الديمقراطية والإصلاح

Despite Qadhafi's fall, the Obama administration's initial reluctance to become involved in Libya sends a negative signal to Iran and others regarding Washington's stomach for confrontation.

The iconic youths of Egypt's Tahrir Square revolution are now deeply divided among nearly a dozen, often indistinguishable political parties, while the Muslim Brotherhood is seizing the momentum.

President Obama's call for Bashar al-Asad to step aside puts to rest debate about where exactly Washington stands on the Syrian regime.

An Interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Despite objections from the international community, as well as Turkey's stern warning that Syria should end its five-month crackdown (NYT) on protesters, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad continues to press on with brutal attacks around the country. What's needed to stop Assad is concerted international

U.S. and Saudi efforts to pressure injured Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to agree to a peaceful transfer of power have been unsuccessful. To counter al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a new approach is required.

Western powers and their regional allies are increasingly understanding that just talking to Syrian president Bashar al-Asad about his brutality will not be enough to stop it.

Now that one of the revolution's central goals has been accomplished, most Egyptians appear willing to move on, even though the military regime that Hosni Mubarak fronted is still very much intact.

If oil income falters due to falling prices or sanctions, Tehran will have great difficulty paying its promised $45 billion per year in public subsidies, making the regime more susceptible to foreign pressure.

After months of drafting, heated interagency discussion, and many rounds of redrafting, the White House is reportedly set to release its long-expected national strategy on countering violent extremism.