Major new Middle East defense pact signedSaudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan on a Friday signed a joint defense agreement that characterizes an attack on one as an attack on all. The division of the region into “Abrahamic” and “Islamic” blocs, which Eurasia Group Middle East director Firas Maksad wrote about here , continues apace. “El Tigre” takes office in ColombiaAbelardo de la Espriella will be sworn in today as Colombia’s president after narrowly winning June’s runoff. He takes office as security dominates public concern in Colombia, where violence, drug trafficking, and criminal activity have surged. But with a deeply divided electorate and only a slim electoral victory behind him, de la Espriella will face immediate pressure to deliver on his promises.