Policy Analysis

At a time when Russia is firmly in the Syrian driver's seat and Assad shows no sign of going away, brokering a deal to establish a humanitarian buffer area would be one way to address Washington and Amman's pressing concerns about ongoing refugee flows.

All sides failed in the most recent round of negotiations, but there was an opportunity for real progress -- take it from someone who was there.

Doing so will make two conflicts harder to resolve, and rob Libyans of the opportunity to take advantage of Fayyad's considerable skills as an institution-builder and reformer.

Washington should not lend its support to any proposal that will make the Yemeni people long-term hostages to an Iran-enabled quagmire.

Syria Paper Explains How to Fight Terror, Stop Refugee Flow... In this new Transition 2017 paper, Institute expert Andrew J. Tabler argues that Syria remains de facto partitioned, making the establishment of safe zones in non-Assad-controlled areas the Trump administration's most expedient course of action. Moreover, it would further Washington's

Many Hezbollah fighters believe their Iranian supervisor in Syria views them as easily replaceable Arab cannon fodder, and the resultant tension is generating disillusionment about Tehran's claims of pan-Shiite unity.

As the Trump administration prepares to revise its controversial entry restrictions, a sampling of quotes from officials around the region indicates that certain provisions will be a hard sell abroad.

Paper Outlines Ways to Deepen Cooperation with Gulf States.... The Trump administration has an opportunity to reset, tighten, and maximize America's strategic relations with the Gulf states. For the United States, expanded security cooperation and coordination could be a force multiplier in campaigns to achieve key policy goals, such as

An updated look at the immediate military issues and longer-term 'day after' concerns that the Trump administration should focus on as the campaign to retake Mosul continues.

The rise of the Islamic State brought the Kurds together, but its impending fall now threatens to tear them apart.

A comprehensive look at the concrete steps the Trump administration can take to secure a vital ally that has shown signs of struggling under the weight of refugees and numerous other challenges.

Egypt remains an essential component of any future Palestinian peace process, but the country's deep anti-Israel propaganda is a persistent stumbling block.

The president's 'one state' comment may have been offhand, and the idea is a nonstarter in any case, but the two leaders did seem to agree in principle on a mechanism that would likely limit settlement activity.

Despite the recent challenges to Washington's regional supremacy, one irreducible reality is clear: the United States is still the only actor capable of forging partnerships that advance not just parochial, short-term interests, but the broader security, stability and prosperity needed to prevent further collapse.

Those who think the two-state solution is being buried should put their shovels away.

A former Treasury official outlines the various steps Washington can take to support its stated goal of curbing provocative Iranian behavior such as ballistic missile tests, military interventionism, illicit financing, and terror sponsorship.

Despite the prime minister's distaste for the deal, he will likely ask Washington to enforce it to the hilt instead of shredding it -- something the Trump White House seems ready to do given its actions toward Iran thus far.

It is strange to hear talk of an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose competition is notorious. The two states, who have clashed in multiple countries, now find themselves in a new political situation which may force them to work together. At the very least they may have to

By forcing the settlements issue prematurely, Israel's right-wing parties may have misjudged the new administration's interest in preserving its peacemaking options.

February 14th, 2017 The Islamic State’s (ISIS) credentials substantially improved after their conquest of Mosul in 2014. In only two years, this al-Qaeda splinter group has spread into most Middle Eastern countries, the Islamic Maghreb, South and Southeast Asia, and has established cells and inspired individual attacks in Europe and