Policy Analysis

This article originally appeared on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) Web site. Turkey's experiment with Islamists-turned-democrats might be coming to a tragic end. When the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, rooted in Turkey's Islamist opposition came to power in Turkey in 2002 and declared itself a democratic

When officials from the Obama administration, along with other members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, sit down with their Iranian counterparts to discuss Iran's nuclear program, the mood in the room may get a little uncomfortable. Iran has been busted setting up a second uranium enrichment plant in

It seems worryingly likely that Turkey -- a member of the European fringe, like Russia, and a country in accession talks with the European Union -- might become more like its northern neighbor than its western ones. On Sept. 8, Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) government slapped Dogan Yayin

Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, reviewed Paul McGeough's Killing Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas for the Journal of International Security Affairs. In the annals of daring intelligence operations, Israel's Mossad stands

How does the United Nations view the current threat of the Afghan Taliban and of al-Qaeda?

In the aftermath of President Barack Obama's disclosure of the existence of Iran's secret uranium enrichment plant, sanctions will remain widely discussed unless unexpected progress is made at the October 1 meeting in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1. Until now, talks have focused on specific measures, such as sanctions

Turkey's experiment with Islamists-turned-democrats might be coming to a tragic end. When the Justice and Development Party (AKP), rooted in Turkey's Islamist opposition, came to power in Turkey in 2002 and declared that it had become a democratic movement, nearly everyone gave it the benefit of doubt. At that time

The announcement that Iran has been constructing a covert facility to enrich nuclear fuel for the last few years without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raises the stakes for the upcoming October 1 meeting of six leading countries with Iran. The underground facility is located on an Iranian

Standing with the leaders of France and Great Britain at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh on Friday, Barack Obama disclosed Iran's construction of yet another secret nuclear structure: a uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. How much hope should western powers have for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations

With apologies to Winston Churchill, President Obama may not have presided over the beginning of the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last week in New York, but he seems finally to have marked the end of an embarrassing beginning to his Middle East diplomacy. The president and his senior advisors

Earlier today, President Obama, British Prime Minister Brown, and French President Sarkozy dramatically confirmed that Iran has been covertly building near the city of Qom a second uranium enrichment facility. Obama said the "size and configuration" is "inconsistent with a peaceful program," suggesting that it is intended for military purposes

PolicyWatch #1588 is the second in a two-part series discussing trends within the Muslim Brotherhood. This piece addresses the potential for the group's return to violence in Egypt, while PolicyWatch #1585 focuses on the organization's divisions in Jordan. Amid the uncertainty over Egypt's impending political succession, Egyptian security forces have

Although Iran has formally accepted the U.S. offer to meet on October 1, expectations are low, particularly since Tehran has made clear that the nuclear issue is not negotiable. The United States and its allies have already begun to prepare for the possibility of failed negotiations by developing potential sanctions

On September 18, 2009, Stephen P. Rosen and Mehdi Khalaji addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute to discuss how Iran's postelection turmoil affects international perceptions of the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program. Stephen P. Rosen, an expert on nuclear strategy, is the Beton Michael Kaneb

PolicyWatch #1585 is the first in a two-part series discussing trends within the Muslim Brotherhood. This piece focuses on the organization's divisions in Jordan, while PolicyWatch #1588 addresses the potential for the group's return to violence in Egypt. In early September, three senior leaders of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) resigned

This week, in a striking symbol of improved U.S.-Libyan relations and Tripoli's reengagement with the international community, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi is set to address the UN General Assembly. Previously, Qadhafi refused to visit the UN headquarters because it was located within the borders of "an enemy of humanity." Although

The agreement by the United States and other world powers to launch negotiations with Iran on October 1 -- despite the regime's refusal to discuss ending its uranium enrichment program -- makes clear that there will be no meaningful progress to stop Iran's drive for the bomb when world leaders

Today, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi arrives in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Although he hasn't touched down yet, the colonel is already fraying nerves. In the spring, with the Obama administration in the White House, the old tensions between Washington and Tripoli had started to ease. At

The Obama administration's decision to scrap missile defense sites in Eastern Europe against long-range Iranian missiles has a silver lining: a chance to boost U.S.-Turkish ties and counter short-range Iranian missiles at the same time. Washington has already announced that it will position short-range missile interceptors around the Mediterranean, and

On September 10, after seventy-three days of trying to formulate a government, Lebanon's prime minister designate, Saad Hariri, resigned his mandate. Although Hariri's pro-West March 14 coalition secured a parliamentary majority in June elections -- and with it the right to govern -- the Hizballah-led minority rejected the cabinet he