Policy Analysis

Amid new chemical weapons activity in Syria, Washington must prepare for the practical implications of acting on its warnings.

Why President Obama's second-term national security team can't shy away from getting involved in the world's difficult conflicts.

Egypt's hastily drafted constitution, which will likely pass an upcoming referendum, facilitates Islamist domination by co-opting the military.

The choice of an Australian company to take a stake in Israel's giant offshore gas field indicates strategically significant commercial and political decisions.

"In 2000, not long after Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad died and was succeeded by his son Bashar, analogies between the Assads and the Corleone family of The Godfather started to make the rounds. While details of the popular metaphor varied, the dominant focus of the comparison was on whether Bashar

The United States has a crucial role to play in defusing Baghdad's tension with the Iraqi Kurds and developing the country's longer-term oil policy -- two intertwined issues that are central to keeping Iraq united.

Gulf states seem to view Iran as a more important challenge than domestic unrest, but Kuwait's recent troubles indicate they are no longer immune to the pressures sweeping the Arab world.

Morsi's political biography suggests that he is a hardline enforcer, not a compromiser, and his latest actions confirm it.

On November 29, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff testified before the House regarding the implications of the latest Gaza crisis and, more important, the new regional context in which it transpired. Given the increasing range of Hamas weapons, the targeting of Israel across three of its borders, the rise

On November 29, the anniversary of the 1947 UN General Assembly vote to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into "an Arab state and Jewish state," the assembly will vote on a new draft resolution recognizing Palestine as a nonmember observer state. A majority vote in favor is all but

Today's Egypt -- with its first-ever civilian president, Islamist leader Muhammad Morsi -- is a very different country from the one with which successive U.S. administrations built a strategic partnership for more than thirty years. The fundamental changes seen there since 2011 mandate an equally fundamental reassessment of the bilateral

It's only a matter of time before the Egyptian president's domestic extremism extends to international relations.

Not only is discussion of settlement of the Palestinian refugees currently within the Lebanese borders taboo, since 1990 it has also been unconstitutional.

Outside Hamas's control, jihadi groups in Gaza and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula may cause the greatest threat to stability in the region.

Hamas's interest in preserving calm with Israel does not equate to an interest in making peace.

Given the Brotherhood's belief that it can mobilize legions of foot soldiers to win any street battle domestically, only international pressure might force it to think twice about its undemocratic approach.

Without significant diplomatic follow-up, the Gaza ceasefire will likely last only as long as it takes Hamas to rearm.

The New York Times convened an online panel of five Middle East experts to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. The following contribution was made by Washington Institute Ziegler distinguished fellow David Makovsky, director of the Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process.

In contrast to the more measured tone of Palestinian media coverage of the Gaza conflict in the West Bank, Hamas-controlled media are relentlessly inciting violence, indulging in venomous hate speech, and gloating about imaginary hits on Israeli civilian targets.

Through innovative use of Patriot missile batteries and command-and-control aircraft, Washington and its allies could create a much-needed protective arc for Syrian civilians without having to penetrate the regime's still-formidable air defenses.