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Cliff Smith

Cliff Smith is director of the Middle East Forum’s Washington Project. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi (left) at a 2018 project on Middle East Democracy at a forum called “Mohammed bin Salman's Saudi Arabia: A Deeper Look,” March 21, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Saudi Arabia: A scapegoat for human-rights abusers

Bad actors, particularly China, whose misdeeds have been magnified due to the coronavirus pandemic, and others in the anti-Western axis needed a whipping boy.

October 28, 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyani wave from the Blue Room balcony during the Abraham Accords signing on Sept. 15, 2020. Credit: White House/Tia Dufour.

Washington celebrates Abraham Accords, but must prepare for challenges

The trend towards peace between Arab states and Israel is the most promising in the region in a long time.

September 27, 2020

The University of Arizona. Credit: Good Free Photos.

The black box: How Arizona’s response to a congressional letter is proof of the problem

Universities are so used to simply spending federal dollars on whatever they want, they feel no need to pay attention to how they do it.

June 11, 2020

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Credit: Flickr.

Omar’s Indian nemesis highlights the congresswoman’s radical supporters

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) may have a lot to hide, according to a reporter she continues to verbally attack.

May 19, 2020

U.S. President Barack Obama (in front) speaks at a U.N. Security Council summit on Sept. 24, 2014. Pictured in the back are U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (far left) and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power (second from left). Credit: U.N. Photo/Kim Haughton.

Obama’s UN team sought to overturn terror designation of bin Laden charity

Now, the Islamic Relief Agency seems to have shut down.

March 2, 2020