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Iran builds pearl roundabout monument on disputed island
I can’t believe that I missed this when the story first broke. Evidently the Iranians have a super sense of high mirth and constructed a fake ‘pearl roundabout’ as a monument to the epicenter of the...
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On Iran and the GCC
The Guardian have published an article of mine on the GCC fixation with Iran. Despite a bit of butchery with the editing robbing my opening sentence of its mojo, it is still, I feel, worth a read!
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WSJ article on Iran and Bahrain
I have written on numerous occasions about Iran and Bahrain (here here and here). I am neither Bahraini nor Iranian. Nor do I have a gripe with either side. Nor am I a dyed in the wool conservative or...
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British Embassy in Bahrain attacked?
A small bomb went off near the British Embassy in Bahrain’s capital Manama. The relatively small device went off underneath a bus parked 50 meters away from the Embassy. Some points to note: This...
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Gulf Disunion
The following article appeared in Foreign Policy magazine online on the 2nd May 2012. … The leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab...
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The Gulf Union that Never Was
The following article appeared on RUSI.org on 17 May 2012. ___ The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council met on 14 May in Riyadh to discuss the formation of a new Gulf Union. This Union was to entail...
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On Bahrain & RUSI
My views on the current problems in Bahrain are clear. They appeared in the Guardian at the end of last year and they are not flattering. Allow me to quote the opening paragraph: To paraphrase the...
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Of KSA and the Gulf Union
I wrote the following article for e-International Relations on KSA and the Gulf Union, but this time with extra subtle literary allusion. __ In mid-December 2011 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called...
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Qatar is not Bahrain or Kuwait
The following article appeared on Dohanews.co last week … While media outlets find it convenient and practical to generalize when it comes to reporting on “The Gulf” or the now 24-month-long “Arab...
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How personal politics drive conflict in the Gulf
The following article can be found on Steven Cook’s blog over at the Council on Foreign Relations. … “I love all the countries of the Gulf, and they all love me.” With this less than subtle statement,...
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