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IraqDemocracy and GovernanceIraqi Kurdistan’s Bid for Independence: Challenges and Prospects
Jan 26, 2017Mustafa GurbuzMasoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraqi Kurdistan, has expressed his expectation for “a big change” in US policy under P…
- Policy Analysis
Forget Paris. It Won’t be Hard
Jan 25, 2017Yousef MunayyerThe Paris Peace Conference of January 15, 2017, barely amounted to a singular blip on radar. Some 70 countries participated in what was among the largest inter…
- Policy Analysis
Syria and Iraq in the Age of Trump: Challenges to American Interests
Jan 25, 2017Imad K. HarbNow that the Trump Administration has taken over the reins of American diplomatic and military power, questions arise about how it intends to preserve America’…
- Policy Analysis
Aoun in Riyadh: A Test for Lebanon’s Foreign Policy
Jan 25, 2017Joe MacaronIn November 2014, General Michel Aoun told the Lebanese daily newspaper, As-Safir, that the late Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal was behind a veto to ele…
- Policy Analysis
Turkish-Iraqi Relations: Old Trends and Future Possibilities
Jan 17, 2017Abdulwahab Al-QassabRelations between Iraq and Turkey have been cordial and cautious since Iraq became independent of Ottoman suzerainty after WWI, when British forces invaded and…
- Policy Analysis
The Battle for DNC Chair: Palestine and Democratic Party Politics after Trump’s Election
Jan 17, 2017Tamara Kharroub2016 was a tumultuous year for the Democratic Party. Democrats lost the White House, both houses of Congress, and a large number of gubernatorial races (two-th…
- Policy Analysis
Turkey at “the Gate” of Victory at Al-Bab: What’s Next?
Jan 12, 2017The New Year’s Eve attack in Istanbul represents a significant change in relations between Turkey and the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL). Althoug…
- Policy Analysis
Washington Rebalancing Away from the Middle East? Realities and Difficulties
Jan 9, 2017Imad K. HarbIn a speech to the Australian parliament in November 2011, President Barack Obama declared that the Asia-Pacific region had become a “top priority” in US secur…
- Policy Analysis
Recalculating Route: America and Israel on Divergent Paths
Jan 3, 2017Yousef MunayyerIn May 2016, I wrote that the Obama Administration should carefully weigh options for how to address the Israeli/Palestinian issue during its last months in of…
- Policy Analysis
After Aleppo: The Political and Regional Implications of the New Middle East “Troika”
Dec 28, 2016Joe MacaronSince August 2016, new regional power dynamics have been emerging in the wars in Syria. The trend has manifested itself in the fall of Aleppo and the December …
- Policy Analysis
Sidelining Asad: Questioning the Future of Russian-Iranian-Turkish Convergence in Syria
Dec 27, 2016Imad K. HarbThe battle of Aleppo has finally been decided in favor of the Syrian regime and its Russian, Iranian, and militia cohorts. But for all intents and purposes, th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Against Israeli Settlements
Dec 23, 2016Tamara KharroubOn Wednesday, December 21, 2016, Egypt circulated a draft resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements and demanding Israel to “immediately and complet…
- Policy Analysis
Breaking Ground in Jerusalem
Dec 22, 2016Yousef MunayyerSome things are utterly predictable. The sun will always rise in the east, rain will always be wet, and US presidential candidates who promise to move the Amer…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
What is Next for Turkey after the Fall of Aleppo?
