Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at The Cipher Brief on June 29, 2017
Last Friday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt provided Qatar with a list of 13 harsh demands that Qatar must meet within 10 days in order to have sanctions lifted, some of which include shutting down the Al Jazeera network, severing all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, reducing ties to Iran, and providing information […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at American Diplomacy on June 17, 2017
Globalization has become bad word of late. It was the punch line for the “Leave” supporters of Brexit, a campaign platform for President Donald Trump, a Bernie Sanders throw line to stir followers in his campaign and now a rallying cry for anti-free traders, a justification for those opposing “American hegemony,” and the scapegoat for […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at The Cipher Brief on June 15, 2017
Saudi-China bilateral relations took a notable upswing this March after Saudi King Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed landmark economic deals worth approximately $65 billion. The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel spoke with Gary Grappo, former U.S. Ambassador to Oman, about Saudi Arabia’s and China’s economic strategies as well as China’s growing role in the […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at Fair Observer on May 25, 2017
During his visit to Saudi Arabia last week, President Trump missed an opportunity to address some of the core issues responsible for many of the region’s worst problems. As the first destination in his first overseas trip as the new US president, Donald Trump went to Saudi Arabia. It might not have been what many […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at The World Weekly (Manuel Langendorf) on May 25, 2017
Despite President Trump’s strong words spoken in Riyadh last week, Ambassador Gary Grappo says the Trump administration and the leaders assembled in Riyadh “have no interest in provoking open confrontation” with Iran. President Donald Trump’s visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel, part of his first foreign trip since taking office, in many ways were about […]