Hussein Ibish

For them, it's a security nightmare par excellence because they expect to be hit more than anybody else.

And they fully expect to be the targets of choice again and again and again.

We are talking about a half dozen countries, and they all have their own perspectives, of course.

But broadly speaking, they're very nervous about how this war might end.

I spoke with Hussein Ibish at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

So the Gulf countries want to come out of this war with guarantees that Iran can't threaten them.

He is very relaxed. He's home. Yeah. He's come home. This is like outside the U.S. This is his favorite place.

He is very relaxed. He's home. Yeah. He's come home. This is like outside the U.S. This is his favorite place.

He is very relaxed. He's home. Yeah. He's come home. This is like outside the U.S. This is his favorite place.

I'm Hussein Ibish, and I'm a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, and I write for many publications, especially The Atlantic.

I'm Hussein Ibish, and I'm a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, and I write for many publications, especially The Atlantic.

I'm Hussein Ibish, and I'm a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, and I write for many publications, especially The Atlantic.

He lives in a world of patrons and clients. He lives in a world where Authority is not questionable. And that's very familiar. It's a very familiar space to especially the Saudi royals, but all of them. And he understands them and they understand him and he loves them and they love him. He can be himself, the unedited version. He doesn't have to check his instincts. He just go with it.

He lives in a world of patrons and clients. He lives in a world where Authority is not questionable. And that's very familiar. It's a very familiar space to especially the Saudi royals, but all of them. And he understands them and they understand him and he loves them and they love him. He can be himself, the unedited version. He doesn't have to check his instincts. He just go with it.

He lives in a world of patrons and clients. He lives in a world where Authority is not questionable. And that's very familiar. It's a very familiar space to especially the Saudi royals, but all of them. And he understands them and they understand him and he loves them and they love him. He can be himself, the unedited version. He doesn't have to check his instincts. He just go with it.

And that's kind of unusual for Trump.

And that's kind of unusual for Trump.

And that's kind of unusual for Trump.

Yeah, it's pretty straightforward, right? The Middle Eastern, not leaders, but countries, what they're getting ultimately is protection. They're getting military protection, which is often unsatisfactory from their point of view, But they don't really have a good alternative to the United States, so they have to try to work to make it as good as possible. And that's what they're doing.

Yeah, it's pretty straightforward, right? The Middle Eastern, not leaders, but countries, what they're getting ultimately is protection. They're getting military protection, which is often unsatisfactory from their point of view, But they don't really have a good alternative to the United States, so they have to try to work to make it as good as possible. And that's what they're doing.