Policy Analysis

Watch an expert conversation on the current state of the global arms market.

American assistance to the Middle East apparently won’t be cut back as drastically as the Trump administration hoped, but questions abound regarding the diluted department’s capacity to actually use the restored funds effectively.

China and Russia get higher marks than the United States, and Israel normalization is on hold—but respondents view Hamas negatively, want Arab involvement in the peace process, and increasingly support moderate interpretations of Islam.

NGOs and foreign officials have already outlined many of the most crucial transitional governance and security issues that will arise during and after Israel’s eventual withdrawal—and all of them will require some degree of oversight and leadership from the Trump administration.

Both before and after the twelve-day war, the Islamic Republic has taken U.S. citizens hostage, necessitating a multifaceted U.S.-led strategy that ends the practice for good.

Join us for an expert conversation featuring retired senior military leaders from Israel and Lebanon examining the potential role of UNIFIL in fulfilling Lebanon's pledge to disarm Hezbollah. Watch live starting at 12:00 noon EDT (1600 GMT) on Thursday, August 14, 2025.

The violence in Suwayda has exposed the limits of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s control of Syria. But the assumption that the Druze community there is a monolith does not bear out: Damascus and Jerusalem are vying for influence amid the various leaders competing for power in the southwestern Syrian governorate.

Negotiations between Elbit Systems and EDGE Group over the Hermes 900 UAV system exemplify how the accords are ushering in a new era of defense-industrial cooperation.

For producers, the main concern is not lost revenue or market share but instead damage to relationships they have worked hard to cultivate.

Iran-backed terrorist militias are upping their threats against the United States and Iraqi minorities in the event the PMF is not made into a permanent institution.

Permanently enshrining Iran-backed terrorist groups inside the Iraqi state would be a massive blow to U.S. interests, so Washington’s reaction should be clear, proportionately harsh, and coordinated with other regional partners who have likewise been victimized by these groups.

The high-level Saudi delegation to a Damascus investment conference indicates Riyadh is betting on President Sharaa.

The Israeli and U.S. military campaigns revealed how far Moscow and Beijing are willing to go (or not go) in their support for Tehran, providing Washington with opportunities to keep Iran in a weakened position.

The military clash over Iran's nuclear program confirmed what Chinese strategists have long preached: in great-power contests, hard power decides outcomes.

Although the summit cancellation is a blow, it could serve as an important moment for reassessment and recalibration rather than signaling the end of international mediation.

Hostage-taking has served multiple purposes for Hamas, including a novel use of cognitive warfare. This may prove to be a turning point in terrorist strategy that governments will need to learn how to counter effectively.

The axis hasn’t fallen apart—if anything, these countries appear willing to work together even more closely now than before the Iran-Israel war.

The clash occurred when a KH-protected official was removed from a lucrative position that has given the terrorist group access to massive tracts of fertile farming land in southern Baghdad.

The Iranian and Russian regimes have used a wide mix of tactics and operatives to strike at dissidents and other targets in the West, and thwarting them will require more intensive efforts on multiple fronts.

A Syrian official and a panel of experts debate the response to recent sectarian bloodshed in the south, including what must be done to protect minorities and pursue true transitional justice post-Assad.