Syria

In this report, reprinted with permission from the proceedings of a conference of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Washington Institute senior fellow and director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Matthew Levitt examines in detail the economic impact of support for foreign terrorists and offers specific recommendations for

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s visit to Beirut last week underscored the enormous stake America has in parliamentary elections that Lebanon will hold June 7. The country's governing majority -- moderate, pro-Western, supported by Washington -- is running neck and neck with a coalition dominated by Hezbollah, the militant

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is scheduled to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa this week. Conspicuously absent from his itinerary is Damascus. Despite a Syrian public relations campaign designed to exploit Washington's opening gestures with Syria as a major

On March 13, 2009, Andrew Tabler, Magnus Norell, and John Hannah addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute to discuss the Washington-Beirut-Damascus triangle. Mr. Tabler, the cofounder and former editor-in-chief of Syria Today, is a Soref fellow at The Washington Institute. Dr. Norell is a Fulbright scholar

This Saturday, Lebanon's pro-West March 14 coalition officially kicks off its election campaign in Beirut. Two weeks ago, the Hizballah-led opposition -- backed by Syria and Iran -- started campaigning in its stronghold in the Beqa Valley. With less than three months until Lebanon's parliamentary election, the contest, which pits

The New York Times convened an online panel of five Middle East experts to discuss the Obama adminstration's recent decision to send two diplomats to begin "preliminary conversations" with the Syrian government. The following is a contribution by Washington Institute Soref fellow Andrew J. Tabler, the cofounder and former editor

On February 9, the Syrian minister of transportation announced that Washington had granted a license allowing Syria to purchase spare parts for two Boeing 747s that have been grounded for years. The announcement touched off intense speculation that the Obama administration would lift U.S. sanctions against Syria that have been

During the early-January Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, unknown groups fired rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel on two separate occasions. The Katyushas were launched from an area supposedly under the control of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese army, in accordance with

Responding to the Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the Lebanese Shiite militia cum political party Hizballah denounced the Jewish state and organized large rallies. Hizballah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah went so far as to call for a popular insurrection against the pro-West regime in Egypt, whose stance was