Policy Analysis

A year after Joe Biden’s inauguration, expectations for a shift in America's Middle East policy have not materialized. Gulf monarchies are warily looking on as Washington continues to debate the U.S. role in the region.

The lessons Moscow learned from the 1991 Gulf War and the 2015 Syria intervention reveal much about the strategy, tactics, and weapons systems it might use (or already be using) in Ukraine.

Washington’s tacit acquiescence to normalization with a war criminal has shown the world who won the Syria war—and, by extension, what can be gained from challenging U.S. policy.

Targeting the faith’s followers is a longstanding feature of the Islamic Republic but has been escalating of late.

The UN aid mechanism is alive for another six months, but the threat of famine, Russian vetoes, and military escalation will persist unless Washington takes appropriate steps before the next round of renewal negotiations.

Qataris voice favorable views toward rapprochement with Turkey and see the United States, China, and Russia as equally valuable partners.

Washington can help preserve the recent coalition gains by categorizing the campaign as defensive, deterring further Houthi attacks abroad, and leveraging the next military deadlock to reinvigorate peace talks.

Although domestic extremism has emerged as a bigger homeland terrorist threat, the threat of jihadi violence from abroad remains acute.

Two years after the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC general’s name still holds a lot of power for many Syrians as one of the Iranian officials directly responsible for the ongoing Iranian efforts to change the culture in the country’s southeastern region of Deir Ezzor.

As Emirati-aligned forces gain ground on the battlefield in Yemen, the Houthis are trying to raise the costs of Abu Dhabi’s involvement.

In a spike from earlier years, Bahrainis are increasingly divided on Iran.

With their constituents upping the pressure on hot-button factional issues, Prime Minister Bennett and Mansour Abbas are starting to feel the vulnerabilities inherent in their still-fragile coalition.

Reflecting on the first summit of Rabbis in Islamic states, the benefits and necessities of cross-communal collaboration are clear.

The group and its offshoots pursue conventional warfare campaigns as a rule, not an exception, so the United States needs to enhance its regional military partnerships accordingly.

Abu Fadak and Akram Kaabi seem to have inherited the PMF and "resistance" parts of the late militia leader's portfolio.

Some Western policymakers seem to believe that Russia can be helpful on Iran even as it threatens to attack Ukraine, but they’re missing the bigger picture.

Recent moves by the senior PMF commander are seemingly aimed at sowing divisions among four key militias that do not answer to the so-called "resistance."

A minor sub-group took credit for recent airport strikes, indicating a return to the "facade" strategy and a role for AAH in the latest escalation.

After two decades of direct U.S. involvement, what went so wrong in Afghanistan compared to the relative successes seen in Iraq?

A decade after the beginning of the 2011 uprising against Assad, the Autonomous Administration (AA) that controls the northeastern region of Syria faces numerous governance challenges. The author sat down with General Mazloum, the SDF commander in charge of protecting the AA, to discuss its current issues and potential future.