Opinion & Analysis
Opinion articles and political analysis by Dr. Salem Alketbi on Gulf, Arab, Iranian and international affairs.
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Extremism
When Neighborhood Security Is National Security
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s September 29 visit to Riyadh was far from a routine meeting between two close…
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Why the Gulf needs a missile arsenal
Defense softens the blow. Only a credible ability to respond stops an adversary from testing the Gulf's limits again and…
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Israel
How Israel’s pager operation shattered Nasrallah’s aura of invincibility
The second anniversary of the pager operation is a reminder that the first thing to explode on September 17, 2024,…
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Israel
Jewish-Arab families show how Israeli identities are changing
A while back, I met an Israeli woman from a mixed family: one parent Jewish, the other Arab.
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When the State misleads itself
A lack of information seldom causes disastrous political decisions, though it remains one of the handiest excuses. Officials offer three…
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Israel
Israel’s October 7 lesson: How a state can survive in a volatile Middle East
In the Middle East, a state that desires peace cannot assume it will live in peace, and a state that…
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Iran
Strangling Iran: Will Trump’s endgame win out?
After nearly six months of war, Washington seems ready to move its fight with Iran into a new arena that…
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UAE
Abu Dhabi turns the economic screws on Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was not just being courteous when he spoke about the UAE’s decision to stop commercial…
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Iran
Iran’s regime is increasingly forced to defend itself at home
From the seething streets to the armed peripheries of the country, the signs are multiplying in Iran, and they are…
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UAE
Dubai built an economic empire Iran’s return cannot erase
Recently, an argument has emerged which maintains that the rise of Dubai and the Gulf states was closely tied to…
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