News, particularly the international variety, is usually just either good or bad. But on March 10, at around 8 a.m. Washington, D.C. time, news emerged that arguably qualified for the description of “jaw-dropping”: After seven years without diplomatic relations, it was announced that Saudi Arabia and Iran were to “normalize” relations. And China is the…
Author: Simon Henderson, opinion contributor
Musharraf’s life story tracked Pakistan’s struggle with the US
Pervez Musharraf, one-time military dictator of Pakistan, was buried on Feb. 7 in the port city of Karachi after dying in exile in the United Arab Emirates on Feb. 5. A headline in the Wall Street Journal described him as a “key U.S. ally.” Well, up to a point, to borrow the disbelieving jargon of…
We’ll need oil for decades to come — and OPEC needs the high price
The non-story of the week is — or rather, should have been — the OPEC+ meeting of the world’s top oil exporters, who meet virtually on Feb. 1 and are expected to make no change in their production. The calming perception expected of this meeting probably changed on Monday, when the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir…
Are the Saudis reconsidering their nuclear posture?
A rule in journalism is that a response to a question is not a statement of a new government policy. So, what should one make of the comment on Sunday by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud that “if Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off”? Speaking at a conference…
Inflation, soccer, Russia’s mischief — will anyone pay attention to OPEC+?
After the drama of the last OPEC+ meeting in October and the decision of the cartel to cut production by a headline 2 million barrels per day, next Sunday’s meeting is predicted by some to be a snoozer. To start, it will be a Zoom meeting, so there won’t be those oil analysts and pesky…
High prices, war in Ukraine, a cold winter ahead — and now OPEC+ piles on
Wanting to appear to be prophetic, many political pundits have spent the past couple of weeks fine-tuning (aka, hedging) their predictions for the midterms, while more recently pondering whether there will be a “Hurricane Ian effect” to also impact voter turnout. Then, “wham!” Just when the White House didn’t want it, OPEC+ piles on with…
The ‘spin’ doesn’t tell the full story of Biden’s Middle East trip
Political spin can be a wonder to behold, especially when at least a few of the accomplishments of a presidential trip are debatable. To some, the absence of a handshake between President Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would suggest the kingdom’s effective ruler was still being treated as a “pariah.” But the…
High oil prices, Middle East politics cast shadow over summer’s start
We are into a new week of potentially significant oil market moves. While Americans were observing Memorial Day, and the unofficial arrival of summer, the oil price was pushing past $120 per barrel. Reportedly, high gasoline prices were not reflected in a discernible drop in road trips, but it would be a stretch to think…