Policy Analysis

The Arab Spring may well produce a few more strong, reliable, democratic, pro-American allies in the Middle East, but until that moment arrives, Washington would be wise to strengthen and protect the only such ally it has in the region.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Iran has tried to establish itself as the key external power broker in Iraq by exploiting ties with key parties, arming and training militias, and exerting economic, religious, and informational influence. Although these efforts have yielded mixed results thus far, the

Sheikh Muhammad's visit is an opportunity for the White House to clarify its views on Iran, which the Gulf Arab countries do not see as being subject to the standards of universal political freedoms otherwise espoused by Washington.

Despite appearances, the current state of the Libyan civil war is not a stalemate. Muammar Qadhafi's forces have adapted somewhat to NATO's control of the air and have continued offensive operations. And although rebel forces in the east are slowly improving their organizational, communications, and combat capabilities, they are far

On April 13, 2011, May Chidiac, Michael Young, Hisham Melhem, and Michael Doran addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ms. Chidiac, president of MCF Media Institute, was for decades a news anchor and on-air personality for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. Mr. Young is opinion editor for the Beirut

At the April 13 meeting of the West Bank/Gaza donors group known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank presented reports arguing that the Palestinians are ready for statehood. Yet that judgment requires three important caveats. First, it depends on future Israel-Palestinian cooperation

The power struggle between Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad continues. Signs of deep fissures in the conservative camp are emerging just as the Islamic Republic prepares for parliamentary elections next year, the first countrywide polls since the disputed June 2009 presidential election. These divisions, rather than

Washington should immediately warn the Asad regime that any resort to large-scale violent suppression of protestors will be met with immediate measures by the United States and the international community.

Barring a Saudi crisis, the main security risk for Europe lies in Moscow.

In an April 8 confrontation at Camp Ashraf, Iraq -- home to some 3,400 members of the Iranian dissident organization Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) -- Iraqi army forces killed at least thirty-four people, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The clash highlighted an ongoing problem: what to

The key to dealing with the Assad regime is to always keep your options open and be prepared to walk away with no obligations. Only by making clear when it will do so, and what will be the consequences, will Washington ever have a hope of getting a straight answer out of the Syrian president.

Unless Netanyahu and Abbas cross historic threshold over the next month, the prospects for peace are likely to slide backward just as so much of the Middle East is trying to surge forward.

King Abdullah thinks the Obama administration's love of universal freedoms is naive and inappropriate for conservative Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, especially when the real concern is Iran.

Read prepared remarks by the FBI's counterterrorism chief on how the Bureau assess the global terrorist threat ten years after 9/11 and how it is organizing its efforts.

Washington must at minimum take a clear position with regard to Damascus and human rights -- which could prove a key point of consensus in the international response to the regime's brutal suppression of Syrian demands for democratic reform.

On April 13, 2011, J. Scott Carpenter, Keston Family fellow and director of Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas at The Washington Institute, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. The following is an excerpt

On April 11, 2011, J. Scott Carpenter, Dina Guirguis, David Schenker, and Robert Satloff addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Ms. Guirguis is a Keston Family research fellow with Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas. Mr. Schenker is the Aufzien fellow and director

On April 13, 2011, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff testified at a U.S. House of Representatives panel on the Muslim Brotherhood's role in Egypt following the end of the Mubarak regime. I believe deep concern about the Muslim Brotherhood's potential emergence as a major player and even power-broker is

The authors contend that the primary motive behind the AKP's stance toward the Arab regimes is not money, but rather the desire to show solidarity with certain anti-American regimes and distaste for pro-American ones.

If the recent political movements in the Arab world lead to more free and liberal societies, this will promise the decline of Iranian influence in the region. For the current Iranian regime, democracy is no longer threatening only at home, but also abroad.