King Abdullah was on the road for “unity” discussions in several Arab capitals in recent weeks [King Abdullah Travels for Regional Unity Talks] to tackle the challenges facing the Arab countries. Yesterday, Middle East specialist and University of Vermont Professor F. Gregory Gause, discussed the King’s “busy summer vacation” in an essay [Working the Angles] for Foreign Policy’s “Middle East Channel” blog. In it he addresses the speculation among commentators that the appearance of cooperation among the leaders who met, especially Syrian President Assad, was some signal that the Riyadh-Cairo-Damascus triangle of the 1970s might have some new life. Gause, however, made a solid case that the environment was much different than 40 years ago and that it was “unlikely that such a great realignment is in the cards.” For the complete essay by Dr. Gause click HERE.
You can hear more from Dr. Gause in his May 2010 CSIS Gulf Roundtable [Saudi Domestic and Regional Policies – Gause] by clicking HERE.
