Policy Analysis

The new talks have put Khamenei in a perilous position: compromising is as dangerous for him as digging in his heels.

Israel's new national unity government strengthens both Binyamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz, but it will ultimately be judged by whether it makes progress on its foreign and domestic policy agenda.

On May 9, Mahmoud Salem addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Salem, a renowned Egyptian blogger better known as "Sandmonkey," is a longtime analyst of Egyptian political affairs and advocate for free speech and democracy. He ran as a parliamentary candidate last year on the ticket of the Free Egyptians Party. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks.

Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough believes that the relationship between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is “workmanlike” and enables the two leaders to immediately address the important issues on their agendas. Speaking to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Weinberg Founders Conference, McDonough stated that

Ambassador Robert Blackwill, Ambassador Dennis Ross and Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin (IDF, ret.) said that Israel remains an important strategic asset for the United States. “The U.S. and Israel share key vital interests in a fast-changing region with multiple dangers and threats to both,” Ross said during a plenary session

Does the United States have a moral obligation to intervene militarily in Syria and, if so, when? That was question when three experts—Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Fouad Ajami, T, Washington bureau chief Peter David, and former U.S. envoy to Syria Ambassador Theodore Kattouf—addressed the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s

Counterterrorism experts Juan Zarate and Peter L. Bergen agreed that the nature of the war on terror has fundamentally shifted from the manner in which the U.S. strategically and tactically approached efforts against al-Qaeda after 9/11. “No politician is going to say it’s over, but people in our position maintain

Experts tied to the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush agreed that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons should be American foreign policy and that an Israeli military strike against the country’s nuclear facilities is inadvisable this year. Speaking to The Washington Institute’s Weinberg Founders Conference, Colin

Watch live streaming video from washingtoninstitute at livestream.com Egyptian business leader Naguib Sawiris believes that the United States has no choice but to provide economic support to an Egyptian government dominated by Islamic parties, due to the country’s pivotal role in the Middle East. “The collapse of Egypt would be

Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Monem Abouel Fotouh was a leading force in the militant Islamist student movements of the 1970s; one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s point men for aiding the mujahideen in Afghanistan during the 1980s; and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Office for twenty-two years. It should

Kemalism may be dead, but Ataturk's way of doing business appears to be alive and kicking in Turkey.

From May 4, through Sunday noon, May 6, The Washington Institute explored the full range of Middle East policy challenges at the 2012 Weinberg Founders Conference, which brought together policymakers, diplomats, journalists, experts, and private citizens for a lively weekend of discussion and debate. Watch plenary sessions of the conference

Contrary to expectations, Russia's positions on Iran and Syria are unlikely to harden during Putin's third presidential term, which starts next week.

Turkey has changed so drastically in the past decade that it has become largely unrecognizable. For starters, the country has experienced a sort of economic miracle, nearly tripling its economic output in the past decade and subsequently joining the ranks of the elite G-20 club. Politically, too, Turkey has undergone

When Egypt's Presidential Elections Commission disqualified Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater from the upcoming elections last week, the Brotherhood was angered, but not surprised. Egyptian law bans criminal convicts from running for president, and though al-Shater's 2007 conviction for belonging to an "illegal organization" -- namely, the Brotherhood --

The resignation of Jordan's prime minister caps a process in which the kingdom turned away from wooing the largely Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood and instead opted to shore up traditional East Bank sources of support. Given the intense regional challenges Jordan faces, Washington should give Amman a wide berth to put its internal house in order.

The Defense Department's deputy assistant secretary for counternarcotics and global threats addressed an off-the-record Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. The following is an excerpt from his prepared remarks. "The U.S. government has, for decades, dedicated significant resources to stemming the flow of illicit drugs into the United States, and

Chairman Chabot and Ranking Member Ackerman: Thank you for this opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on the situation in Syria and U.S. government efforts to force President Bashar al-Assad to "step aside," as outlined by President Obama in August 2011. During Part

Despite trepidation over Libya's upcoming elections, they offer the best way to solve the country's legitimacy crisis, and Washington should tailor its assistance accordingly.

Cairo's otherwise disappointing decision to freeze Israel's gas supplies gives Washington an opportunity to separate its Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean energy policies.