Despite the churn in the U.S. capital as the new administration takes over, despite the attempted Muslim ban and despite President Trump’s “America first” proclamations, there is a sense among veteran U.S.-based Middle East observers that relations with the Gulf states are stable and might even benefit from the power changes. – Defense News
The Houthi boat that attacked and hit a Saudi frigate Jan. 30 in the Red Sea, reported earlier as a suicide boat, was instead carried out by an unmanned, remote-controlled craft filled with explosives, the US Navy’s top officer in the Mideast said. – Defense News
The Army recently added a division headquarters to supplement its eight brigade combat team-sized formations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, which is freeing up the service to focus on theater-wide strategy and operational tasks, the three-star general in charge of US Army Central said Monday. – Defense News
Josh Rogin reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson professed in his Senate confirmation testimony that “our values are our interests when it comes to human rights.” Yet one of his State Department’s first acts may be to abandon that stance with the tiny but strategic Persian Gulf state of Bahrain. – Washington Post
Con Coughlin writes: Since taking office, President Trump has lost no time signaling his determination to adopt a far more robust approach to dealing with Iran than his predecessor…But if Mr. Trump wants to get tough on the ayatollahs, then he will need to invest time rebuilding relations with America’s traditional Arab allies, many of which feel ostracized by the treatment they received from President Obama. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)