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  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Battle of Mosul Portends the Future of Iraq

    Oct 28, 2016Imad K. Harb

    The long-awaited battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is underway. Months prior, the Iraqi army and police,…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    ‘Underlearning’ the Lessons of Iraq: American Agility and Russian Influence

    Oct 20, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    Perhaps one of the most cited criticisms of US foreign policy relating to Syria today is the notion that President Barack Obama has “overlearned” the lessons o…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptSecurity and Defense

    Future US-Egyptian Relations: The Old Status Quo Redux

    Oct 13, 2016Imad K. Harb

    A long time ago, there appeared to be a symbiotic relationship between the United States and Egypt. The former was a strategic benefactor that understood the i…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Doomed to Fail: Syria is not Ready for a Ceasefire

    Sep 23, 2016Joe Macaron

    For 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
    LevantSecurity and Defense

    New US-Israeli Military Aid Package Reflects Shifts in Relationship

    Sep 15, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    On 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
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The US fatal mistake in northern Syria

    Aug 31, 2016Joe Macaron

     The 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
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Biden in Ankara enticing Erdogan to weigh his options

    Aug 24, 2016Joe Macaron

    Vice 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
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The State Department’s “Dissent Memo” and US Options in Syria

    Jul 6, 2016Radwan Ziadeh

    On 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
    IranReligion and Politics

    Battle over Fallujah Tests US-Iran Tacit Deal against ISIL

    Jun 3, 2016Joe Macaron

     As Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s al-Quds Force, was reportedly spotted in the northern outskirts of the besieged city of Fallujah, …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    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
    LevantInternational Law

    Navigating Pitfalls and Opportunities: Obama’s Parting Shot on Israel/Palestine

    May 17, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    President Obama, who gave his first interview to Al-Arabiya in 2009 and spoke again few months later in his Cairo address about Palestinian aspirations, is now…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    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 Kharroub

    In 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 process, …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Coming Change in US-Israel Relations

    May 10, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    The 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
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Wanted: A US Strategy in the Middle East

    Apr 11, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    In 2006, as Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in what would be a 34­day war, the longest of any Arab­Israeli war since 1948, US Secretary of State Condoleezza …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    The Obama Doctrine from a Middle East Perspective: Orientalism, Inaction, Contradiction, and Lack of Accountability

    Mar 18, 2016Tamara Kharroub

    In 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
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    US in Libya: The Challenges of a Third Front against ISIL

    Feb 25, 2016Joe Macaron

    President 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
    IranSecurity and Defense

    The Emergence of a New Triangular Relationship in the Middle East

    Jan 29, 2016Joe Macaron

    The implementation of the Iran nuclear deal on January 16 reinforced the emergence of a new triangular relationship in the Middle East involving the United Sta…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    The “Dos and Don’ts” of Defeating ISIS: Obama’s wasted 13-minutes

    Dec 6, 2015Tamara Kharroub Roxanne Perugino

    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
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Imagining a Conflict Resolution in Syria: Implications for US Policy

    Dec 1, 2015Joe Macaron

    The Vienna talks on October 30 launched the third international attempt to resolve the four-year-old conflict in Syria, proposing an end to violence “as soon a…

  • Research Paper
    Media and Technology

    Beyond Trump: Celebrity Candidates, Mediatization of Politics, and US Middle East Policy

    Oct 20, 2015Tamara Kharroub

    The political and media discussions of the presidential campaigns have given great attention to some of the most flamboyant GOP nomination candidates (a.k.a. c…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaSecurity and Defense

    Russia’s Middle East Moves and US Options

    Oct 15, 2015Yousef Munayyer

    BackgroundIn 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
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Dynamics of Israeli Settler Terrorism and US Options

    Sep 15, 2015Yousef Munayyer

    IntroductionOn 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
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Iran Nuclear Deal and its Implications for the Region

    Jul 31, 2015Yousef Munayyer

    The 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…