I recall hearing quite a bit from various governors that the US is the “Saudi Arabia of coal” or the “Saudi Arabia of wind,” or whatever natural resource they had in abundance. Now, according to AP energy writer Jonathan Fahey, the US verges on becoming the Saudi Arabia… of oil. U.S. oil output is surging [...]

Yesterday’s attack on the seat of power in Syria (which was not, as initially reported, a suicide attack but a remote-controlled bomb, which actually requires more pre-planning) has completely changed the dynamic in that country. Fighting continues in the neighborhoods surrounding Damascus, the capital, including in patches close to government buildings and the presidential palace. [...]

Syria rejected a peace plan from the Arab League that called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down and form a national unity government with the opposition within two months. The Assad regime called the plan “an attack on its national sovereignty and a flagrant interference in internal affairs.” But of course, the Arab League [...]

Maybe this is the new big plan for the economy: sell as many weapons to the Middle East as possible. Let a million Rosie the Riveters bloom. That this buildup endangers an entire region, one holding the keys to the current energy infrastructure of the world, is just a sidelight to this, I guess. First, [...]

Economic forecasts as well as year-end “what to look for” lists cannot possibly take into account unexpected scenarios that could lead to economic catastrophe or international incidents. The death of Kim Jong-il is conceivably one of these unpredictable events on the foreign policy side. The Iranian threat to close off the Strait of Hormuz would [...]

I actually agree with much of Hillary Clinton’s assessment of the Administration’s Syria policy. “It’s not just brute force, it’s not just unilateralism, it’s being smart enough to say: ‘You know what? We want a bunch of people singing out of the same hymn book,’ ” said Clinton, who appeared with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta [...]

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been convinced to stay out of Yemen by US officials, according to the Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Saleh, who has been recuperating in Saudi Arabia from wounds sustained in an assassination attempt at his palace mosque months ago, has left the hospital. However, he has not returned to Yemen, [...]

The uprising in Syria may have reached a tipping point. The Arab League has ended its silence on Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression of protesters and condemned the violence, expressing “growing concern and serious distress” at the attacks. But more important, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador, a crucial vote of no confidence in the Assad regime: [...]

CNN reported that the injured, exiled President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, would return to the country as early as tomorrow. Saleh’s senior adviser Ahmed Al-Soufi made the statement. But the State Department was unaware of any return, and the Pakistani news outlet Dawn contradicted this earlier in the week. Wounded Yemeni President Ali Abdullah [...]

The situation in Yemen, where President Ali Abdullah Saleh was rushed to Saudi Arabia for surgery after a rocket attack, gets more and more confusing. Saleh had what everyone claims is successful surgery to remove shrapnel, but the Yemeni people are acting as if he’s fully removed from the scene. Yemenis are celebrating in the [...]

Apparently the blast that injured President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen was pretty bad. The BBC reports that he has shrapnel lodged near his heart, as well as second-degree burns to his chest and face. That would explain why his statement yesterday was on audio tape and not video. In that audio address, Saleh blamed [...]