Policy Analysis

This week, the German Marshall Fund published Energy Discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean: Source for Cooperation or Fuel for Tension? The Case of Israel, a new report by Washington Institute senior fellow Simon Henderson. Focusing on the challenge of exploiting newly found natural gas reserves off the coasts of Israel

The second round of Egypt's presidential election, slated to take place this weekend, pits Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Morsi against Ahmed Shafiq, the former air force commander who served as Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. Although it is impossible to predict how either candidate will govern if elected, their statements

New unrest in prospect after high-court rulings appear to back military council.

Despite widespread skepticism, Russian authorities still hope that the upcoming P5+1 summit will be another small step toward settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Washington's ties with Ankara have improved significantly in recent years thanks to a personal relationship between President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders have been in frequent contact, building a rapport that has translated into closer Turkish support for the U.S., including Ankara's 2011 decision

Although many Russian officials are unsure about who exactly committed the recent massacres, the incidents are nevertheless a serious stress test for Russian-Syrian relations.

Nothing captured the imagery of change in the Middle East more than last year's demonstrations in Tahrir Square that brought down Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president for 30 years. The sense of hope and possibility that seemed so alive in Tahrir Square made everyone in the Middle East believe there truly

On June 13, Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awsat interviewed Washington Institute counselor and former Obama advisor Dennis Ross on Syria, Iran, and other regional issues. Below is a brief summary of his remarks; the full interview is available above in Arabic. According to Ambassador Ross, there can be no solution to

On Tuesday 12 June, Ambassador Dennis Ross was interviewed by BICOM senior research fellow Professor Alan Johnson. The interview covered key policy issues facing Britain, Israel and the United States. The following is a transcript of their discussion.

Foreign Islamists are beginning to play a role in the fight against Assad's forces, albeit a small one.

Under current conditions, it would be naive to expect Russia to severely curtail its relations with Tehran or officially support the West's stance on the nuclear question. Given Iran's importance as a regional player, Moscow simply cannot afford confrontation with its southern neighbor. At the same time, Russia's pragmatic, cost-benefit

Technically, Egypt's political transition is on schedule. The first round of the presidential election was held May 23-24, the second round is set to occur June 16-17, a winner will be announced by June 21, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has ruled the country since

Speaking Thursday before the U.N. General Assembly, just one day after the latest massacre of civilians by government-affiliated forces, Kofi Annan warned that the crisis in Syria was on a disastrous course. “If things do not change, the future is likely to be one of brutal repression, massacres, sectarian violence

The Obama administration should take actions to overcome the obstacles to, and mitigate the risks of, bolder international action in Syria.

The results of the first round of voting in Egypt's presidential elections has yielded a choice in the second round between two starkly different men -- former Mubarak-era prime minister and air force general Ahmed Shafik, and Muslim Brotherhood official Mohammad Morsi. For Washington, less important than which man wins

Violence in Syria and Lebanon coincides with diminished international commitment to UN forces monitoring the borders with Israel.

With U.S. encouragement, broad-based national dialogue could increase the chance that Maliki handles Iraq's next political crisis by compromising with domestic partners rather than reaching out to Tehran, a player with no real commitment to Iraq's interests.

Deteriorating security in the Sinai Peninsula threatens not only the peacekeepers based there, but also the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

The upheavals of the last 18 months have transformed an already difficult regional landscape into perhaps the most inhospitable strategic environment in modern history.

Although an Israeli preventive strike on Iran's nuclear program would be a high-risk endeavor carrying a potential for escalation in the Levant or the Persian Gulf, it would not be the apocalyptic event that some foresee. In this Policy Note, two Washington Institute military experts assess the likelihood of various