"Refounding the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia from Islamism and Wahhabism to ‘Moderate’ Islam" | New article by me on MBS's repudiation of the Sahwa & distancing the kingdom from the legacy of Wahhabism, including by forging an alternate historical narrative

On question of Saudi-Israeli normalization: Ratney: “I just don’t see this happening at all in this environment” Haykel: “[The Saudis] wants to see some acknowledgment of a Palestinian state and as soon as there are negotiations they will begin the normalization process”

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Trump and MBS: What’s in Store for U.S.-Saudi Relations? Terrific webinar with Prof. @BernardHaykel, Amb. Michael Ratney, & @aarondmiller2 in anticipation of MBS’s visit to Washington this week

Two remarkable facts about Will Inboden: 1) He just published an article in National Affairs that represents a sweeping and extremely serious call for the reform of American universities. 2) He has just been named Provost--that is, the chief academic officer--of the University of

For a glimpse of what the #MiddleEast studies establishment wants to teach our students, look at the program for @MESA_1966's upcoming national conference in Washington. I counted five references to panels discussing "genocide" and zero to #Hamas, #Hezbollah, #alQaeda, #ISIS or

The @nytimes just published the report about my kidnapping, period in captivity & how I was freed. The report contains graphic details about the torture Kataeb Hezbollah subjected me to, in order to produce the false confessions. The reporters writing the story were respectful

News: Heritage Foundation president @KevinRobertsTX tells staff at all hands meeting today: "I made a mistake and I let you down and I let down this institution. Period. Full Stop." Story TK.

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"What Hamas Really Wants: The Ideology of the Islamic Resistance Movement" - my chapter in the new book "October 7: The Wars Over Words and Deeds" now available on my https://t.co/MAnSRsMY3z page

At the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain this weekend, a Saudi foreign-ministry official was very clear that normalization won't be happening anytime soon: "A Palestinian state is a prerequisite for regional integration. We have said it many times, and I don't think we have received a

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“For many of these commentators, every event the Saudis host is an attempt to whitewash their human-rights record … Here’s a hint: They aren’t doing it for us in the West. They’re doing it for themselves” - Amb. Michael Ratney

“The United States cannot deter adversaries and support allies without securing its hemisphere” @JosephALedford & @RyanBergPhD make make the case for “the Trump administration’s overdue pivot to the Western Hemisphere”

Judging by the AAUP’s political agenda, its X profile is misleading. It favors academic freedoms only insofar as they serve woke causes. Its idea of “organizing all faculty” excludes non-conformists. Its biases reinforce public mistrust in professors and universities.

Congratulations to Joel Rayburn @joel_rayburn on advancing out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a strong 15–7 vote for his nomination as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs! A steadfast friend of the #SyrianAmerican community, Joel has long

After months of waiting, @joel_rayburn was confirmed by the @SenateForeign to be the DAS for Near East at the @StateDept. 15-7 vote.

Forty-six years after its 1979 revolution transformed the Middle East, Iran is once again on the cusp of a leadership transition with profound regional and global implications. In my new @ForeignAffairs essay, I explore what could come next.

My piece for the @HooverInst on the logic of a U.S.–Saudi defense agreement. #USSaudiRelations #MiddleEastSecurity #HooverInstitute

Behind Closed Doors: How the Deal With Hamas Was Born https://t.co/ueVHCYmvGd

I am happy to announce the publication of my latest book The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press). https://t.co/DC8w961Ri3 An audio-book version is scheduled for release in December.