Saudi Revolution

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that upended Iran's political and societal structure, the country has made a conscious effort to fan its influence across the Middle East with proxy groups.

David Burke's staff are busy putting up blue and green balloons. The places are set, glasses polished, and candles lit. Music from The Godfather plays in the background.

There is now a consensus that any political transformation of the Middle East - a long-cherished goal of both U.S. policymakers and millions who live there - will not be achieved by revolution, foreign intervention or civil war.

Hunched over platters of dates and Arabic coffee, Saudi women raring to drive once a government ban ends next June signed up for another revolution -- to be the kingdom's first female cab drivers.

Few would describe Mohammed Al-Arefe as a defender of women's rights. In one infamous video, the Saudi cleric explains exactly how a man should beat his wife.

Today, it's hard to be optimistic about anything in the Middle East. And yet having just visited Saudi Arabia, in which I led a small bipartisan group of former national security officials, I came away feeling hopeful about the kingdom's future. That may seem paradoxical when some portray the Saudis as both "arsonists and firefighters" in the strug...

A Tunisian military court has convicted the former President in absentia of inciting violence and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in a month-long popular uprising last year and fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that upended Iran's political and societal structure, the country has made a conscious effort to fan its influence across the Middle East with proxy groups.

David Burke's staff are busy putting up blue and green balloons. The places are set, glasses polished, and candles lit. Music from The Godfather plays in the background.

There is now a consensus that any political transformation of the Middle East - a long-cherished goal of both U.S. policymakers and millions who live there - will not be achieved by revolution, foreign intervention or civil war.

Hunched over platters of dates and Arabic coffee, Saudi women raring to drive once a government ban ends next June signed up for another revolution -- to be the kingdom's first female cab drivers.

Few would describe Mohammed Al-Arefe as a defender of women's rights. In one infamous video, the Saudi cleric explains exactly how a man should beat his wife.

Today, it's hard to be optimistic about anything in the Middle East. And yet having just visited Saudi Arabia, in which I led a small bipartisan group of former national security officials, I came away feeling hopeful about the kingdom's future. That may seem paradoxical when some portray the Saudis as both "arsonists and firefighters" in the strug...

A Tunisian military court has convicted the former President in absentia of inciting violence and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in a month-long popular uprising last year and fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011.