Trump’s Saudi Trip: Less Than Meets the Eye?
What’s the outcome of President Trump’s trip last week to the Middle East? I’ll focus mainly on what may be the after effects of the […] More
Middle East
Hope and Change, Iranian Style
On the surface, the Iranian election was an impressive display of hope trumping cynicism. Over 70 percent of the population turned out with more than […] More
Did Trump Give Erdogan License to Kill PKK Militants Inside Iraq?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington last week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite budding tensions over the Trump administration’s decision to […] More
Trump Mideast Trip Marks a Shift from Obama
President Donald Trump heads to The Vatican and Brussels on Wednesday, after wrapping up a trip to the Middle East, which started in Saudi Arabia […] More
The Struggle Continues in Iran
Hassan Rouhani’s decisive victory in the Iranian presidential elections held last week reveals that after 38 years, Iranians are still struggling to resolve the conflicts […] More
True Defeat of ISIS Seems Unlikely in the Short Term
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution to discuss […] More
Could Iran’s Elections Indicate a New Future?
Iranian voters sent a strong message to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, decisively electing incumbent President Hassan Rouhani to a second term in office. The […] More
Election Exposed Deep Polarization Within Iran
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, to discuss how the […] More
Trump Should Meet with Sisi in Saudi Arabia
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia Saturday with a packed agenda. He will conclude a $109.7 billion arms agreement with Riyadh, discuss opportunities […] More
Securing Mosul Post-ISIS
It is likely that Iraqi security forces and international partners will soon liberate Mosul from ISIS’ three-year hold. However, without proper governance over the city, […] More
Iranian Elections Unpredictable and Exciting
Friday’s presidential election in Iran marks a pivotal moment for the Islamic Republic. Although ultimate power in the country remains in the hands of Supreme […] More
Fragile States Index Reveals Grievance in Unexpected Places
What is the most stable country in the world? Which is the most fragile? What determines those qualities? In 2017, South Sudan was ranked the most […] More
Trump Faces Decision Point on Afghanistan
President Donald Trump has to make a decision soon: what will he do in Afghanistan? The U.S. is now in its 16th year in the […] More
U.S. Special Operations Forces’ Changing Mission in the Middle East
Despite former President Barack Obama’s efforts to cut U.S. military commitments in the Middle East, events quickly drew his Administration back into the region. Civil […] More
A Tale of Three Libyas
To put it mildly, circumstances on the ground in Libya are complicated. Mired in a state of conflict since former head of state Muammar Gaddafi […] More
Algeria Takes the Lead in Libya
That Libya is a mess is beyond doubt, but who is actually trying to resolve the conflict is a harder question to answer. U.S. President […] More
Nobody is in Charge in Libya
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Mohamed Eljarh, former political consultant to the Libyan Mission to the European Union, to discuss the ongoing […] More
Don’t Expect Popping Champagne Corks at Trump-Abbas Meeting
President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, traveled to the White House on Wednesday for his first meeting with President Donald Trump. In brief comments […] More