Policy Analysis

Humanitarian safe havens can protect vulnerable civilians only if backed up with sufficient power.

Given the minority-driven nature of the Assad regime's crackdown, ultimate change is most likely to come from below.

Washington suffered two setbacks in the Middle East this weekend: the Russian/Chinese veto of a U.S.-backed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, and news that the Egyptian judiciary has indicted nineteen Americans in a wide-ranging investigation of U.S.-supported pro-democracy organizations.

The elections taking place today are but one episode in the incremental transformation and democratization of Kuwait.

The question now in Syria is not if al-Assad will fall, but how.

Was President Obama's use of "ironclad" to describe the U.S.commitment to Israel really the best choice of words?

An interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Amid a surge of violence in Syria, the UN Security Council will discuss Tuesday whether to pass a resolution (Reuters) supporting the Arab League's plan, which calls for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down to defuse a ten-month-old uprising against his regime. Russia

The Arab uprisings—the intifadas against tyranny—were and are a remarkable accomplishment for the peoples of the Middle East. But they were only the end of the beginning.

After a decade of discord with the United States, Turkey's ties with Washington improved significantly during 2011.

Protesters in the Middle East have made clear that they look to the U.S. for inspiration and support, and that they look down on the U.S. when they believe this support is not materializing.

Al-Qaeda's finances are at their weakest point in years due to a successful campaign to close off major sources of funding.

The international community's inability thus far to stop Assad, as well as its reticence to intervene on the ground, means that more and more Syrians are looking to the Free Syrian Army not as an alternative to the protest movement, but as a way to support the overall revolutionary effort.

Turkey, which has experienced phenomenal economic growth over the past decade, no longer feels content to subsume itself under Europe.

The Russian refusal thus far to support international action against al-Assad is based solely on Russia's fear of losing access to the port of Tartus.

For the time being, Washington should pay no attention to anything Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says in English and little attention to any private "assurances" it offers.

The growing Free Syrian Army, the armed wing of the popular rebellion, is playing an increasing role in determining the Assad regime's future.

The potential collapse of the latest negotiations should not stop the United States and its partners from pressing for further concessions from both sides.

On January 24, Samuel Tadros, Eric Trager, and David Schenker addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Tadros is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute and a professional lecturer at John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Mr. Trager is the Ira Weiner fellow at The

Maintaining leverage in Egypt requires demonstrating a willingness to use it -- particularly when vital U.S. interests are at stake, such as the safety of American citizens.

Obama's brief, but pointed, focus on the Middle East during his State of the Union address was clear in its determination that Washington will use all diplomatic means available to further the toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime of terror.