Policy Analysis

Hamas has historically waged terror-based campaigns targeting both Israel and its Palestinian rivals, playing a spoiling role in peace negotiations between the two sides. However, much of the strength projected by Hamas is based on the military promise of the movement -- its capacity to employ force against its enemies

Last week, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Feisal Mekdad travelled to Washington for meetings at the State Department and White House. While the Obama administration extended the invitation some time ago, the timing of Mekdad's arrival seemed more than mere coincidence. Mekdad landed in Washington on Yom Kippur, the holiest day

As the United States continues to fight on multiple fronts to disrupt the efforts of al-Qaeda and its affiliates, the U.S. government has slowly come to realize that military force alone cannot defeat radical Islamist extremism. Today, there is a growing consensus that countering the ideology that drives this extremism

It seems worryingly likely that Turkey -- a member of the European fringe, like Russia, and a country in accession talks with the European Union -- might become more like its northern neighbor than its western ones. On Sept. 8, Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) government slapped Dogan Yayin

On October 14, the Commission of the European Union (EU) will issue its annual progress report evaluating accession talks with Turkey. The following statements by EU leaders demonstrate the growing uncertainty in the EU -- even among Turkey's friends -- regarding Ankara's ability to reform and join the union. Strong

This article originally appeared on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) Web site. Turkey's experiment with Islamists-turned-democrats might be coming to a tragic end. When the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, rooted in Turkey's Islamist opposition came to power in Turkey in 2002 and declared itself a democratic

When officials from the Obama administration, along with other members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, sit down with their Iranian counterparts to discuss Iran's nuclear program, the mood in the room may get a little uncomfortable. Iran has been busted setting up a second uranium enrichment plant in

How does the United Nations view the current threat of the Afghan Taliban and of al-Qaeda?

In the aftermath of President Barack Obama's disclosure of the existence of Iran's secret uranium enrichment plant, sanctions will remain widely discussed unless unexpected progress is made at the October 1 meeting in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1. Until now, talks have focused on specific measures, such as sanctions

Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, reviewed Paul McGeough's Killing Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas for the Journal of International Security Affairs. In the annals of daring intelligence operations, Israel's Mossad stands

Turkey's experiment with Islamists-turned-democrats might be coming to a tragic end. When the Justice and Development Party (AKP), rooted in Turkey's Islamist opposition, came to power in Turkey in 2002 and declared that it had become a democratic movement, nearly everyone gave it the benefit of doubt. At that time

With apologies to Winston Churchill, President Obama may not have presided over the beginning of the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last week in New York, but he seems finally to have marked the end of an embarrassing beginning to his Middle East diplomacy. The president and his senior advisors

The announcement that Iran has been constructing a covert facility to enrich nuclear fuel for the last few years without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raises the stakes for the upcoming October 1 meeting of six leading countries with Iran. The underground facility is located on an Iranian

Standing with the leaders of France and Great Britain at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh on Friday, Barack Obama disclosed Iran's construction of yet another secret nuclear structure: a uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. How much hope should western powers have for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations

Earlier today, President Obama, British Prime Minister Brown, and French President Sarkozy dramatically confirmed that Iran has been covertly building near the city of Qom a second uranium enrichment facility. Obama said the "size and configuration" is "inconsistent with a peaceful program," suggesting that it is intended for military purposes

On September 18, 2009, Stephen P. Rosen and Mehdi Khalaji addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute to discuss how Iran's postelection turmoil affects international perceptions of the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program. Stephen P. Rosen, an expert on nuclear strategy, is the Beton Michael Kaneb

PolicyWatch #1588 is the second in a two-part series discussing trends within the Muslim Brotherhood. This piece addresses the potential for the group's return to violence in Egypt, while PolicyWatch #1585 focuses on the organization's divisions in Jordan. Amid the uncertainty over Egypt's impending political succession, Egyptian security forces have

Although Iran has formally accepted the U.S. offer to meet on October 1, expectations are low, particularly since Tehran has made clear that the nuclear issue is not negotiable. The United States and its allies have already begun to prepare for the possibility of failed negotiations by developing potential sanctions

This week, in a striking symbol of improved U.S.-Libyan relations and Tripoli's reengagement with the international community, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi is set to address the UN General Assembly. Previously, Qadhafi refused to visit the UN headquarters because it was located within the borders of "an enemy of humanity." Although

PolicyWatch #1585 is the first in a two-part series discussing trends within the Muslim Brotherhood. This piece focuses on the organization's divisions in Jordan, while PolicyWatch #1588 addresses the potential for the group's return to violence in Egypt. In early September, three senior leaders of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) resigned