Syria

The Trump administration cannot say it is going to be tougher on Iran and at the same time partner with Russia in Syria -- the two goals are mutually exclusive under the current circumstances.

If Erdogan can temper his political agenda amid a seemingly endless series of violent incidents, he will go down in history as one of Turkey’s most influential leaders, but otherwise he will be remembered as the man who drove his country into the ground.

A century after diplomats Mark Sykes of Britain and François Georges-Picot of France drew up a secret agreement to divide the Ottoman lands of the Middle East, a look at the modern map indicates the resulting states have largely stood the test of time -- at least thus far. Most

As Aleppo's eastern districts continue to collapse, the regime will soon turn its attention to other pressing fronts, but manpower shortages will likely force it to focus on just one of them first.

Tensions between the White House and the intelligence community are nothing new, but enough damage has already been done to elevate this problem to the Trump administration's A-list.

A compendium of Institute analysis on the evolving challenges and opportunities that will face the Trump administration in the Middle East.

The Assad regime and Russia seem eager to establish full control of the city before the Trump administration takes office, essentially presenting the new president with a fait accompli on the war's most notorious front.

While liberating territory from the Islamic State is vital, the consequences of ceding portions of Iraq and Syria to de facto Iranian control could be just as dire as leaving them in jihadist hands.

This collection of essays by Washington Institute experts explores how the United States can work with--or, in some cases, around--the various actors in heavily Kurdish-populated northern Syria to advance the fight against the Islamic State and create long-term stability. Successive pieces look at the Kurds themselves, Turkey, Arabs in the