Policy Analysis

PolicyWatch #1593 is the first in a two-part series discussing trends in Somalia. This piece focuses on the country's growing insurgency, while PolicyWatch #1594 addresses peacebuilding efforts and Somalia's ties to terrorism. During her recent tour of Africa, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton held a press conference with Sheikh

Turkey's ties with its neighbors have been transformed since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power almost seven years ago in November 2002. Some analysts have described the AKP's foreign policy as a "zero problems with neighbors" approach. Under the AKP, Ankara has indeed eliminated problems and built

How does one deal with and explain rising anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Israeli sentiments in Turkey? A dangerous tendency is to look into the historic roots of these phenomena and explain them as being hardwired in the Turkish polity, not as products of current politics. This is a trap that Turks

Chart of Hamas IDQB organization from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 Th eWashington Institute

Chart documenting Hamas rocket command-and-control system from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Advocates for engaging Hamas often argue that if the group is given a stake in the creation of an independent Palestine by being included in peace negotiations, it will moderate its positions. This co-optation argument is based on the misguided assumption that Hamas is a pragmatic nationalistic movement, motivated primarily

Chart of Hamas military and security apparatus structure from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Press release describing "Zionist Losses" in 2008-2009 Gaza conflict, posted on IDQB website, from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Chart of Hamas decisionmaking structure from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Battalion command-and-control structure of Hamas IDQB from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Timeline of the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Hamas lines of defense in the 2008-2009 Gaza Conflict from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

Deployment of Hamas forces in the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict from Policy Focus #97, "Hamas in Combat: The Military Performance of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement," by Yoram Cohen and Jeffrey White. Copyright 2009 The Washington Institute

I am often asked these days why Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is so upset with Israel. "It's so dramatic" people say, adding: "Why did the AKP uninvite Israel to Anatolian Eagle" (a NATO air force exercise held in Turkey)? "Is this the beginning of the end of

How is the LAPD working to counter the threat of global terrorism?

The decision by both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, to accept a runoff election is a welcome development that provides the Afghan government with an opportunity to restore its damaged credibility. The runoff election now faces two main challenges: making the process

Over the past several years, terrorist and insurgent groups have established sophisticated networks in Syria to facilitate the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq. These networks are worth closer scrutiny since foreign fighters, facilitated through Syria, have been responsible for some of the most spectacular attacks on Iraqis and coalition

Download the complete proceedings. On October 18, 2009, John Hannah and Amb. Ronald Neumann addressed The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference. John Hannah is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, focusing on U.S. Middle East strategy. A senior foreign policy practitioner in both Republican and Democratic administrations, he

Download the complete proceedings. On October 18, 2009, Israeli deputy prime minister Dan Meridor delivered a keynote address to The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference in Leesburg, Virginia. Dan Meridor is Israel's deputy prime minister and minister of intelligence and atomic energy. During three decades in government, he has

Download the complete proceedings. On October 17, 2009, Daniel Byman, Matthew Levitt, and Jeffrey White addressed The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference. Daniel Byman is director of the Security Studies Program at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, as well as