When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last month, it was revealed that the United States was in talks with Saudi Arabia to establish a mutual defense treaty as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to get the Kingdom to normalize relations with Israel. Under such a pact, each country would agree to defend the other in case they were attacked in Saudi Arabia or in the region. Though it is not yet clear exactly what the pact would look like, it is likely to resemble the ones Washington has with several East Asian states or with Bahrain. We asked three experts to tell us what the deal could mean for U.S. security interests. Read more below. Khaled Elgindy Director, Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs Middle East InstituteA U.S.-Saudi-Israeli deal would undoubtedly be hugely beneficial for Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Saudis would get a major upgrade in the strategic partnership with the United States, on par with a NATO ally. In return, Israel’s normalization with the most powerful and important Arab state would open the door to normalization with the rest of the Arab and Muslim worlds. Whether this would be good for the region as a whole or for broader U.S. interests, however, is another matter. The United States would cement its role as guarantor of a new Middle East security architecture while keeping China at bay, but at the cost of emboldening two illiberal and repressive regimes with a history of problematic behavior in the region. In addition to cementing a kind of “axis of authoritarianism,” by removing the last remaining