NEW: I write for Brookings Foreign Policy about the “signal and substance” of the new Saudi-Pakistan defense pact, and its implications for both countries and for the wider region. brookings.edu/articles/the-s… Some key points: 1/

Last week, in a surprising move, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 and Pakistan 🇵🇰 announced a new defense pact. Where did this deal come from, and what are its implications? Joshua White explains: brook.gs/46kDBWB

"Riyadh has long sought extended deterrence guarantees from Washington, and until and unless such an agreement is consummated, it has good reason to look to Pakistan for some form of nuclear assurance, especially as a hedge against a nuclear Iran." brookings.edu/articles/the-s…