The story: Former head of Saudi intelligence Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud has implored the US to reinforce its security partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Faisal cited the American “failure” in Afghanistan and “semi-failure” in Iraq to convey that US policies in the wider region are confused in his view. This comes as bilateral disagreements over energy and security-related issues continue to weigh on Saudi-US relations.   

The coverage: Faisal delivered the remarks to the Atlantic Council’s “Middle East Security in a Changing World” conference on Nov. 2...