Policy Analysis

Hamas, which recently created a production company and released its first major film production glorifying the life of a master terrorist, has scored its first major public relations coup. In a new article on the website of Foreign Affairs, Michael Bröning (director of the East Jerusalem office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung)

Saudi Arabia's frontier and international neighbors and its internal administrative boundaries. From Policy Focus #96, "After King Abdullah," by Simon Henderson Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Royal succession in Saudi Arabia, from Policy Focus #96, "After King Abdullah," by Simon Henderson. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently passed his first 100 days in office, there are early signs that the Israeli leader has evolved since he held the post a decade ago. This could mean -- on the Israeli side at least -- a real commitment to a durable peace

Two and a half months after U.S. president Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu first hit an impasse over the settlement issue, the dispute has not only continued, it has also grown more complex. Saudi Arabia has now rebuffed requests from Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George

Even as the group conducts a public-relations blitz for tactical gains, it continues to advance its strategic goals through ongoing terrorist activities, robust radicalization, and the elevation of hardline militants to leadership positions.

Over the past years, some analysts have suggested that George W. Bush's unpopular administration spawned the high levels of anti-Americanism in Turkey. Referring to this phenomenon as "anti-Bushism," however, discounted the rise of anti-Americanism in Turkey and implied that the country's adverse view of the United States would change with

In June 2009, an Israeli Dolphin-class submarine sailed from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea via Egypt's Suez Canal. Given the 30-year peace between the states, Israeli vessels in the canal -- even submarines -- wouldn't ordinarily make headlines. But the submarines and the Israeli SAAR V-Class warships that passed

How has U.S. counterproliferation policy adapted to the changing threats of the post-9/11 environment?

In October 1999, while researching a book on Palestinian politics, I had coffee with then Palestinian minister of labor Rafik Natsheh on the patio of the InterContinental Hotel in Amman, Jordan. A member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Fatah Central Committee, Natsheh was a consummate political insider, but he

In his July 31, 2009, column in the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily al-Ayyam, Washington Institute Lafer international fellow Mohammad Yaghi expressed reservations about Fatah's bylaws and political plan, both of which are to be presented at the movement's sixth conference opening today in Bethlehem. The following are excerpts from Yaghi's

On July 29, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) issued the provisional results of last month's presidential and parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan. The election outcome -- the traditionally entrenched political bloc losing ground to a newly formed party -- has exposed an opening in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)

On July 30, 2009, Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute, testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on the efficacy of existing and potential new economic sanctions in the effort to prevent Iran from

Public anxiety about Iran's nuclear intentions is focused on the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, which in many respects -- in both the public debate and the policy discussion -- resembles the situation in the 1980s when there was growing concern about Pakistan's Kahuta enrichment plant. The lessons that can be

Tom Friedman is right, the world is flat. New communication technologies and globalization have created a flat world, erasing most social and political inequalities among nations. However, in this flat world, there is a new trend: from Italy and Turkey to Russia, Iran and China, where the governments control the

It is obvious that the current situation in Iran spells that the regime intends to continue its nuclear program. While that is the target of the Obama administration's agenda in the Middle East, the reinstitution of Mahmoud Ahmedinajad to the Iranian presidency will also cause nuclear and conventional weapons proliferation

Hizbullah has enjoyed an enviable run of political and military "achievements" including its "divine victory" over Israel in 2006, the "glorious day" in May 2008 when it occupied Beirut, and securing diplomatic recognition by Britain in April 2009. More recently the Lebanese Shiite militia has been dealt a series of

Intent on resolving its ongoing Kurdish problem, Turkey launched a peace initiative last spring that includes measures to disarm the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group listed by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. But does the PKK want peace? The following statements by top PKK leaders provide

Over the past years, some analysts have suggested that George W. Bush's unpopular administration spawned the high levels of anti-Americanism in Turkey. Referring to this phenomenon as "anti-Bushism," however, discounted the rise of anti-Americanism in Turkey and implied that the country's adverse view of the United States would change with

A number of top U.S. national security officials are visiting Israel this week, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones, and Iran will surely be at the top of their agenda. With Iran making steady progress toward nuclear weapons capability and remaining silent on the