When it comes to the Middle East and its cultural heritage, the media is rife with reports of looting, illegal trafficking of artifacts, and on a more positive note, restitution, such as the return from the U.S. to Iraq in September 2021 of the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Tablet, with inscriptions in Sumerian.

The scion of a revered cleric positioned himself as an outsider but has been drawn into Iraq’s corrupt politics

Qatar Holds Elections in Bid to Burnish Image Before World Cup, Financial Times, 3 October 2021

Moqtada al-Sadr Seizes the Moment Ahead of Iraq Elections, 22 September 2021, Financial Times

Far from being independent of government as it claims, Al Jazeera is an important tool of Qatari strategic policy. And Doha’s policies are dangerous and destructive, providing support to numerous terrorist and extremist groups, even as Qatar tries to present itself as a mediator and “honest broker “.
Al Jazeera, Qatar and the Taliban, by Judy Maynard, 31 August 2021

The kingdom is encircled: threats to Saudi Arabia are growing, emerging on all fronts – land, sea, air, and the cyber realm. Overall, there is one single source for these threats: Iran and its proxies in the region. How can the leading Gulf state confront the numerous challenges before it, and can – and should – Israel assist it?