Policy Analysis

Washington and its allies should reach out to the Syrian opposition and help them plan for the eventuality of Asad's departure.

The Obama administration's announcement yesterday specifically sanctioning Syrian President Bashar al-Asad begins to clear the fog that has clouded policy toward this pivotal country since the outbreak of mass protests weeks ago. As U.S. and international leaders have grappled with popular uprisings across the Middle East, the tension between moral

Robert Satloff responds to Obama's recommendations regarding Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, made today in his "Winds of Change" speech at the State Department.

After appropriately exulting in the daring raid against Usama bin Laden, President Obama will connect that success to a broader theme -- the Arab "winds of change" -- whose prospects for success are certainly no greater than the 50/50 odds originally given for the Abbottabad mission. In so doing, the

When administration officials insist that each country and each revolution in the Middle East is different and must thus be handled differently, they are correct. Case-by-case action is often wise. Case-by-case strategy is not.

In anticipation of its victory in the June 12 general parliamentary elections, the AKP has promised to draft a new constitution for the country.

Ever since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) assumed power in Ankara in 2002, Turkey has grown gradually cold toward cooperating with the West in the Middle East. Now, the AKP is increasingly taking issue with NATO.

Washington cannot easily demand that Netanyahu make major concessions on peace as Abbas joins forces with a group sworn to Israel's destruction, but the Israeli prime minister should still arrive in Washington this week with a plan for renewed talks.

On May 13, 2011, Robin Wright, Robert Kagan, and Martin Kramer addressed The Washington Institute's 2011 Soref Symposium. Ms. Wright, a distinguished journalist who has reported from more than 140 countries, is a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson

On May 13, 2011, Hisham Kassem, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, and Amb. James Larocco addressed The Washington Institute's 2011 Soref Symposium. Mr. Kassem, former publisher of al-Masry al-Youm, is an independent journalist and one of Egypt's most prominent democracy activists. Maj. Gen. Yadlin is the Kay fellow at The Washington

On May 13, 2011, Dalia Ziada and Amr al-Azm addressed The Washington Institute's 2011 Soref Symposium. Ms. Ziada, an Egyptian activist and blogger, is director of the American Islamic Conference's North Africa bureau. Mr. al-Azm, a Syrian historian and archaeologist, is an associate professor of Middle Eastern history and anthropology

On May 12, 2011, National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon delivered the Michael Stein Address on U.S. Middle East Policy at The Washington Institute's 2011 Soref Symposium. Mr. Donilon is national security advisor to President Obama, a post he has held since October 2010. During the Clinton administration, he served

The raid that killed Usama bin Laden may finally shed light on the financial network behind al-Qaeda.

An Interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Israel marked the sixty-third anniversary of its independence yesterday against the backdrop of the Arab Spring roiling the Middle East. The democracy movement holds out promise but also challenges for Israel, says Israel expert David Makovsky, because while Israel welcomes the idea of fellow

The Syrian government has stepped up its campaign to quash a seven-week uprising, reportedly using tanks to fire on cities. At least twenty people and two Syrian soldiers died in the latest clashes. Larisa Epatko of PBS NewsHour asked Andrew J. Tabler, a Next Generation fellow in The Washington Institute's

On May 4, 2011, Gilles Kepel and Martin Kramer addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Kepel is the chair of Middle East and Mediterranean studies at the Insitut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and author of Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: The Future of the Middle East

If recent trends hold during Turkey's upcoming elections, as many as a quarter of all voters will not have representation in the parliament.

On April 29, 2011, Ahmed Ali, Michael Knights, and Michael Eisenstadt addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Ali is a Marcia Robbins-Wilf research associate at the Institute, focusing on Iraqi political dynamics. Dr. Knights is a Lafer fellow at the Institute, specializing in the military and security

The regime of Muammar Qadhafi is engaging in multiple fights across Libya, but the focal point is now in the west. The battle itself has two main fronts: the city and port of Misratah and the Nafusa Mountains to the south and west of Tripoli. The regime is fighting hard

Despite being overshadowed by tumult elsewhere in the region, the December 2011 deadline for U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq looms ever closer. And although Baghdad has made notable progress on many fronts, its security forces and related civilian ministries continue to show troubling gaps in both capabilities and decisionmaking, leaving