Dec 15, 2016Mustafa GurbuzAfter the fall of Aleppo, Turkey’s capacity to maneuver in the region will suffer tremendously. Indeed, the fall of Aleppo has increased tensions among Syrian …
- Policy Analysis
Trump’s “Ultimate Deal” on Palestine/Israel
Dec 8, 2016Tamara KharroubIn the first interview after his election victory, Donald J. Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he wants to broker a deal between Israel and the Palestini…
- Policy Analysis
The “Incredible” John Kerry: Ineffectiveness and Inconsistency
Dec 8, 2016Yousef MunayyerIt was painful to watch. Secretary of State John Kerry trying to explain and defend American foreign policy in the Middle East is such an uncomfortable sight. …
- Policy Analysis
The Misplaced Hope of Lebanon’s Presidential Election
Dec 1, 2016Imad K. HarbDevelopments in Lebanon during November 2016 made it increasingly evident that the election as president of Michel Aoun, former general and leader of the Refor…
- Policy Analysis
Arab Issues Awaiting the Next President
Nov 7, 2016Imad K. HarbAmidst the maelstrom that is the presidential election, American foreign policy has regressed to the uncomfortable and neglected recesses reserved for untoucha…
- Policy Analysis
End of Stalemate: A Loose Power-Sharing Agreement in Lebanon
Oct 28, 2016Joe MacaronAfter a 30-month impasse that paralyzed the country’s governing institutions and questioned the legitimacy of the confessional system, the Lebanese Parliament …
- Policy Analysis
The New Regional Order amid the Aleppo Rubble
Oct 20, 2016Joe MacaronIt became obvious in recent weeks that the US-Russian channel regarding Syria has run its course and can no longer be the bedrock of serious diplomatic efforts…
- Policy Analysis
Colombia Peace Talks: Lessons for Palestine Policy
Oct 13, 2016Yousef MunayyerAfter four years of painstaking negotiations, the 52-year war in Colombia between the government and rebels looked like it was coming to an end. Then, in one d…
- Policy Analysis
Hezbollah, Iran, and the Politics of Obstructionism
Sep 23, 2016Imad K. HarbOn September 7, Lebanon’s Parliament failed for the forty-third time to convene a session to elect a president. Since the expiration of former president Michel…
- Policy Analysis
Doomed to Fail: Syria is not Ready for a Ceasefire
Sep 23, 2016Joe MacaronFor the second time in nearly six months, Washington and Moscow are striving to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. The ultimate objective of establishi…
- Policy Analysis
New US-Israeli Military Aid Package Reflects Shifts in Relationship
Sep 15, 2016Yousef MunayyerOn September 14, 2016 the United States and Israel signed a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military aid, which replaces a previous MOU set to…
- Policy Analysis
Implications of Al-Qaeda Rebranding in Syria
Aug 31, 2016Radwan ZiadehThe announcement by the top leader of Al-Nusra Front in Syria Abu Mohammed Joulani to distance his group from Al-Qaeda last month was very controversial.…
- Policy Analysis
The US fatal mistake in northern Syria
Aug 31, 2016Joe MacaronThe moment the Turkish incursion into Syrian Territory began on August 24, the stage was set for a looming direct military confrontation between Ankara a…
- Policy Analysis
Biden in Ankara enticing Erdogan to weigh his options
Aug 24, 2016Joe MacaronVice President Joe Biden visited Ankara on August 24 to salvage the remnants of US interests in Turkey. The July 15 military coup attempt left President Recep …
- Policy Analysis
The Week that Cut Turkey’s Ambitions Down to Size
Jul 7, 2016Yousef MunayyerAlthough signs of policy adjustment have been in the works for several months, the events of June 2016 were an emphatic marker of a shift in Turkey’s foreign p…
- Policy Analysis
New Rules of Engagement for US-Hezbollah Arm Wrestling in Lebanon
Jul 6, 2016Joe MacaronLebanon is the only country in the Middle East where US policy is actively seeking to deter Iran’s regional influence. Washington is directly targeting Hezboll…
- Policy Analysis
The State Department’s “Dissent Memo” and US Options in Syria
Jul 6, 2016Radwan ZiadehOn June 16, 2016, a dissent memo regarding Syria was filed with the Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department criticizing the Obama Administration…
- Policy Analysis
Assessing the Potential Impact of the Paris Peace Conference: Vive la France or Forget Paris?
