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U.S. Policy

Policy Analysis on U.S. Policy

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Brief Analysis
What Did the Confirmation Hearings Reveal About Biden’s Middle East Policy?
Antony Blinken, Avril Haines, and Lloyd Austin responded at length to congressional questions about the Iran nuclear deal, the Yemen war, Arab-Israel normalization, and other pressing regional issues.
Jan 22, 2021
◆
  • Ilari Papa
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in 2020
Articles & Testimony
Biden’s First 200 Days: The Security Agenda
Many of the administration’s early Middle East security efforts will boil down to crisis management, but new frameworks like the Abraham Accords may provide opportunities to address longer-term problems.
Jan 20, 2021
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
Articles & Testimony
Biden Doesn’t Need to Rush Back into the Iran Nuclear Deal to Defuse Tensions
Less could be more when negotiating with Tehran.
Jan 19, 2021
◆
  • Dennis Ross
Brief Analysis
How Might Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” Test Biden?
The new administration could face an Iranian military strike as early as inauguration day, along with multiple threats from the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and other actors down the road, all requiring clear demonstrations of U.S. resolve.
Jan 15, 2021
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Christine McVann
Vice President Joseph R. Biden
Articles & Testimony
Biden Should Build on the Abraham Accords, Not Roll Them Back
Party leaders are providing constructive input, but the administration should stop short of any measures that risk sabotaging this moment of historic progress in Arab-Israel relations.
Jan 14, 2021
◆
  • Jay Solomon
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair
Video
Brief Analysis
America, the Middle East, and the World: A Conversation with Tony Blair
The former Prime Minister discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the Biden administration twenty years after 9/11 and a decade after the Arab Spring.
January 11, 2021
◆
  • Tony Blair
National Guard soldiers protect the United States Capitol building.
Articles & Testimony
Trump’s Aiding Capitol Violence as World Watches Shows U.S. Is Now Exporting Extremism
The homeland has increasingly been a haven for far-right extremism during the president’s tenure, frustrating America’s allies and encouraging its enemies.
Jan 8, 2021
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Brief Analysis
Leveraging U.S. Sanctions on Faleh al-Fayyad
The Biden administration should embrace the new sanctions against the civilian head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a decision that is supported by strong evidence of human rights abuses and can help hold other violators accountable.
Jan 8, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Video
Brief Analysis
Humanitarian Aid and the Biden Administration: Lessons from Yemen and Syria
Watch a conversation with veteran NGO practitioners with deep experience in humanitarian efforts in Syria and Yemen as they discuss lessons for the Biden administration's approach to humanitarian aid.
January 15, 2021
◆
  • Jan Egeland
  • Emma Beals
  • Alex Harper
  • Jomana Qaddour
  • Elana DeLozier
  • Charles Thépaut
Women with hands on hearts, Gilroy, California, vigil
In-Depth Reports
Counterterrorism Under the Trump Administration A Fractured Response to a Diversified Threat
The administration's achievements were counterbalanced by a striking lack of alignment among three U.S. national security strategies and the discouraging rapid rise of far-right extremism at home.
Jan 7, 2021
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Brief Analysis
Enough Theory, European Strategic Autonomy Needs Practice in the Middle East
Libya, Iraq, and the Strait of Hormuz provide three test cases where greater assertiveness and transatlantic cooperation could go hand in hand, but only if European countries receive genuine U.S. support to step up their operational efforts and diplomatic engagement.
Jan 6, 2021
◆
  • Charles Thépaut
  • Pierre Morcos
Iran warhead on Iran map
In-Depth Reports
The Coming Iran Nuclear Talks Openings and Obstacles
A reimagined approach to Iran nuclear talks could extend the country’s breakout time, preserve U.S. negotiating leverage, and strengthen American alliances in Europe and across the Middle East.
Jan 5, 2021
◆
  • Dennis Ross
Video
Brief Analysis
Presidential Transition Event: Thinking About the Next Phase of Iran Nuclear Diplomacy
Three veteran policy practitioners examine the challenges that the Biden administration will face as it considers whether and how to reenter the Iran nuclear agreement.
January 6, 2021
◆
  • Dennis Ross
  • Suzanne Maloney
  • Meghan O'Sullivan
Articles & Testimony
Why an Iran Attack Could Be Biden’s “Hour One” Crisis
Tehran and its proxies may wait until after inauguration to take any action, potentially leaving Biden to decide how to balance the safety of American personnel with the chance for reengagement.
Jan 2, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Articles & Testimony
Saudi Sentencing of Women’s Activist Sets Up Riyadh for a Clash with Biden
The topic of human rights has become a red line for Saudi leaders, who seem to perceive it as a purely domestic matter on which they will not countenance any foreign pressure.
Dec 28, 2020
◆
  • Simon Henderson
How Biden’s Iran Policy Can Have a Chance to Succeed
No sanctions relief should be granted without nuclear concessions, and a “less for less” deal may be the best way of reaching a viable compromise in the near term.
Dec 26, 2020
◆
  • Dennis Ross
Brief Analysis
Israel’s Political Churn Continues: Implications for Netanyahu and U.S. Policy
Internal rifts and defections have upended the prime minister’s coalition, and the dynamics of the upcoming election campaign mean that Netanyahu will need to carefully avoid tensions with the Biden administration.
Dec 23, 2020
◆
  • David Makovsky
Articles & Testimony
Presidential Elections in the United States: Political and Economic Consequences for Europe
There is greater American bipartisan consensus on national security strategy than Washington’s fractious politics would indicate, creating ample room for transatlantic cooperation on that front.
December 2020
◆
  • Michael Singh
  • Charles Thépaut
Brief Analysis
A Short-Term Diplomatic Agenda for the Syrian Puzzle
If Biden wants to create additional leverage before attempting difficult negotiations with Russia, he will need to display strategic patience by partnering with allies on ten preliminary issues.
Dec 21, 2020
◆
  • Charles Thépaut
A government solcier in Yemen
Articles & Testimony
Yemen Policy From the Inside Out
The conflict continues because none of the local parties is strong enough to win, weak enough to lose, or incentivized toward peace, but the Biden administration can do something about the latter problem.
Dec 15, 2020
◆
  • Elana DeLozier

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