by Lori Plotkin Boghardt via The Caravan
The arrest of several of the kingdom’s most prominent women’s rights activists six weeks before the date when women would be allowed to drive came as a shock to everyone. After news of the detentions spread through informal channels, an official announcement on May 19 referred ambiguously to the detention of individuals seeking “to undermine the security and stability of the kingdom” and erode “national unity” through various activities. Local news outlets quickly vilified the activists – some well-known abroad as peaceful advocates – and branded them “traitors.”
- After three days of fighting, Coalition forces now control a strip of territory along the Red Sea coast and most of Hodeida airport…
- These are important success, but the combination of Coalition unwillingness to risk civilian casualties, the dense urban fighting environment, and the importance of the port city to the Houthis, means expulsion of Houthi forces will take time...
- Although, control of the airport and port itself will likely be achieved by the Saudi-led coalition soon…
by Ali Shihabi via The Caravan
Saudi Arabia is undergoing a perilous, but essential transformation. Those wishing to safeguard one of the last bastions of Middle East stability should support Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s (MBS) dramatic socioeconomic reforms and also appreciate the challenges, resistance, and limitations amid which he is forced to operate. As rapid reform risks destabilizing the kingdom’s broad and deeply divided political base, rule by consensus will not work. Only a strong hand can balance Saudi Arabia’s competing constituencies.
Saudi Arabia At A Crossroads
by Elham Manea via The Caravan
Saudi Arabia, a kingdom grounded in a dynastic religious alliance, stands at a crossroads. Some observers and journalists, both Western and Arab, eyeing the new assertive leadership of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (henceforth MbS) and his promised economic and social reforms, have rushed to declare him a ‘reformer’.