Pakistan
The Agreement Is Likely to Invite More Islamic Countries and Intensify the Arms Race in the Middle East
Sami Al-Arian Says a Senior Turkish Official Once Described Closer Alignment With Iran and Pakistan as Ankara’s ‘Grand Strategy’
Membership in the Alliance Now Would Be Largely Cosmetic, While Affirming Damascus’s Subordination to Other Members
Islamabad Has Practiced the Discipline of Staying Useful to Multiple Sides Without Committing Fully to Them
Internal Upheavals and Rivalries Have Dismantled Formal Regional Alliances in the Middle East
A Pullback in U.S. Soft Power Coincides with China’s Expanding Influence and Investment in the Region
Jerusalem, and Islamic Claims There, Are Likely to Form the Symbolic Element That Knits the Emergent Group Together
An Increasing Number of Non-NATO Allies Flirt With, If Not Tilt Toward, Beijing
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey Aren’t Going to Go to War for Each Other; They Want to Show the U.S. and Iran They Are Ready to Lead in a Region They See as Destabilized by Jerusalem
The Mecca Pact Is the Third Iteration of a Single Saudi Effort to Assemble a Deterrence Substitute for a Diminished American Security Umbrella
The Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani Pact Will Not Fight. Israel Should Build the Bloc That Will
Differing Interests and Threats May Prevent the Mecca Pact from Becoming an ‘Islamic NATO,’ but India Should Be Concerned
Pakistan Has Served as China’s Delivery Agent in the Region and Promoted Chinese Defense Platforms
Iranian Officials Portray the Pact as Dissatisfaction with U.S. Security Assurances and Israeli Attacks Against Qatar and Syria
Beyond Defense Cooperation, There Is Ideological Convergence Among These Countries in Terms of Political Islam
Their Cooperation Could Fundamentally Change the Operational Environment in the Indian Ocean Basin
India’s Desire to Assuage Turkish Diplomatic Feelings Makes No Sense and Represents a Lack of Moral Clarity
Across the State, a Collection of Terror Networks and Their Islamist Partners Are Using U.S. Politicians, Institutions, and Nonprofit Infrastructure to Advance Violent, Radical Ambitions
In This Emergent Bloc, Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan Are the Core Players