This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block President Donald Trump’s effort to bypass Congress and complete major arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The resolution will almost certainly be vetoed by Trump, but it nonetheless demonstrates an emerging consensus in Washington on the need to reevaluate close U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies in the wake of human rights abuses like the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
How durable might this shift be? And how else is the U.S. foreign policy consensus evolving in the Trump era? In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein; managing editor, Frederick Deknatel; and associate editor, Elliot Waldman, talk about recent changes in the way policymakers and experts in Washington think about America’s relations with the Middle East, Russia, China and North Korea, as well as other areas characterized by continuity.
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Relevant Articles on WPR:
Trump Has Opened the Floodgates to New Appraisals of U.S. Foreign Policy
It’s Time for America to Downgrade Its Alliance With Saudi Arabia
Could the U.S. Live With a Nuclear North Korea?
Is the U.S.-China Trade War Turning Into a New Cold War?
Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.
To send feedback or questions, email us at podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.