Policy Analysis

The lack of armed response by Hamas or PIJ highlights the host of military and political factors restraining both organizations and the potency of new Israeli defense technologies, though radical elements may still decide to risk an attack out of desperation.

November 2, 2017 In mid-August, TV screens showed us the strange footage of Islamic State militants and their families travelling in buses protected by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Hezbollah, and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Yesterday enemies, today the LAF, Hezbollah, and SAA are keen to move the Islamic

While U.S. attention is focused on fires already raging in the Middle East, Russia is quietly expanding its presence in North Africa, to the detriment of U.S. interests.

Washington's post-referendum reengagement should focus on getting U.S.-Kurdish relations and Kurdish democracy back on the right track.

The longstanding cooperation between the two regimes seems to have intensified during Syria's war, with troubling implications for future missile, chemical, and even nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Three Middle East scholars explore how to measure public opinion in the region's sometimes fractious, sometimes autocratic Arab states.

The Trump administration's focus on border security and 'terrorism prevention' is not well suited to countering homegrown attacks like the one New York just suffered.

A bustling Iranian tech sector will likely continue to draw foreign interest despite the threat of renewed U.S. sanctions.

One designation in particular by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center suggests a foundation for better ties between Qatar and the GCC countries with which it has feuded.

The group is hoping to rein in rampant social problems by allowing government authorities to crack down on its poorest constituents, but the plan could backfire amid unprecedented anti-Hezbollah riots.

Many Turks traditionally got their only firsthand exposure to European values by interacting with European tourists, but lately this trend seems to be weakening even as visitors from Muslim-majority or former Soviet countries are on the rise.

As tensions escalate across the border, the IDF is trying to win over old enemies.

October 27, 2017 The Berber Spring, known in Berber as “Tafsut Imaziyen,” was a period of clashes that erupted between Algerian security forces and Berber students and activists on March 10, 1980. Algerian authorities had banned a lecture by writer Mouloud Mammeri on ancient Berber poetry in the city of

Three veteran European military leaders discuss Hezbollah's escalating threat to regional stability and outline urgent steps for avoiding a destructive new conflict with Israel.

October 25, 2017 As Secretary of State Tillerson returns from the Middle East, where he focused on challenges from Iran and intra-Arab divisions, a new poll in Kuwait reveals a mixed yet largely favorable picture of popular attitudes on such issues in that small but strategic Gulf state. On Iran’s

If the Kurdish region is rolled back by federal forces or implodes into civil conflict, the consequences would threaten Iraq's constitutional structure and undercut U.S. efforts to contain Iran.

For now, Palestinian officials will likely pursue half-measures rather than a true unity government, so Washington may find limited value in a formal statement against Hamas.

To prevent Baghdad from overplaying its hand, Washington must demand publicly that the fighting stop.

Given the maritime and missile threats posed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, senior U.S. officials have indicated that the White House will continue expanding its assistance to the Saudi-led coalition.

To keep Iraq united and help minimize the divisive sectarianism that has characterized past elections, Washington and the UN need to push for dialogue on the KRG crisis.