Policy Analysis

Submit site search
  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    New Rules of Engagement for US-Hezbollah Arm Wrestling in Lebanon

    Jul 6, 2016Joe Macaron

    Lebanon 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
    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
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Courting the Houthis did not Yield Peace Deal in Yemen

    Jun 22, 2016Joe Macaron

    United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed briefed the Security Council on June 21, 2016 marking 60 days of relentless diplomatic efforts …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Assessing the Potential Impact of the Paris Peace Conference: Vive la France or Forget Paris?

    Jun 4, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    One 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
    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
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Lessons of Israel’s Political Shuffle

    May 20, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    The 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
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    What Municipal Elections Mean for Lebanon

    May 17, 2016Joe Macaron

    Lebanon 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
    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
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Defeating ISIL is Not Enough to Save Iraq

    May 10, 2016Joe Macaron

    Two years into the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and amid the persistent downward trend of global oil prices, Iraq is obviously…

  • 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…