Summary: the election of a new president ends months of political chaos; the UN raises the alarm over an impending famine; US troops return to prevent an “African Afghanistan”.
Summary: a sister battles for her brother’s freedom and that of thousands of other prisoners of conscience held in Saudi Arabia’s prison system.
Arab Digest editor William Law welcomes back the geopolitical analyst and commentator Samuel Ramani to discuss how, in the past decade, Russia has consistently played a strong hand in the Middle East, buttressing relations with MENA states and presenting itself as an honest disputes mediator while exploiting anxieties and uncertainties to advantage as America continues to pull away from its longstanding role as the region’s guarantor of security.
Summary: few outside Afghanistan know the Taliban as well as Prince Turki Al Faisal and at his recent book launch he called for both caution in dealing with them and compassion for the Afghan people they once again rule over.
The Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joins Arab Digest editor William Law in a conversation about how Qatar is renewing independent foreign policy initiatives that are gaining pace as the small Gulf state plays a pivotal role, assisting Washington in smoothing out the rough edges from Joe Biden’s abrupt and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Summary: the murder of a female intelligence officer has brought fragile Somalia to the brink of state collapse.
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by Dr Andreas Krieg, lecturer at the School of Security Studies, King’s College London. On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attack they examine what the West’s ‘war on terror’ has really achieved in MENA: a reinforcement of authoritarian regimes, the fueling of brutal insurgencies, the silencing of protest and the crushing of civil society.
Summary: America’s debacle in Afghanistan began with a surprise attack that launched a never-ending ‘war on terror’.
Summary: the new UN special envoy has a daunting task trying to end the war; a good start is to pressure to replace UNSC 2216.
Summary: the House of Saud is right to feel uneasy about what the US withdrawal from Afghanistan means for the security of their rule.
