The Mideast’s Front Burner Issues
The Middle East went through maelstrom developments during the Obama Administration. Some of these were put into motion by the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. […] More
Middle East
Trump and the New Map of the Middle East
The Middle East that the Trump Administration must now come to grips with is not the one Barack Obama envisioned leaving his successor when he […] More
Change Has Not Come to the Middle East
At first glance, it would appear that the Middle East President Donald J. Trump now faces is far different than the region which confronted President […] More
Designating the Muslim Brotherhood As Terrorists Is Complicated
The Trump Administration is considering whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood – a movement that espouses a doctrine of political Islam and has millions of […] More
The Potential to Increase the Terrorist Threat
The Cipher Brief sat down with Michele Dunne, Director and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Center, to discuss the […] More
The U.S. Should Be Wary About Overplaying Its Hand
The Muslim Brotherhood preaches a violent, exclusivist ideology. Its websites and social media accounts are chock-full of anti-Christian and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Its affiliated networks in Istanbul have threatened foreign […] More
Islands Controversy Haunts 6th Anniversary of Egypt's Revolution
Six years after Egyptians rose up against the political authoritarianism and economic incompetence of the Mubarak regime, the potential transfer of two strategic islands to […] More
Trump So Far: The Middle East View
When Donald Trump was elected as the 45th U.S. President, there was reason for some comfort amongst the United States’ traditional Arab allies in the […] More
The End of AQAP’s Last Refuge in Yemen?
On Sunday, U.S. Special Forces SEAL Team 6, killed Abdul Raouf al-Dhahab, a mid-level al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) commander, and two of […] More
Principles to Guide U.S. Military Engagement in the Middle East
Some of the most significant challenges the Trump administration will face are in the Middle East. These include the threat of salafi-Jihadist terrorism, Iran’s efforts […] More
Take It or Leave It: The Future of the Two-State Solution
Among his numerous campaign promises, U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem continues to reverberate across domestic and […] More
The Peace Process: Not Ready for Prime Time
The Cipher Brief sat down with Aaron David Miller, Former advisor to Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State on Arab-Israeli negotiations to discuss the potential […] More
Can Trump Break The Status Quo in Israeli-Palestinian Relations?
As has been the case for every one of his predecessors, Donald Trump will attempt to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some resisted for a while, […] More
Syria Talks Were Just "Theater”
Russia, Iran and Turkey on Tuesday pledged to jointly enforce the fragile ceasefire in Syria, wrapping up two days of peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. […] More
Blinken on Challenges in Syria, Iraq, and the Road Ahead
Syrian opposition officials are meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana to begin talks on a final peace agreement. Representatives from Russia and Turkey are […] More
Syria's Tangled Trilateral Road to Peace
The December 30 ceasefire in Syria, brokered by Russia and Turkey, has for the most held throughout the country, despite violence undermining the pact. This […] More
Placating Patrons Who Control the Cards in Syria
As 2016 comes to a close, Russia and Turkey have cobbled together a ceasefire in Syria, paving the way for peace talks to end the […] More
Syria: A Tactical—Not Strategic—Ceasefire
The agreement between Turkey and Russia stipulates a halt to the fighting throughout Syrian territory from midnight on December 29, with the exception of areas […] More