high socioeconomic expectations.

A fatal shootout involving security forces and Shiites coincides with a change in the kingdom's intelligence leadership.