MUST-READS

• Syria
  Photos: The battle for Kobane, revealed by U.N. satellite imagery

  Photos depicting the ongoing battle against the Islamic State are hard to come by, with many of the most prominent images often taken by the militants themselves. Since the world's focus shifted to the northern Syrian city of Kobane, a Kurdish haven located right next to the Turkish border, that has changed. There has been no shortage of dramatic footage, filmed from relative safety across the border in Turkey.

• Extremism
  Saudi extremist funding ‘has been stopped completely,’ claims Prince Alwaleed

  “Yes, we had a weakness over there, whereby some unfortunately some extremists in Saudi Arabia…did fund certain extremist elements in Syria. But Saudi Arabia has taken very strict rules to stop that from happening. And yes, right now all this has been stopped completely,” he said.

• ISIS and Iraq
  US stresses Iraq emphasis even as air strikes escalate against Isis in Syria

  The commander of the US war against the Islamic State (Isis) placed the Syria side of his cross-border campaign on the back burner on Friday and could not predict when Iraqi forces will recapture territory from the jihadist army. “Iraq is our main effort, and it has to be, and the things that we’re doing right now in Syria are being done primarily to shape the conditions in Iraq,” General Lloyd Austin, the commanding officer of US Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.

  • Air Force Times - One Month In, Mixed Reviews on Iraq, Syria Airstrikes
  • Bloomberg - Iraq Requests 800 More Hellfires to Combat Militants
  • Military Times - CENTCOM chief: Unclear when Iraqi army will be ready
  • Washington Post - Appointment of Iraq's new interior minister opens door to militia and Iranian influence
  • Asharq Alawsat - Arab League vows support for Iraq against ISIS
• U.S. Citizenship for Saudis
  Opinion: Why do Saudis want their children to become US citizens?

  Although we do not have the right to question their actions, Saudis who take their pregnant wives to deliver in America should weigh all aspects before taking this step.  When their children become Americans, they will be subject to the rules of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and they will have to pay taxes to the US government even if they are working in Saudi Arabia. They will also be subject to US laws with regard to matters, such as divorce and child custody. The US still continues to grant its nationality to anyone born there. Anyone born in any part of the US has the right to Social Security. They also enjoy the benefits of America’s care and attention if they are living in other countries.

• Yemen in Crisis
  Saudi Arabia Warns Against Incursions as Houthis Seize Post

  Saudi Arabia warned against any breach of its border after Shiite Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen seized a crossing point into the kingdom.

  • Yahoo - Dozens of Houthis protest at Saudi embassy in Yemen
• Water Projects
  Saudi’s NWC begins work on $480m water supply project

  National Water Company (NWC), the biggest water supplier in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, has begun the first phase of a SR1.8 billion ($480 million) project to achieve a sustainable water supply in Riyadh.

• Oman Projects
  Time to catch up to its neighbours: $145 billion worth of projects underway in Oman

  Oman’s projects market is set to receive a massive boost as the Sultanate ramps up its investment in turnkey projects over the next few years with 2015 witnessing an influx of up to $$26 billion in capital expenditure and pipeline opportunities including the latest Duqm developments valued at $12.5 billion and fisheries harbors valued at $13.6 billion respectively.

• Turkey and the UN
  UN Votes Against Turkey

  The vote not only denies Turkey one of the most prestigious and powerful positions in the entire international system — it's also a sign of how frustrated much of the world is with Ankara's trajectory, and how ineffective Iraq and Syria's northern neighbor now is at stating its case.

• US-Saudi
  Analysis: Saudi Arabia faces complex regional challenges

  Troubles abound for the Kingdom, but its strategic alliance with the US, however contradictory, has been affirmed by Islamic State's expansion, even as Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran is seen by the US as equally indispensable.

• Oil and World Politics
  Friedman: A Pump War?

  Is it just my imagination or is there a global oil war underway pitting the United States and Saudi Arabia on one side against Russia and Iran on the other?

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