Policy Analysis

Back in 2015—during the annual forum at American University in Suleimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan—I had the chance to tell former U.S. special presidential envoy for the Middle East Brett McGurk to “please tell our friends in the administration to not confuse us [the Kurds] with the conflicting U.S. foreign policies of

Sudan’s revolutionary spirit has succeeded in toppling the country’s dictator and achieving the Sudanese people’s aspiration of seeing their country free from the most oppressive and bloody regime in Sudanese history. The Sudanese people are now prepared to push forward on a set of ambitious yet achievable goals and targets

The Trump administration needs to treat the meeting as a chance to frankly address congressional concerns and defuse a host of hot-button issues, from Syria policy to F-35 production.

Moscow is beating Washington at the reputational game in Iraq, raising the need for greater U.S. engagement on education and media outreach rather than just security issues.

Military means have often been used to promote peace and stability, such as during the Cold War deployments to Europe and the 1990s NATO mission in the Balkans.

The new agreement will score a win if it brings the most important players to the table for wider talks, but implementing its often-vague provisions so quickly will prove challenging.

A former correspondent in Tehran reflects on how the crisis set the stage for many of Washington’s current difficulties with the regime, and whether anything has really changed.

The long-anticipated stock selloff has finally been green-lit, but doubts remain about just how much it will help to economically transform the kingdom.

Ankara is willing to take provocative and risky steps around Cyprus because it views the island’s gas resources and strategic location as crucial to countering rivals and securing interests in the neighborhood.

Three leading scholars assess the group’s status and ambitions following the death of its leader, and discuss how to handle the numerous potential supporters still residing in Syrian camps.

The steady weakening by Tehran of its international nuclear commitments will be the most immediate challenge for the next head of the world’s nuclear watchdog.

The Islamic State no longer governs territory, but aspiring jihadists can now point to a caliphate project achieved in their lifetime, a long-held yearning of the international movement.

In early October, deadly protests calling for an end to pervasive corruption, improvement of basic services, and further job opportunities swept through the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and several other Iraqi cities.

The back-to-back deaths of the IS leader and allegedly one of his likely successors mark a significant counterterrorism accomplishment, but neither high-profile deaths nor the territorial loss of the so-called caliphate will translate into the organization’s defeat.

Despite long-documented public weariness with Middle East conflicts, Trump’s successor could well recognize the value of reestablishing American credibility in the region.

As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi traveled by plane to New York City to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, sporadic demonstrations erupted in several Egyptian cities calling for Sisi’s ouster and denouncing what they called “military rule.” While limited in scope, the demonstrations marked the first

There can be no opting out for the United States or Europe; the only question is whether they will face their mutual threats capably and cooperatively.

An in-depth conversation on Washington's misguided tendency to view Turkey through binary lenses based entirely on Erdogan’s policies, forgetting the country’s strong political diversity.

As Yemen’s devastating war drudges into its fifth year with no end in sight, Yemen’s public sector continues to deteriorate at alarming rates within the conflict zone. The already weakened state of the public sector, especially education, is expected to worsen in the near future. While the plight of Yemen’s

The U.S. withdrawal of troops from northeast Syria has placed Kurdish fighters in a near-impossible situation, while alarming Kurdish communities in other countries, but Washington can still take steps to mitigate the damage.