Policy Analysis

Tensions in Kirkuk serve as warning of the instability that could rack Mosul after its liberation.

The PA's complicity with terrorist groups is well documented, and this week's verdict gives the international community a chance to demand that Ramallah pursue peace through peaceful means only.

Moderation would erode the occupation's raison d'etre by helping Palestinians and Israelis see their overlapping goals, and a good starting point would be mutual recognition.

On the margins of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), global leaders in efforts to rehabilitate radicalized fighters gathered at the Institute to share their insights into what works -- and what doesn't.

The president should use tomorrow's visit to channel Qatar's diplomatic energies in directions more in line with U.S. regional policy.

With the proper legislative and diplomatic steps, the Obama administration could reassure Congress and Israel while strengthening the terms of an Iran deal to ensure better long-term deterrence.

Facing a leadership crisis, Lebanon's Sunnis must contend with a vigorous Salafi movement in which the activist and jihadist elements are increasingly hard to distinguish from each other.

Israeli parties are placing a premium on capturing marginal votes within their blocs rather than competing across the left-right spectrum, and this status quo is working to Netanyahu's benefit.

Greater Sunni acceptance of Israel as a regional power, however grudging and conditional, may give Washington more room to pursue longstanding peace goals.

When political leaders give the Pentagon broad goals of social transformation in the guise of "Phase IV stability operations," they undermine support for even legitimate, low-cost military missions such as an air campaign in Syria.


To succeed against ISIS, the ISF should defeat the adversary's strategy, ensure that politics do not undermine the military effort, develop workarounds for persistent shortcomings, and patiently build on small victories.

How did the so-called Islamic State (IS) originate? What are its goals? What is the scale of its recruitment in Europe and elsewhere? As the United States leads a coalition to thwart military advances by IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh – Institute Richard Borow Fellow Aaron

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signed a preliminary agreement to jointly build Egypt's first nuclear power plant, after the two leaders met in Cairo on February 9-10. This announcement comes after multiple reports last November about Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom's agreement to help

The latest NSS reiterates the president's longstanding aversion to military force, but his views are more problematic than ever in the wake of recent challenges to the global security order.

A serious alliance against ISIS built on Sunni Arab states and Turkey cannot hold together over the long term without a more forceful U.S. policy toward the Syrian regime.

A longtime expert on military affairs, a researcher on Shiite militias, and a retired U.S. Army colonel discuss optimal partners for defeating ISIS and the heavy risks associated with allowing Iran-associated actors to expand their influence.

While some debate the group's true extent in Libya, ISIS has aggressively expanded its physical and media presence to intimidate its foes, coopt other jihadist groups, and attract recruits.

New allegations by an al-Qaeda prisoner in the United States have revived questions about official Saudi support for 9/11, while at home the kingdom has been re-arresting former al-Qaeda convicts in a new war on terror.

Despite international complaints about inadequate donor funding, Fatah and Hamas have been dragging their feet on the most important prerequisite for rebuilding Gaza: establishing PA governmental control on the ground.