From the category archives:

GCC

NEWS & ANALYSIS: The Iranian threat

January 13, 2008

Saudi cannot be launchpad for Iran attack: report
AFP, January 12, 2008
A leading Saudi newspaper on Saturday ruled out any attempt by the United States to use the oil-rich Gulf kingdom as a launchpad for a possible war on Iran over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
Two days before a visit to Saudi Arabia by US President George [...]

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ANALYSIS: Pumping up the Iranian threat

January 10, 2008

Degrees of confidence on U.S.-Iran naval incident
By Mike Nizza, New York Times, January 10, 2008
The list of those who are less than fully confident in the Pentagon’s video/audio mashup of aggressive maneuvers by Iranian boats near American warships in the Strait of Hormuz now includes the Pentagon itself.
Unnamed Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that the [...]

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NEWS & OPINION: Mismeasuring regional dynamics

January 4, 2008

Why U.S. strategy on Iran is crumbling
By Marc Lynch, Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2008
‘Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Gulf dignitaries in Bahrain last month. But in reality, everywhere you turn, from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to Egypt, you now see [...]

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NEWS: Gulf states oppose military threats against Iran; Gates say danger persists

December 9, 2007

Gulf countries speak out against military option in Iran
By Ali Khalil, AFP, December 8, 2007
Gulf countries, cautious about the nuclear standoff between the United States and Iran, signalled loudly at a regional security conference on Saturday their opposition to any military option against Tehran.
Washington, wrong-footed by its own National Intelligence Estimate in its accusations that [...]

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ANALYSIS, OPINION & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Iran’s new Arab friends

December 7, 2007

Iran’s new Gulf friends
By Martin Walker, UPI, December 5, 2007
A curious event took place in the Gulf as the new National Intelligence Estimate appeared in Washington, undermining the Bush administration’s threats and angry rhetoric by revealing that Iran had suspended in nuclear weapons program back in 2003.
The arch-demon of President Bush’s rhetoric, Iran’s President Mahmoud [...]

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