Policy Analysis

Ali Musa Daqduq's release from Iraqi custody is an ominous sign of the direction in which the Maliki government is taking Iraq and underscored how quickly Washington's influence over its erstwhile ally in Baghdad has waned.

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.

Morsi is dispatching some of his country's top leaders to a war zone -- and risking, or maybe courting, a regional crisis.

How forces inside Israel, Gaza, and Egypt are feeding the latest deadly conflagration, and what Washington can do about it.

Reaching a viable Egyptian-brokered ceasefire will not be easy, but if the aim is anything more than a temporary break from fighting, it's a deal worth striving for.

Washington should craft its response to the Gaza crisis to reinforce its position and alliances in the region.

Washington's objective should be to persuade all parties that returning to the de facto ceasefire serves everyone's best interests, though even that outcome promises instability if Hamas does not crack down on jihadist groups in Gaza.

The Iranian nuclear program and the Assad regime share a commonality: both aim to undermine Western interests in the Middle East. For this reason, as much as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei values the nuclear program as a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political identity, his pro-Assad stance has taken its own place in Iran's regional policy.

Amid fierce debate over Egypt's draft constitution, Fikra Forum editors asked Egyptian human rights experts Hafez Abu Saeda and Magdi Khalil to analyze the draft with respect to human rights, religious freedom, and democratic values. Hafez Abu Saeda is the head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Magdi Khalil is the executive director of the Middle East Freedom Forum.

In deciding what to do about Israel, the new Egyptian president is torn between the security establishment and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Jihadist groups do not buy into the democratic process and are attempting to consolidate Islamic rule in their countries one charitable act at a time.

If the Supreme Leader decides to get serious about nuclear negotiations, he will likely take a more public role in the process than before, if only to maintain control of Iran's increasingly turbulent domestic politics.

Nearly two years after the onset of the Arab Spring, four leaders have been toppled, a bloody civil war is raging in Syria with no end in sight, and the status quo in other Arab states is fragile. Where does all of this lead? In this paper, Michael Herzog assesses

As the Assad regime's increasingly precarious military situation becomes irreversible, outside assistance could help deter Damascus from extreme escalation.

On November 8, 2012, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff addressed a Policy Forum along with Dennis Ross and Jim Jeffrey. The following is an edited version of Dr. Satloff's comments; the full event can be viewed in the above video. If President Obama tasked a courageous National Security Council

Amid talk of personnel shakeups and foreign policy retooling, a former Obama advisor suggests how the president should choose his top aides and cabinet secretaries.

Don't believe the loose talk of President Obama exacting vengeance on Benjamin Netanyahu -- the two leaders need each other too much to let old grudges get in the way.

How will those in the region -- allies, adversaries, and everyone in between -- react to the election results? Watch online as veteran policy practitioners and scholars explore the priorities and challenges of the second Obama administration.

Twenty-nine years ago, Hezbollah blew up the U.S. Marines and French army barracks in Beirut, both compounds under the aegis of the Multinational Force sent to Lebanon as peacekeepers to oversee the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization from Beirut. The barracks bombings left 241 Americans and 58 French dead