Thomas W. Lippman, a former Middle East bureau chief of the <em>Washington Post</em>, is the author of six books about the region and an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Entering the Private Sector, But Where?

[caption id="attachment_55250575" align="alignnone" width="620"] A McDonald's restaurant stands near the center of town on July 15, 1996 in Riyadh,…