On November 4, Joby Warrick, Will McCants, and Aaron Zelin addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Warrick has covered national security, intelligence, and the Middle East for the Washington Post since 1996. McCants is a fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy and director of the Project on U.S. Relations with the… Keep reading →
Following their latest visit to Egypt, the former congressman and White House counsel who constitute an Institute task force shared their views on the country’s leadership, economy, and prospects for better ties with Washington. On November 5, 2015, Vin Weber and Gregory B. Craig addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute covering their recent… Keep reading →
New Russian airstrikes in the south could portend a wider regime, Hezbollah, and Iranian ground campaign there, potentially violating Israel’s Golan redline and exacerbating Jordan’s refugee problems. On October 28, for the first time since Moscow began its air campaign in Syria, Russian jets reportedly targeted rebel forces in the south. The strikes focused on… Keep reading →
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), intended to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be directed toward exclusively peaceful purposes, went into effect October 18, 2015.
Defending the Assad regime has given Tehran multiple options for expanding its influence and projecting power in the region and beyond. The Syrian civil war is transforming regional geopolitics, and one of its most dramatic effects is Iran’s seemingly expanding foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. While it is too early to know… Keep reading →
The missile strikes on targets in Syria showed unprecedented cooperation between Russia and Iran, but they also serve as a wakeup call to Tehran about Moscow’s expanding military profile in the Caspian. On October 7, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its warships had fired twenty-six cruise missiles from the central Caspian Sea at eleven… Keep reading →
The bold military gamble in Syria surprised and confused the international community, but Putin has given the United States and Turkey a reason to more assertively counter Russia’s ambitions in its own backyard. While all eyes are on Moscow’s dramatic entry into the Syria conflict, policymakers and military planners should not forget about Vladimir Putin’s… Keep reading →
The major discovery is good news for Egypt but will likely impede Israel’s much-delayed plans to exploit and export its own offshore reserves. In an August 30 press release, Italian energy company Eni announced that it has found a “supergiant” natural gas field off the coast of Egypt. Discovered more than 13,000 feet below the… Keep reading →
Barack Obama has criticized US political and business figures who oppose the expansion of wind and solar power in a speech where he singled out the influential Koch brothers for criticism. [The Guardian] A new study has revealed experts may have been overestimating China’s levels of carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 10%, according… Keep reading →
Cairo and Washington both see the upcoming dialogue as a means of signaling that political disagreements will not torpedo the core relationship anytime soon. On August 2, Secretary of State John Kerry visited Cairo to begin the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue. The high-level exchange reflects both countries’ desire to emphasize shared regional interests over the political… Keep reading →
