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The Crisis with North Korea:

Implications for the Middle East

With the opening of new negotiations between the United States and North Korea, it is important to underscore one of the major concerns driving the current crisis: fear that a nuclear North Korea would export nuclear arms and technology to rogue states in the Middle East in order to earn

Michael Eisenstadt

Articles & Testimony

Deja Vu All Over Again? An Assessment of Iran's Military Buildup

In 1989, following a costly eight-year war with Iraq, Iran initiated a major military buildup intended to transform it into a regional power and rebuild its ravaged armed forces. Iran's buildup, coupled with indications of increased activism in its foreign policy -- including efforts to undermine the Arab-Israeli peace process

The Qatari View

On January 25, 1994, His Excellency Sheikh bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, foreign minister of Qatar, addressed an off the record session of The Washington Institute's Policy Forum on regional security in the Persian Gulf. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks. Security Arrangements in the Gulf and

In-Depth Reports

Russian Arms Sales Policy Toward the Middle East

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 dealt Middle East rejectionists a crippling blow. For four decades, Moscow supplied "rogue" regimes throughout the region with massive quantities of arms with which to pursue their goals: fighting Israel, sponsoring terrorism, and attacking Western interests. Usually, these weapons were provided on

In-Depth Reports

Iraq: Options for U.S. Policy

The Clinton administration inherited a flawed Iraq policy from the Bush administration, but, in formulating a new policy, it has failed to accurately define those flaws. Its emphasis on "depersonalizing" the conflict with Iraq by shifting the focus from Saddam Hussein to Baghdad's compliance with relevant UN resolutions may mean

In-Depth Reports

Radical Middle East States and U.S. Policy

The challenge posed to the United States by the radical regimes in the Middle East -- Libya, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- is one of the most important foreign policy issues facing Washington today. These regimes, although weakened by the demise of the USSR, have by no means been disabled

Barry Rubin

In-Depth Reports

Like a Phoenix from the Ashes?

The Future of Iraqi Military Power

Despite its crushing defeat during the Gulf War, Iraq remains a potential regional power and the foremost long-term threat to U.S. interests in the Middle East. President Saddam Hussein remains committed to acquiring nuclear weapons, despite serious international sanctions and UN weapons inspections in Iraq. As a first step toward

Michael Eisenstadt

In-Depth Reports

Peace with Security:

Israel's Minimal Security Requirements in Negotiations with Syria

Although the uncertain status of the Palestinians lies at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, without Syria there simply can be no progress in the peace process. In the past, Syria was satisfied with the status quo and saw little need to establish peaceful relations with Israel. With the collapse

Zeev Schiff

In-Depth Reports

Water and the Peace Process:

Two Perspectives

Arabs and Israelis alike recognize the critical importance of water to the peace process and the future of regional economic cooperation. It is estimated that between 100 and 150 million cubic meters of the Yarmuk River waters flow to the Jordan River and are lost, unused in the Dead Sea

In-Depth Reports

Arming for Peace?

Syria's Elusive Quest for 'Strategic Parity'

Under the leadership of President Hafez al-Assad, Syria has emerged as the leading Arab military power. With Egypt at peace with Israel and Iraq weakened and isolated, Syria remains the only Arab state which currently poses a military threat to Israel. Future decisions concerning war or peace in the region

Michael Eisenstadt

In-Depth Reports

The Economic Consequences of the Persian Gulf War:

Accelerating OPEC's Demise

Of the many strategic interests that United States and its allies have in the Middle East, surely one of the most crucial is securing energy supplies from the region. The Gulf War of 1991 demonstrated the importance of Middle East oil in the international community’s strategic calculus. Since the oil

In-Depth Reports

Baghdad between Shi'a and Kurds

Executive Summary Since the formation of Iraq in 1920, the Sunni minority has held power and played the Shi'a and Kurdish minorities against each other. Aside from their shared enmity towards the Baghdad government, the Shi'a and the Kurds have nothing in common. The Iraqi opposition is structurally weak and

Ofra Bengio

In-Depth Reports

Toward Middle East Peace Negotiations:

Israeli Postwar Political-Military Options in an Era of Accelerated Change

Executive Summary Israel enters a new peace process at a time of considerable short-term safety and long-term uncertainty. The social and demographic consequences of the Gulf War have not fully expressed themselves on the politics of the region, while the military role of Iraq in the future is hard to

Dore Gold

In-Depth Reports

The Arrow Next Time?

Israel's Missile Defense Program for the 1990s

In-Depth Reports

The Future of Iraq

In-Depth Reports

After the Storm:

Challenges for America's Middle East Policy

Executive Summary The defeat of Saddam Hussein and the elimination of Iraq's offensive capabilities have reestablished a favorable balance of power in the Middle East. But the Gulf War has left in its wake serious challenges to American efforts to establish a more stable regional order. This report focuses on

Post War Issues #5:

Preventing Iraq's Rearmament

Iraqi efforts to acquire unconventional weapons became a major concern even before the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Chemical weapons produced during the 1980s were used in large quantities against Iranian soldiers and Kurdish civilians. Iraq developed extended range ballistic missiles, and built an infrastructure for development and production of

In-Depth Reports

The Poor Man's Atomic Bomb?

Biological Weapons in the Middle East

Saddam Hussein has claimed that Iraq possesses ballistic missiles capable of carrying biological weapons. This dramatic, if ambiguous, statement only served to dramatize earlier assertions by American officials that Iraq was indeed capable of waging biological warfare. As troubling as is the immediate threat from Baghdad, American officials, however, believe

Post War Issues #2:

When Can the Troops Come Home?

With the suspension of hostilities in the Gulf War, when can American troops begin to come home? Assuming that a formal cease-fire goes into effect within the coming days, the need for the bulk of American forces in the theater will disappear. However, the United States will require a considerable

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Military and Security Studies Program

The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program has established itself as an unrivaled source of reliable, incisive, and forward-looking analysis concerning several of the most critical national-security challenges facing the United States today: The U.S. military role in the Middle East, Iran's nuclear program and its proxy armies, the ongoing conflict is in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, the regional proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction, the security dimensions of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and many other security issues on the frontline of the U.S. policymaking agenda.

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt

Michael Eisenstadt

Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.

Michael Knights

Michael Knights

Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.

Grant Rumley

Grant Rumley is the Meisel-Goldberger Senior Fellow and Director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Elizabeth Dent - source: The Washington Institute

Elizabeth Dent is a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria.

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