Policy Analysis

Without external intercession, the violence in Syria is likely to escalate, with destabilizing consequences for its neighbors, particularly Lebanon and Iraq.

In Washington, concern is mounting that Iran's potential for troublemaking will now be countered by Saudi actions, which may escalate rather than quiet regional tensions.

The new financial sanctions against Iran are significant, although key U.S. allies will need to do more to potentially impact the regime's nuclear program decisionmaking.

In its present form, VOA's Persian service is a waste of U.S. tax dollars.

The Salafist view of equality in Egypt is clear: so long as we all live by sharia, we're all equal. Eric Trager reports from Giza.

Washington and Baghdad should begin laying the groundwork for a real strategic relationship that assuages Maliki's insecurities while emphasizing U.S. red lines on Iran, human rights, and other issues.

In the coming months, the new Tunisian government will need to begin the process of containing Salafism alongside the tasks of writing the new constitution and reviving the economy.

Privately discussing U.S. concerns about military action against Iran is both responsible and necessary. Musing upon them publicly, however, is a strategic error.

The Barbara Walters interview with Bashar al-Assad underscores how completely he has lost his grip on the reality of the violence in his country.

Among all the countries experiencing Arab Spring protests, Syria is uniquely positioned to fall under Turkish influence once its dictator is toppled.

Two heroes of the campaign for freedom and human rights in the Middle East -- Natan Sharansky of Israel and Saad Eddin Ibrahim of Egypt -- jointly received the Washington Institute's Scholar-Statesman Award at a benefit dinner in Manhattan on December 5, 2011.

Watch a senior Treasury Department official's discussion of his department's response to the Middle East revolutions of 2011.

With only a few months of preparation and a rumored cache of Saudi funding, Egypt's even more extreme Salafist Nour Party is giving the Muslim Brotherhood a run for its money.

Although the Arab League's new sanctions on the Asad regime are welcome, they are unlikely to result in real transformation within the organization.

If recent provocations are any indicator, Tehran might become so fearful of an overt war that it starts one itself.

The growing armed opposition movement against the Asad regime is becoming an increasingly important element in the Syrian equation.

The second revolution has failed because, since a ceasefire went into effect on November 24, it has been remarkably well contained.

Judging from the first day of voting, the Muslim Brotherhood's theocratic political vision, empowered through elections, seems to be in Egypt's immediate future.

The debate over whether to sanction the Central Bank of Iran must consider the effectiveness of such action and the consequences for the world economy.

The Obama administration's once-powerful message to Egypt about strategic direction, democratic institutions, and economic growth has lost its voice. Even as polls open, it is still not too late to engage Egyptians on the consequences of their vote.