On the U.S. Elections

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Source: Reddit Sebastian Castelier of Al-Monitor has a good roundup of different reactions from a few Saudi commentators. Abdulrahman al-Rashed has taken up the prospects of a Biden administration for the Gulf in a trio of op-eds, leading off with an emphasis on the enduring importance of the US-Saudi relationship. Contrary to what the anti-Saudi … Continue reading On the U.S. Elections →

Popular Boycott of Turkish Goods

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Symbol used for the "Boycott Turkish Goods" campaign on Twitter This all kicked off with a speech from Turkey's President Erdogan to the Turkish parliament on October 1, which included reference to: The rulers of some countries in the region [who] pursued, in self-denial, policies that do not comply with wisdom, logic, and conscience, are … Continue reading Popular Boycott of Turkish Goods →

Bandar bin Sultan Interview (10/2020)

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Bandar bin Sultan with George W Bush, 2002 (White House photo) A recent media interview by Prince Bandar bin Sultan has attracted considerable media attention and commentary, not the least from analysts seeking to read the tea leaves about when, exactly, Saudi Arabia might normalize relations with Israel. Bandar appeared on Al-Arabiya, a station run … Continue reading Bandar bin Sultan Interview (10/2020) →

The Abraham Accord

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Emirati Presidential Palace, Abu Dhabi Gulf/Saudi reactions to the "Abraham accord" normalizing relations between the UAE and Israel - my time is limited, so this post will be a work in progress (updated with column from Abdelrahman al-Rashed, 8.15.2020 + further columns, 8.16.2020 + further columns 8.24.2020). Saudi papers in general have seemed uncertain how … Continue reading The Abraham Accord →

Football, Yemen and More

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Newcastle United Football Club flag. Source. Newcastle Deal Last week the efforts of the Public Investment Fund to participate in the takeover of UK football club Newcastle United fell apart, mainly due to the lingering fallout over Saudi Arabia's tolerance and likely creation of a pirated version of Qatari sports broadcaster BeIN Sports. The dominant … Continue reading Football, Yemen and More →

Omnibus (May and June 2020)

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Saudi Flag on mountainside, author photo, Ad-Dayr, Jazan, KSA (Oct. 2019) It's been more difficult than I thought to keep up with this, so this is a fairly haphazard dump of links to commentary for the past month or so. Qatar 3 years on from the start of the Gulf rift, double-header op-eds from leading … Continue reading Omnibus (May and June 2020) →

Workers, Finance woes, and Israel (May 1-7)

Posted on by Andrew Leber

Foreign workers Saudi papers and media outlets have seen an uptick in discussions of foreign workers - probably concerns over Saudi citizens' employment once the economy starts to open up again + reported COVID-19 cases being disproportionately among expatriate workers in the Kingdom. These have ranged from fairly neutral discussions of statistics and labor markets … Continue reading Workers, Finance woes, and Israel (May 1-7) →

Coronavirus

Posted on by Andrew Leber

COVID-19 (U.S. Department of State) Government Reactions and Commentary [Update] The government has announced a wave of flight cancellations, although airlines have been left to fill in the details for many cases: First, several MENA destinations along with South Korea and Italy: https://twitter.com/KSAmofaEN/status/1236782999934509056 Then several European destinations, including Germany and France as well as Turkey … Continue reading Coronavirus →