Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Mahmoud Abbas: A Lone Voice in the UN Wilderness

    Sep 29, 2017Khalil E. Jahshan

    President Abbas’s speech before the United Nations was true to the Palestinian essentials of appealing for justice in Palestine, denouncing Israel’s excesses a…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranInternational Law

    Trump’s United Nations Speech: More of the Same

    Sep 20, 2017Marcus Montgomery

    President Trump’s speech before the UN mixed isolationism and economic nationalism with calls for international consensus building, two irreconcilable position…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense

    The US and the GCC: A Steep Learning Curve for President Trump

    Sep 18, 2017Imad K. Harb

    In its first year in office, the Trump Administration must work on remedying its shortcomings on Gulf affairs and strive to safeguard the GCC’s unity as a stra…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Trump Administration’s Wishful Policies in the Yemen Conflict

    Sep 13, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    Prolonging the Yemeni conflict with unending military assistance to the Saudi-led campaign has been a disaster. The long-suffering Yemeni people deserve a chan…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    An Evaluation of President Trump’s Emerging Counterterrorism Strategy

    Aug 30, 2017Charles W. Dunne

    President Trump’s counterterrorism strategy that relies on military solutions is unlikely to succeed in a region with complex politics, dubious allies, and lon…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Is the Trump-Sisi Honeymoon Over?

    Aug 28, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The State Department’s decision on aid to Egypt shows that the Trump Administration cannot sidestep established law or Congress’s power of appropriation despit…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Is the Turkey-Iran Rapprochement Durable in Iraq and Syria?

    Aug 24, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Given the historical nature of the Turkish-Iranian rivalry, a durable rapprochement between Turkey and Iran requires assurances about the future of the Kurds a…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Stakeholders of the Syrian Conflict Divide the Pie

    Aug 23, 2017Joe Macaron

    The recent local and regional developments in Syria signal that it is entering a new phase where major powers are coming to terms with a compromise that the Sy…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqSecurity and Defense

    The Realities and Challenges of a New US SOFA with Iraq

    Aug 15, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    The United States and Iraq are currently negotiating a new Status of Forces Agreement that is contingent upon numerous domestic, regional, and American conditi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Taylor Force Act: Putting the Palestinian Authority on Notice

    Aug 3, 2017Marcus Montgomery

    Senators have agreed to revise a bill that will put the Palestinian Authority on notice, conditioning US aid to the PA on ending payments to Palestinian prison…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Palestine Recentered

    Jul 25, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    The Jerusalem events show that the Palestine issue remains central to the region and that a serious, sustained, and committed engagement in its resolution is p…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Hariri Comes to Washington in the Shadow of Hezbollah’s Wars

    Jul 25, 2017Joe Macaron

    The measure of success for Hariri’s visit to Washington is his ability to convince US officials that the status quo is the best Lebanon can do considering the …