Policy Analysis

On January 17, 2012, Stanley Greenberg and Susan Glasser addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Greenberg, the chairman and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, has served as polling advisor to an array of world leaders, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela, and Ehud Barak

If Washington does not demonstrate through both word and deed the risks that Tehran faces, overly optimistic Iranian hardliners may wrongly decide that the benefits of a confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz outweigh the costs.

New discoveries regarding Hizballah bombmaking in Thailand are no surprise given the group's long history of terrorist operations in Southeast Asia.

Turkish Kurds may soon go from being the "luckiest Kurds" in the Middle East to nearly the most politically underprivileged.

Turkey will rise as a regional power only if it sets a genuine example as a liberal democracy and builds strong ties with all its neighbors.

King Abdullah's trip to Washington will provide ample opportunity for crucial talks on Jordan's stability, the Syrian insurrection, and the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Do the latest Israeli-Palestinian talks in Amman represent a new opening or merely a tactical instrument for each side to perpetuate recriminations?

Since Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the Sinai Peninsula has emerged as a new hotspot in the complex Arab-Israeli conflict, with an expanding terrorist infrastructure that makes it another front of potential confrontation. The Bedouin are now in a position to initiate crises that neither

Given the Muslim Brotherhood's anti-Western outlook, Washington must prepare for the strong possibility that it will hold only limited influence with Egypt's next government.

Ross offers concrete suggestions for breaking the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Appearing on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Institute managing director Michael Singh talked about Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Topics included Tehran's warning to Washington that the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis should not return to the Persian Gulf, the strategic and economic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, and

Despite Washington's desire to focus on the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East regrettably holds much unfinished business for the United States and its military.

While international concern has focused on the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Iranian threats against U.S. Navy ships, tension is growing on the streets of Bahrain.

As Iran's posture in the Strait of Hormuz becomes increasingly bellicose, excessive risk aversion that results in a failure of deterrence and feeds the regime's sense of impunity may be just as risky as military action.

What kind of role can and should Turkey play in "Arab Spring" countries exiting authoritarian rule?

Threats by Tehran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz may be bluster, but they also represent a bigger policy challenge to the United States.

Egypt's election procedures have improved much, but some serious issues remain, though the U.S. government can only have modest influence regarding these matters.

The presence of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Europe is fast becoming a prism through which the Turks view their ties with Europe, especially in Germany.

The West Bank has prospered more than Gaza since the 2007 split between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and not just because of foreign aid.

Washington and its allies can still prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons through nonmilitary means.