Topic: Persian Gulf

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Blast-off: 6 recent missile advances

Missiles have been prominent in the news with India’s successful test, North Korea’s failed one, and much talk of missile defense systems in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Here are six recent noteworthy missile-technology advances.
Six reasons to keep America as No. 1 superpower

Many around the world say American decline would preserve global stability through a better balance of power. They’re wrong, says Steve Yetiv, a political science professor at Old Dominion University. It’s not that other countries or international institutions can’t play vital roles. They do. But they can't yet do what Washington does around the world, Yetiv says. Here he gives six examples.
5 countries with the longest ongoing US sanctions

Sanctions are once again leading the news with trade embargoes tightening around Iran and debates over whether to loosen US restrictions on Cuba and Myanmar.
Getting the Strait of Hormuz straight: an FAQ
Iran nuclear program: 5 key sites

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Obama signs defense bill despite 'serious reservations'

President Obama signed the $662 billion National Defense Authorization Act even though he said he has 'serious reservations' about provisions dealing with the treatment of suspected terrorists.
Getting the Strait of Hormuz straight: an FAQ

Iran has caused a stir with its threat this week to close down the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions were imposed on Iranian oil exports. Here’s why this small body of water generates so much world attention.
Obama hails end of Iraq war, but is it a victory for Iran? (VIDEO)

President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met in Washington Monday to mark the approaching end of the Iraq war. But Iran is happy to see US troops go and will bear watching.
How the Iraq war has changed America

A conflict that was supposed to be a quick in-and-out operation lasted nearly nine years – and has left a deep imprint on the policy of American intervention.
'Monopoly': A YouTube sensation knocks Saudi royalty

'Monopoly,' one of several new critical videos, derides Saudi Arabia's lack of housing as a groom-to-be shows viewers the van where he envisions living with his new wife.
As EU tightens the screws, Iran looks toward China (VIDEO)

China and Russia could gain significant leverage over Iran as mounting EU sanctions cause it to begin looking for business elsewhere.
Punish Iran for its nuclear secrecy? How sanctions could work.

The UN's nuclear watchdog is set to rebuke Iran over its nuclear program. No sanctions are planned, but the US will keep pushing, and some experts say diplomacy could still work.
Iran nuclear program: 5 key sites

Iran’s nuclear program is the subject of constant scrutiny by the international community, particularly the United States and Israel. Here are five of Iran’s most important nuclear sites.
Opinion: US and Israel haven't learned their history lessons. Palestinians and Abbas have.

Billions in US aid dollars to individual economies and militaries in the Middle East have not strengthened peace. The success of post-war Europe shows the key to unity is to get citizens of different nations to work together. That hasn't really happened with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.
Good Reads: Dissecting Iran assassination plot, a broken America, and Qatar's rise (video)

Newspapers are picking holes in an alleged Iranian assassination plot against a Saudi diplomat, while George Packer offers up a sharp analysis of a US that can upgrade its iPhones but can't fix its bridges. And what's up with Qatar?
Assassination plot? Why Iran and Saudi Arabia are such bitter rivals

US authorities linked Iran to a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US. Few contests have defined the modern Middle East like that between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mitt Romney's hawkish foreign policy plan: A substitute for experience?

In a speech at The Citadel military college in South Carolina Friday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney outlined a muscular foreign policy and national security plan.
Syrian opposition forms unity council, hoping to continue Arab Spring

Creation of the Syrian opposition's unity council comes as the US is set to call for a UN resolution to consider further sanctions against Syria if it does not halt the crackdown that has left some 2,700 dead.
Eisenhower: The White House Years

A new biography on Eisenhower is engaging but airbrushes some of Ike's mistakes and flaws.
Yemen clashes spark concerns of all-out civil war

At least one protester was killed and another 14 injured by pro-government forces during demonstrations Sunday.
World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries

While Americans and Europeans bemoan the cost of gasoline at the pumps, people in some other parts of the world enjoy filling up their tanks cheaply thanks to subsidies provided by wealthy, oil-rich governments. But fuel subsidies tend to benefit the rich (who own motor vehicles) more than the poor. The IMF estimated that 65 percent of the fuel subsidies in Africa benefit the richest 40 percent of households (2010). Only 8 percent of the $410 billion in government fuel subsidies worldwide went to the poorest 20 percent of the population (International Energy Agency - estimates, 2010). The British insurance firm Staveley Head has released the latest list of the world’s gas pump prices. Here are the 10 cheapest countries on Earth to fill a gas tank.
Dow drops 1,147 points over three trading days. Is that a 'crash'?

The Dow has lost 9.13 percent of its value over three days of trading. It's bad, but investors have seen much worse in previous sell-offs. Still, 'crash' versus 'correction' is a matter of debate.
What do Americans trust more: church or small business?

A new Gallup poll asked 1,000 Americans about their confidence in various institutions. The US military ranked first; Congress was last. Here are the other rankings.
Why is Obama tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, really?

The administration's decision to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is pure politics, say some. The White House says it's trying to offset a drop in Libyan light sweet crude – needed for gasoline – at the height of the summer driving season.
Bahrain sentences eight Shiite dissenters to life in prison

The sentences, issued by Bahrain's military tribunal, call into question talks between the government and opposition that were due to start July 1.
Anthony Weiner 'sexting' affair turns into political blame game

Democrats calling for Anthony Weiner's resignation are piling on as Republicans say they should have done so sooner. Hillary Clinton, experienced in such matters, has taken Weiner's wife under her wing.
The House of Saud strikes back

Saudi Arabia isn't taking this whole democracy thing lying down. It's putting down uprisings, beefing up alliances with fellow autocrats, and distancing itself from the US.
Qatar: The small Arab monarchy with the loud democratic voice

It's a contradiction. Qatar, the Gulf country which sits atop a huge natural gas field, is ruled firmly as a monarchy. And yet it has become a strong advocate of democracy in the Arab Spring.
Bahrain's Sunni rulers target Shiite mosques

The Bahraini regime has bulldozed dozens of Shiite mosques or other religious structures in the crackdown on a mainly Shiite opposition movement.
Opinion: Osama bin Laden is gone, but US war in the Middle East is here to stay

Osama bin Laden's death does not mark a turning point in the 'war on terror' – because this is really the 'war for the American way of life,' which depends on access to foreign oil.