Policy Analysis

The Middle East state system is under relentless pressure, and preserving it will require a long-term vision for shoring up U.S. allies, rolling back ISIL, and countering the Iranians.

Leaked statements indicate that the Supreme Leader's private views on nuclear compromise are more flexible than his tough public posture, so the negotiators may be able to ignore his stated redlines on inspections.

Although Israel should not be immune to critique, efforts to delegitimize its very existence are dangerous to American campuses and the prospects for a peaceful two-state solution.

The Supreme Leader's latest statements, harping on "unreasonable" demands, are not preparing the Iranian public for compromise.

The movement's young leaders are turning to explicitly violent 'revolutionary' tactics in order to stay relevant, but they are escalating a fight they are unlikely to win.

President Abbas has long ensured that no new leaders would come to the fore as realistic successors, but while this may have helped him consolidate control over a fractious polity, it is potentially ruinous as a national strategy.

Although the Obama administration is right to be concerned about Egypt's domestic political trajectory, conditioning the bilateral strategic relationship on Cairo's progress toward democracy will only make matters worse under the current circumstances.

An Iraqi journalist explains why resolving the political causes underlying the expansion of ISIS is just as important as combating the group militarily.

Whether or not the P5+1 and Tehran reach a nuclear deal, deterring an Iranian breakout, most likely at clandestine sites, will remain a core U.S. imperative for the foreseeable future. Although the U.S. intelligence community has a strong record of detecting clandestine nuclear programs, it has often failed to correctly

The group will no doubt continue helping the Assad regime hang on, but the war's heavy attrition, Syria's demographic realities, and rebel gains elsewhere in the country all point to a seemingly inevitable fall.

Given Tehran and Hezbollah's long history of targeting Saudi interests, their recent implicit threats to the kingdom should be taken seriously.

Washington can help by providing additional airpower and advisory assistance, but Iraqis must take the lead in combining various Sunni and Shiite forces into an effective Anbar counteroffensive.

The Obama administration should use the occasion to expand the strategic partnership with Tunis, in part by expediting economic and security assistance that would bolster the country's hard-fought gains in democratization.

The Islamic Republic views the Yemen conflict as another battlefield in its proxy struggle with Saudi Arabia, spurring Iranian government, media, and religious figures to open a war of words in recent weeks.

Conflating Islam with Islamism has sparked a dangerous discourse in which the majority of Muslims, who are not Islamist, bear the brunt.

The Kurds have made a conscious effort to step back from a damaging feud with the United States over weapons shipments.

The latest provocation reinforces the need for any nuclear agreement with Iran to include strong enforcement mechanisms and swift and severe penalties for cheating.

A senior FBI official discusses the evolving challenges of combating jihadist funding in the age of the so-called Islamic State.

The White House's bottom line for Camp David is to limit public condemnation of the emerging deal with Iran, but the Saudi king's decision not to attend signals persistent Gulf Arab disquiet with U.S. diplomacy.

President Obama should give full credence to Gulf perceptions of a direct threat from Tehran.