Policy Analysis

Before Hezbollah's massive intervention in 2013, Bashar al-Assad's forces were nearing exhaustion, Syrian Opposition Coalition chief of staff Monzer Akbik said during a panel discussion at The Washington Institute's 2014 Weinberg Founders Conference on May 8. Assad was facing a catastrophic human-resources and materiel crisis, Akbik said, which the dictator

Israel's former prime minister and defense minster shared his outlook on the Middle East, American global leadership, and his country's rapidly evolving strategic position.

Martin Indyk, U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, diagnosed the collapse of recent peace talks in a frank keynote address to the Institute's 2014 Weinberg Founders Conference. Watch his remarks and download a transcript. Also view other sessions, with speakers including Sen. Tim Kaine, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, and former French ambassador to Washington Jean-David Levitte.

A violent Libyan jihadist group is increasingly using aid efforts and religious education to cultivate a constituency abroad, not just at home.

As Turkey's presidential election approaches, a closer look at the results of the March local elections sheds light on how the country's near-term political future may unfold.

Piping Israeli gas to liquefaction plants in Egypt is the most commercially logical option but remains politically risky.

The longer the war in Syria continues, the greater the threat these fighters will likely pose.

A Syrian Kurdish group's hostile reaction to the digging of a trench along the Iraqi border is doing more to undermine Kurdish unity than the trench itself.

Washington should look for small changes in Kuwait and Qatar's political and security calculus that could provide opportunities to support counter-terrorist financing measures there.

America's Asian allies questioned the president about Syria not because it is a vitally important issue to them, but because of what it says about Washington's willingness to act.

A senior State Department advisor and two Washington Institute scholars discuss what lessons can -- and cannot -- be drawn from the Islamist political experience in Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, and other countries.

The thorny parliamentary process of selecting a new president could rekindle violence if it results in substantial delays or further sectarian friction.

The Syrian president wants to impose a solution to the country's crisis on his terms.

Given the important strategic interests at stake and the unlikelihood of changing Cairo's short-term behavior, Secretary Kerry should be prepared to use all available options to keep the aid flowing.

The inclusion of long-range Chinese-made missiles in a Saudi military parade is likely a diplomatic signal to Iran and the United States.

A closer look at the numerous Saudis who have joined the fight in Syria and the potential consequences of their large-scale mobilization compared to past jihads.

A new report examining Hezbollah's activity in Egypt and how it relates to the group's wider "resistance" mission.

Washington does not need to put boots on the ground to show Moscow, Tehran, and Damascus that is it serious about exercising U.S. power in the region.

A close look at the group's military and ideological credentials seems to reveal a model candidate for greater U.S. and allied support, including lethal military assistance.

Divisive approaches that emphasize conspiracy theories rather than hard facts will only push the Palestinians further away from their goal of statehood.