Geneive Abdo
Former Fellow
Legacy Program: Gulf Security
Ellen Laipson Op-Ed on the Gulf Cooperation Council
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Ellen Laipson Op-ed on US Strategy in the Middle East
The current tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs have become a U.S.-North Korea bilateral story, as the two countries’ leaders spar in public. In addition, coordinating with the South Korean government is tricky when the political philosophies in Washington and Seoul diverge. Comparing this current crisis to regional stresses in Europe over Russia and …
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Ellen Laipson’s Op-ed in World Politics Review on Trump’s Visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia
U.S. President Donald Trump’s first overseas trip will begin in Saudi Arabia and Israel, two countries whose leaders have vocally welcomed Trump’s shift in approach to the region compared to his predecessor, Barack Obama. But the new president’s unpredictable nature means that neither country can take anything for granted during his visit. Read the full …
Ellen Laipson’s Op-ed in World Politics Review on Regional Security in the Gulf States
When the Gulf Cooperation Council states and their Western defense partners meet, the demand for changes in regional security cooperation and threat management has long come from the outsiders. The Western partners, the U.S. in particular, continue to call for more defense modernization and more integration of effort among these rich oil states. But the …
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Ellen Laipson quoted in Reuters on US-Gulf relations
-snip- “The bureaucracy is beginning to internalise this idea, that the Middle East is slightly less important to us than it used to be,” said Ellen Laipson of the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, adding that the shift was “a matter of degrees”. Read more here.
Dubai’s World Government Summit: Positive Agenda, Surreal Context
This week, world leaders are gathering in Dubai for the fourth World Government Summit. It’s a bit surreal to talk about world government these days, given the recent setback to the United Nations’ efforts to get Syria peace talks off the ground, and the undeniable failures of governments across the Arab world to provide stability …
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Ellen Laipson’s Op-ed in World Politics Review on Iran and Sanctions
It was a rare week of good news in the Middle East. Iran met its obligations to formally launch all the provisions of the nuclear agreement agreed to with world powers last July, an early demonstration of its commitment to radically restructure its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Tehran also surprised many observers …
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Ellen Laipson’s Op-ed in World Politics Review on Saudi-Iran Conflict
As the Saudi-Iran crisis lumbers along, featuring new mutual recriminations and a Saudi campaign to line up Muslim support over the past week, two regional states have offered to mediate. Turkey and Iraq are well-positioned, in different but complementary ways, to engage both parties and try to defuse the situation. But their current leaders, no …
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Ellen Laipson’s Op-ed in World Politics Review on Saudi Arabia’s Unforced Error
The shocking news that Saudi Arabia executed 47 people over the weekend, including Shiite cleric and opposition figure Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, got the new year off to a tense start in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The executions have already caused a worsening of Saudi-Iran relations and foreshadow heightened sectarian-driven tensions across the …
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Nimr Execution Is Latest Unforced Error For Saudi Arabia
The shocking news that Saudi Arabia executed 47 people over the weekend, including Shiite cleric and opposition figure Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, got the new year off to a tense start in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The executions have already caused a worsening of Saudi-Iran relations and foreshadow heightened sectarian-driven tensions across the …
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Geneive Abdo quoted in Peacefare.net on religion & identity in Iraq
On Thursday, Stimson hosted a discussion in cooperation with the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) entitled Threat Of ISIS In Iraq: Views From The Ground. Speakers included: Stimson Middle East Fellow Geneive Abdo, Brookings Non-resident Fellow Christine van den Toorn, AUIS Director of the center for Development and Natural Resources Bilal Wahab. Three AUIS …
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Ellen Laipson quoted in Bloomberg View on Iranian behavior after the deal
The intelligence assessment provided to Congress to support the Iran nuclear deal has a hole: It fails to examine the intentions of Iran’s regime to actually comply with the agreement over time. -snip- Ellen Laipson, a former vice chair of the National Intelligence Council, told me the Revolutionary Guard could make mischief, but there was …
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Ellen Laipson interviewed at the Aspen Security Forum on “Iran & the Bomb”
Is there still time to prevent Tehran from going nuclear? This panel addresses the threat of a nuclear Iran along with other security threats of a similar game changing nature and how best to counter them. Watch the full “Iran & the Bomb” discussion here.
Geneive Abdo quoted in Anadolu Agency on Iran nuclear deal
Saudi Arabia will likely respond to Iran’s historic nuclear agreement by using its two primary policy instruments: oil and religion, according to Zubair Iqbal, an expert from Washington-based Middle East Institute on Thursday. -snip- Geneive Abdo, an expert from the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institute and in the Middle East program at …
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Geneive Abdo quoted in Anadolu Agency on sectarianism after the Iran deal (Turkish)
Washington merkezli Ortadoğu Enstitüsü Uzmanı Zübeyir İkbal, AA muhabirine yaptığı açıklamada, anlaşmanın ardından Suudi Arabistan’ın, İran’a karşı “petrol ve din” silahlarını kullanacağını söyledi. -snip- Washington merkezli Brookings Düşünce Enstitüsü İran Uzmanı Geneive Abdo ise anlaşmanın İran’a sağlayacağı sermaye girişinin bir kısmının askeri yatırımlar için kullanılacağını iddia etti. To read the full article click here.
Ellen Laipson quoted in The Washington Post on the Iranian Nuclear Deal
The Obama administration expects the Iranian nuclear deal announced Tuesday to usher in an era of enhanced security in the Middle East. But is has been greeted with deep skepticism by some Arab nations worried it may do the opposite: allow Iran to fund proxy wars and extend its regional influence. -snip- Ellen Laipson, president …
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Sorry, Hardliners: Iran Wants a Nuclear Deal
It is no secret that Iran’s political elites are divided over many issues involving a final deal Iran might strike with the West over its nuclear program. But public opinion favoring an agreement could be a major factor in reaching a positive outcome by the deadline at the end of this month. Just as a …
Iran Talks Lurch On, but All Eyes Already on ‘Day After the Deal’
In the weeks since the Lausanne talks that set a late June goal for a formal agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear activities, the media coverage and political discourse in the United States have resembled a roller-coaster ride, with some shrieks, thrills and stomach lurches. After an initial bounce of broad approval, with even some important Republican …
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Op-ed by Geneive Abdo in Democracy Journal on US presence in the Gulf
In “Understanding the Gulf States” [Issue #36], F. Gregory Gause, III chronicles the personal nature of leadership in the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and how individual rulers have shaped regional and foreign policies over the last several decades. Personality politics, he argues, have also served as a factor in determining which members …
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The Rashomon Effect: U.S.-Gulf Relations After Camp David Summit
In Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s iconic 1950 film, “Rashomon,” four people witness a crime outside the gates of Kyoto. When called on to testify in court, each has a distinctly different version of the events, and even different ideas of who the guilty party is. The Rashomon effect, as this phenomenon is often called, was …
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Opportunities for Gulf Arab Countries with Iran Deal
Stimson President and CEO Ellen Laipson discusses the potential for a positive outcome for the Iran nuclear deal and opportunities for cooperation with Iran in the region. “This is a moment of opportunity,” said Laipson. “Together, they can reshape the agenda.” Watch more on the opportunities present here.
