A sustainable reset will require greater consultation prior to policy initiatives, a greater willingness among GCC states to work together, and a U.S. willingness to reassume a leadership role by fashioning security policy frameworks for its partners. President Trump’s attendance at the recent summits in Riyadh was a first step toward resetting relations with America’s… Keep reading →
Whatever understandings the Trump administration reaches after the Islamic State is defeated, it needs to be clear about the stakes: if America does not stop the Iranians in Syria and Iraq, they will soon emerge as the region’s dominant force. During his recent meetings with Arab leaders in Riyadh, President Trump signed up to a… Keep reading →
Erdogan may be willing to give President Trump a free hand in Raqqa, but only if Washington supports Turkish action against the PKK in Sinjar and continues the conversation on Fethullah Gulen. On May 16, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with President Trump in the White House to discuss a variety of interconnected… Keep reading →
On May 1, Ghaith al-Omari, Ehud Yaari, David Makovsky, and Dennis Ross addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Omari is a senior fellow at the Institute, former advisor to the Palestinian Authority, and author of the recent report Governance as a Path to Palestinian Political Rejuvenation. Yaari is a Lafer International Fellow with… Keep reading →
Washington’s working relations with the next president should not preclude it from leading the fight against the IRGC’s missile proliferation and regional militancy. Iran is a country at war, in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Yet the candidates campaigning for the May 19 presidential election have hardly spoken a word about the country’s regional and military… Keep reading →
Talks this week with the Saudi deputy crown prince are expected to cover current issues including Iran, “radical Islamic terrorism,” Syria, and Yemen, as well as perspectives on the longer-term future of the Middle East. The visit by thirty-one-year-old Prince Muhammad bin Salman, a son of King Salman, who turns eighty-one this year and is… Keep reading →
As the Trump administration prepares to revise its controversial entry restrictions, a sampling of quotes from officials around the region indicates that certain provisions will be a hard sell abroad. President Trump’s January 27 executive order on “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” drew much ire at home and around… Keep reading →
Two leading experts on clerical succession in Iran and Iraq discuss how the passing of Ayatollah Sistani and Supreme Leader Khamenei would affect American interests across the Middle East. On February 6, Ali Mamouri and Suzanne Maloney addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mamouri is the editor of Al-Monitor’s Iraq Pulse Desk and… Keep reading →
How will the election’s outcome shape the direction of U.S. Middle East policy, and how do America’s friends in the region view the prospect of a new administration? Read or watch a conversation between leading Middle Eastern journalists and U.S. policy experts. On November 10, Jamal Khashoggi, Jumana Ghunaimat, David Horovitz, Norman Ornstein, and Dennis Ross… Keep reading →
With a few exceptions, the candidates focused more on debating the past than offering ideas and prescriptions for today’s Middle East challenges. Apart from the rants, attacks, and insults, when it came to Middle East issues, last night’s debate was like an old and broken record — rehashing disputes over the Iraq war (2003), the… Keep reading →
