MUST-READS

• Saudi-Egypt
  Reversing the Revolution: Mubarak’s Court Case Vindicates the Saudi Strategy on Egypt

  The Saudi royal family undoubtedly welcomed the decision to drop the charges against Hosni Mubarak as a vindication of their strategy to reverse the 2011 revolution in Egypt and restore authoritarian military rule over their most important Arab ally.

  • Arab News - Egypt gets 64.9% more Saudi tourists during first 10 months
  • Saudi Gazette - Investors' confidence key to Egypt resurgence
  • The Guardian - Protests erupt in Egypt after Hosni Mubarak charges dropped
  • USA Today - Egypt militant group says it killed U.S. oil worker
  • Middle East Briefing - Mubarak, the Islamic Revolution and the Future of Egypt
• Photography
  4 Eyes, 2 Lenses: Visual Narratives Of Saudi Arabia

  Fedele, who spent almost 8 years in Saudi Arabia, and Turner, who recently visited the country for the first time, will combine their long term and spontaneous impressions of this colorful land through a photography exhibition called "4 Eyes, 2 Lenses: Visual Narratives of Saudi Arabia."

• Turkey and ISIS
  Turkey, US Agree to Train and Arm Syrian Opposition

  A senior Turkish diplomat said the Turkish and US positions on Syria are not yet 100 percent convergent, but US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Turkey last week helped iron out critical differences of opinion. “We are confident that our American allies are pleased with the progress of talks on Syria,” the diplomat said. “We hope further meetings will produce more solid outcomes.”

• Chuck Hagel
  Chuck Hagel stepping down as Defense chief under pressure, Times says

  The Times said that replacements were already under consideration: “Michele Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense; Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island and a former officer with the Army’s 82nd Airborne; and Ashton Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense.” Hagel was in the position for less than two years, and the Times suggested that he had never really fit in after a bruising confirmation fight in the Senate.

• U.S. - Iraq
  Iraqi premier, US look to aid Islamic State battle

  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered more aerial support and weapons for both soldiers and Sunni militiamen battling the Islamic State group in Anbar province, where Ramadi is the provincial capital. The U.S. and Iraqi governments have been working to woo Sunni tribesmen to support the fight, proposing the establishment of a national guard program that will include arming and paying loyal tribesmen.

  • Washington Post - Stopping an Awakening in Iraq before it can start
• US-Saudi
  Kerry, Saudi FM hold talks in Vienna

  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal held a meeting in Vienna with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday to discuss updates on nuclear talks with Iran, Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported.

• War in Syria
  Living in War-Torn Syria

  For more than three years now, Syrians have endured the loss and hardship caused by a protracted civil war. At the moment, Syrian government forces are fighting several rebel groups spread throughout the country, as well as ISIS, the militant group attempting to form a new state carved out of Syria and Iraq. The smaller rebel groups are fighting each other, and just about everyone in the region is fighting ISIS, assisted by airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led coalition.

• Tunisia
  Tunisia’s Islamists get sobering lesson in governing

  On a recent warm evening, hundreds of men and women were mingling outside the offices of Tunisia’s Islamist party. They were singing and cheering. They were waving little red-and-white Tunisian flags. It looked as if they had just won an election.

• Afghanistan
  What’s the Plan? The NATO Coalition in Afghanistan

  During my recent trip to Afghanistan, there was a constant theme throughout all of our meetings and briefings: disagreement with stated U.S. plans to remove all of its troops from theater by the end of 2016. While I fully expected to hear some apprehension voiced in certain circles, I was struck by the unanimity of this sentiment across the spectrum of our interactions.

• GCC Politics
  Saudi Arabia leans on Gulf states to close ranks as region boils

  "GCC disunion was probably deemed as too dangerous by Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries for the stability of the region," said Jean-Marc Rickli, assistant professor at the department of defense at King’s College London, based in Doha. The Gulf's Sunni Muslim dynasties also want to counter Iran, which they regard as an expansionist Shi'ite power bent on exporting its Islamic revolution to the Arab world.

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