Jun 4, 2016Yousef MunayyerOne hundred years after the Sykes-Picot agreement, international stakeholders met in Paris on June 3 to discuss the outlines of an Israeli-Palestinian peace pl…
- Policy Analysis
Why the World Shouldn’t Panic About Trump
Jun 1, 2016Joe Macaron“Everything I say right now is a suggestion, I am not the President,” the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Fox News on May 13. However, his …
- Policy Analysis
Lessons of Israel’s Political Shuffle
May 20, 2016Yousef MunayyerThe latest political move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is significant on many fronts. Yesterday the news was reported that Netanyahu had offere…
- Policy Analysis
What Municipal Elections Mean for Lebanon
May 17, 2016Joe MacaronLebanon is holding this month municipal elections across the country, the first electoral test since the start of the Syrian war. The ruling traditional partie…
- Policy Analysis
Navigating Pitfalls and Opportunities: Obama’s Parting Shot on Israel/Palestine
May 17, 2016Yousef MunayyerPresident Obama, who gave his first interview to Al-Arabiya in 2009 and spoke again few months later in his Cairo address about Palestinian aspirations, …
- Policy Analysis
The Paris Initiative and US Middle East Policy: Paving the Way for the 4th Intifada – Why justice is the only roadmap to peace
May 16, 2016Tamara KharroubIn the middle of the US presidential election season, France has elected to take the opportunity and break the US monopoly over the Middle East peace pro…
- Policy Analysis
The Coming Change in US-Israel Relations
May 10, 2016Yousef MunayyerThe discussion on Israel at the most recent Democratic presidential debate is but the latest benchmark in progress down a road on which the American people hav…
- Policy Analysis
Freedom of religion as a foundation of Arab democracy: An Arab view of the 2016 report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom
May 3, 2016The onset of the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011 gave hope to millions of people across the Arab world that change is possible and that freedoms, democratic tr…
- Research Paper
Time for Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation in Syria
Apr 8, 2016Radwan ZiadehTransitional justice refers to a group of activities or investigations that focuses on communities with a legacy of human rights violations, genocide, or other…
- Research Paper
Jordan’s Azraq Refugee Camp – A Pictorial Essay
Mar 25, 2016Priscilla PhilippiWhen the conflict in Syria broke out in March of 2011, there was no indication as to the duration or the enormity of the ensuing humanitarian crisis. Accordi…
- Policy Analysis
The Obama Doctrine from a Middle East Perspective: Orientalism, Inaction, Contradiction, and Lack of Accountability
Mar 18, 2016In a lengthy narrative collection of conversations and interviews with President Obama and others, journalist Jeffry Goldberg’s tedious tale of “The Obama Doct…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi Arabia Goes on the Offensive against Hezbollah
Mar 8, 2016Joe MacaronSaudi Arabia’s explicit identification of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a strategic threat is a tipping point in the underlying tensions between both sides. …
- Policy Analysis
US in Libya: The Challenges of a Third Front against ISIL
Feb 25, 2016Joe MacaronPresident Barack Obama’s Administration is considering the opening of a critical third front against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Libya. …
- Policy Analysis
The “Dos and Don’ts” of Defeating ISIS: Obama’s wasted 13-minutes
Giving his first Oval Office speech during his second term, President Obama addressed the nation on December 6, 2015 following the San Bernardino attack to rea…
- Policy Analysis
Imagining a Conflict Resolution in Syria: Implications for US Policy
Dec 1, 2015Joe MacaronJoe Macaron*
- Policy Analysis
Russia’s Middle East Moves and US Options
Oct 15, 2015Yousef MunayyerBackgroundIn recent weeks, Russia has taken quite significant and surprising steps to deepen and strengthen its support for the Assad regime in Syria. Russia h…
- Policy Analysis
The Dynamics of Israeli Settler Terrorism and US Options
Sep 15, 2015Yousef MunayyerIntroductionOn July 31, 2015, Palestinian homes in the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank were set on fire at night by masked assailants who left behind…
- Policy Analysis
The Iran Nuclear Deal and its Implications for the Region
Jul 31, 2015Yousef MunayyerThe agreement reached by the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and the US), the EU and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the latter’s nuclear progr…
