Policy Analysis

October 8, 2014 What is in a name? Apparently a lot. Branding is as important for terrorist groups as it is for companies, if not more so. A brand – its style, symbols, and words – can assist in detracting enemies, recruiting fighters and supporters, attracting followers, inspiring loyalty, raising

Turkey's primary objective in Syria is to oust the Assad regime, so it is unlikely to materially help the besieged enclave without U.S. and Kurdish commitments toward that goal.

Political differences between Gulf countries are more complex than simply "Qatar vs. the rest."

Coordinated Israeli, Jordanian, and allied assistance in the south could boost the moderate Syrian rebels there, stave off an extremist takeover, and facilitate the ongoing international campaign against ISIS.

Three distinguished scholars and former U.S. officials discuss how the Policy Planning Staff in the State and Defense Departments can draw on past lessons to address regional problems in Syria, Iran, and elsewhere.

Other Gulf countries joined the fight against terrorism financing once they perceived a real security risk inside their borders, but Qatar's extraordinary financial and political patronage has deterred that threat thus far.

Lebanon's precarious state has worsened as ISIS beheads citizens and holds troops and police hostage.

Tunisia will need U.S. support for its continuing, fragile transition away from authoritarianism.

Proximity to the Green Line was not interpreted equally by U.S. and Israeli leaders.

Washington's Gulf partners in the coalition against ISIS are increasingly distracted by the takeover of the Yemeni capital by pro-Iranian Houthi tribesmen.

Druze communities in Syria and Lebanon cannot afford to be on the losing side of the ongoing war, and their cautious approach to local tensions reflects that imperative.

An Israeli chief justice and a former U.S. diplomat describe the lessons they learned during Sam Lewis's historic tenure as ambassador to Israel, and how the bilateral relationship grew.

Regardless of what Washington calls the group, intelligence reports show that it represents a very real threat.

Military force and Treasury designations are great tools for curbing the group's oil smuggling and fundraising efforts, but most of its money comes from local criminal enterprises that are much more difficult to counter.

Turkey has thus far avoided overt participation in the international airstrikes against ISIS, reflecting its continued vulnerability to the group and its complex policy priorities in neighboring Syria.

In Washington, communiques that purport to cover everything usually, in reality, address nothing. This is the sense conveyed by the "vision statement" issued in the wake of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House... Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal website.

Despite the ambiguities in the new agreement, the uncertainty of its actual implementation, and the lack of clarity about what it might mean for Gaza, neither Hamas nor Fatah has an interest in aborting the reconciliation effort at the moment.

Given the group's brutal, nihilistic approach to territories it has seized, any anti-ISIL uprisings that are well planned and externally supported will eventually succeed.

The latest fighting exposed the group's military improvements and weaknesses alike, and Hamas members will study the lessons learned in preparation for future confrontations with Israel.

Supporters of ISIS and other global jihadist organizations were among those killed in the latest Gaza conflict, raising questions about the extent to which these groups are entrenching themselves in the area.