Policy Analysis

Mustering an effective response to Iran's assassination plot is critical for U.S. national security as well as our already damaged credibility in the Middle East.

The Egyptian military's deadly crackdown on Copt protestors marks a turning point in its post-Mubarak rule. Is this what democracy looks like?

Iran's willingness to use brutal means to achieve its foreign-policy goals is nothing new: since the creation of the Islamic Republic, U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly identified terrorism as one of the regime's signature calling cards.

The use of violence by Egypt's military rulers against Coptic protestors undermines the rulers' international legitimacy and damages their domestic viability.

Why would Tehran have wanted to carry out the Saudi assassination and related actions on U.S. soil, where its fingerprints on any such plot were sure to have a major impact on U.S. policy toward Iran?

Turks judge the world through the prism of the PKK.

On October 3, 2011, Abdel Monem Said Aly, David Schenker, and Nabeel Khoury addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Aly is president of the al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo and a Senior Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis

Ankara may soon slap the Asad regime with mild sanctions, but most of its Syria policy will remain just rhetoric in the absence of international consensus regarding stronger action.

Progress on the economic and political fronts is helping to insulate the monarchy from the instability currently sweeping the region.

Whether U.S. forces in Iraq withdraw or not, Iran is expected to continue backing its proxies there in order to influence the political situation and retain an ability to strike Western assets.

The growing nexus between Yemen's antigovernment rebels and AQAP presents a thorny dilemma for the United States.

Washington needs to deepen its involvement in an increasingly unstable Yemen.

It is important -- for both the future of the bilateral relationship and the economic and political success of Egypt -- that the legal process surrounding Mubarak's trial is transparent, credible, and not driven by mob justice.

In the wake of the UN speeches and Netanyahu's acceptance of unconditional talks, Abbas now seems to be the odd man out, though renewed Israeli construction in east Jerusalem could alter that dynamic.

Washington should not allow its differences with Israel to define the bilateral relationship, much less highlight them in the vain hope of winning the esteem of Israel's foes.

On September 26, 2011, Mehdi Khalaji and Michael Eisenstadt addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute spotlighting their new Policy Focus Nuclear Fatwa: Religion and Politics in Iran's Proliferation Strategy . Mr. Khalaji, a senior fellow at the Institute, is the author of The New Order of the Clerical

Election laws that ensure a broadly representative parliament are vital to the legitimacy of Egypt's transition, but the newly announced system falls far short of this goal.

Given Egypt's fluid post-revolutionary environment, Washington must be judicious as to when and how it attempts to exert influence on the domestic political scene.

A new royal decree giving women the right to vote can't hide the decay in the House of Saud.

Recent arrests indicate that Hamas may be extending its operational reach outside its Gaza base.