6/29/12: In mid- June 2012, Second Line of Defense talked with Victor Gervais, a young French researcher who recently published his dissertation on the UAE military. Gervais had just returned from a two-week visit to the UAE when we discussed with him his perspectives on how the UAE leadership was…
6/12/12: The pride of the Israeli navy is rocking gently in the swells of the Mediterranean, with the silhouette of the Carmel mountain range reflected on the water's surface. To reach the Tekumah, you have to walk across a wooden jetty at the pier in the port of Haifa, and then…
By Richard Weitz Today’s Iraq is an aborted democracy that falls considerably short of the original U.S. goal of creating an attractive democratic, prosperous, ethically mixed country that partners with the United States to maintain regional stability and security. Iraq’s political leaders cannot cease feuding, wary investors hesitate to make…
by Richard Weitz The February 24 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program described many instances of Iranian obfuscation regarding its suspicious nuclear activities as well as noticeable increases in the quantity of enriched uranium that Iran is producing and stockpiling. As a result, the…
Key states in the Middle East are increasingly operating under the assumption that Iran will become a nuclear power and are bolstering their defenses to deal with the prospect of an emboldened Iran. In many ways, the UAE is the key state in shaping a comprehensive policy. UAE policy makers…
By Dr. Harald Malmgren 01/23/2012 - Iran is threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz. Newly tightening financial sanctions on Iran’s banks and its central bank are suffocating credit for Iran’s fuel imports and oil exports. Inside Iran there are widespread frantic efforts by businesses and people in the streets…
01/15/2012 by Richard Weitz Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent five-day, four-country Latin American tour, his fifth to the region as president, has been designed to bolster his reelection chances by showing his supposed global clout, achieve economic gains through bilateral deals, and circumvent international sanctions, which are becoming increasingly severe.…
01/15/2012 by Richard Weitz Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s failure to secure Chinese government support for imposing sanctions on Iran should come as no surprise. The Chinese government has long resisted sanctions that are not approved by the UNSC, which gives Beijing the right to veto them. And within the UNSC…
