[Subsequent to e-mailing this piece to China Matters subscribers, I went back and added a paragraph about the "28 pages" and the legal jeopardy they might pose to Saudi Arabia in US courts, and some thoughts about the "anti-IS campaign" as a harbinger of a new US approach to pursuing limited goals in the region.... Read More

A year ago there was a certain amount of back and forth as to what it meant that Saudi Arabia had pushed Qatar out of the leadership position on Syria and whether the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was going to go along with the Syria peace process. I was of the opinion that the Kingdom... Read More

Is letting the government shut down going to get politicians in trouble? That’s the fond hope of Democrats watching the Tea Party-powered Obamacare tantrum in Congress. Maybe. Maybe not. During the War of 1812, the Madison administration let the whole capital get burned down and suffered minimal political damage. Instead, it was the hapless Federalists,... Read More