Policy Analysis

America achieves greatness by setting itself to great tasks, with great conviction; now is a time to streamline our budgets, programs, and expenses, but not our ambitions in the world.

The stabilization of Iraq has become wedged on a plateau, beyond which further improvement will be a slow process.

In May 2011, a panel of Turkey experts debated likely scenarios for Turkey's social, political, and diplomatic future.

Egypt's political future is being decided by the military, the Muslim Brotherhood, and protest groups in the streets.

Iran's recent offer to assist in the 1994 AMIA bombing investigation is nothing more than a political game.

Although the recent storming of the U.S. embassy in Syria ended without bloodshed, American personnel may not be so lucky in the future.

The recent indictment of senior Hizballah figure Mustafa Badreddine has the group on edge, and for good reason.

By targeting Syria's energy sector, the United States can hit President Bashar al-Assad where it really hurts -- his pocketbook.

Turkey's political stalemate following the recent elections has overshadowed a key development: the near doubling of female deputies in parliament.

Egyptians are becoming increasingly angry and frustrated about the slow pace of political change.

The sooner the governing military authorities understand that Egypt needs more security, not more money, the better the chance that the country will be able to reverse the current dynamic and start moving toward a more prosperous future.

The United States should work with Turkey and other allies to halt the Asad regime's violence, avoid anarchy in the event of regime collapse, and prepare for a post-Asad era.

Tensions are rising between Israel and Lebanon due to potentially huge offshore gas and oil reserves in yet-to-be-agreed "exclusive economic zones" in the eastern Mediterranean.

Hillary Clinton's recent characterization of Syrian president Bashar al-Asad as "not indispensable" is the latest public signal of a quiet sea change in U.S. policy toward the regime.

Testimony before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, U.S. House of Representatives. "Recently, I journeyed to Lebanon's Wadi Khaled to visit with Syrian refugees who fled from the Sunni Muslim village of Tal Kalakh, which is surrounded by a constellation of villages dominated by Alawites -- the heterodox offshoot of

The attacks on the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus are a direct challenge to the international community and demand a prompt response.

As the Syrian crisis spills over into Turkey, the AKP's conflict-avoidance policy may not be sustainable.

The more that liberals concede to Islamist demands, the more they will be marginalized in the struggle for Egypt's future.

If current trends persist in Syria, the regime may be forced to deploy army units that are unable or unwilling to continue the brutal crackdown.

Given the robust rhetorical support for the unilateral Palestinian statehood campaign, recent revelations that the PA cannot pay its employees their full salaries due to unfulfilled donor pledges is all the more surprising.