Policy Analysis

Former military officials and experts from Lebanon and Israel discuss how Beirut’s unsettled political dynamics might affect ongoing implementation of the ceasefire and future peacebuilding efforts.

The Institute’s director of research testified before a Senate panel on U.S. policy post-Assad, explaining how Washington has another chance for impactful bipartisan action five years after the Syria Study Group.

The Institute’s managing director testified before a Senate panel on U.S. policy post-Assad, explaining how patience, pragmatism, and a willingness to lead can help Washington avoid its past vacillation between excessive intervention and exasperated neglect in the Middle East.

Watch congressional testimony by two Institute scholars focusing on U.S. policy options in the face of Syria's evolving reality.

While the new government’s relative stability is a success, more details are needed on developing and implementing a national dialogue, a new constitution, and inclusivity measures.

The new cabinet appointments appeared to sideline Hezbollah’s camp, but the group retained control over the crucial Finance Ministry and may find other ways of interfering with security decisions, the reconstruction process, and the next elections.

New data shows that Iran-backed Afghan and Pakistani terrorists are arriving at a broadening range of Iraqi military bases.

With strategic Western support on grain deliveries, embassy staffing, counter-messaging, and other initiatives, Ukraine can contribute much to rolling back Moscow’s malign influence in the region.

To set up a future where U.S. forces and constant U.S. attention are no longer needed in Syria, Washington must be involved now, and smart transatlantic engagement could facilitate this goal.

A hostage ultimatum from Washington seemed to provide Netanyahu with the freedom of action he wanted, but Israeli domestic realities may not allow him to break the ceasefire just yet.

Although the president should avoid cornering such an important ally on an issue as risky as Palestinian relocation, the king will need to present his own concrete ideas about postwar Gaza in order to avoid a confrontation with Washington.

Despite its risks for regional stability and U.S. policy, the president’s Gaza proposal has put this issue at the top of the priority list.

To stem the growing threat of instability, European governments must develop a strategy to humanely address the migration crisis, both by reexamining their own policies and by pressing Tunisia to create a path for regularization of incoming sub-Saharan Africans.

Figures linked to Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah were among the Iraqi prime minister's recent UK delegation.

What are the risks and potential rewards for Washington and its partners working with the new government of Syria, which is led by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)?

Moving forward with an alternative Gaza plan may not be the president’s first choice, but he could at least take credit for getting Arab states to take action.

Cutting aid programs is not inherently wrong—but making those cuts before assessing their specific impact on regional allies and American lives could be disastrous for U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Israeli and U.S. experts discuss the agenda for the prime minister’s latest U.S. trip and the regional fallout from President Trump’s highly controversial ideas on “relocating” Gaza’s population.

The two leaders can use their personal rapport to solve bilateral and regional problems, but they will also face tough challenges in matters such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dealings with China.

Weakening Hezbollah permanently will be difficult, but for once the goal is attainable—if Beirut has the courage to keep the group out of Lebanon’s coffers and make the army do its job.