Jerusalem: A High Price for an Unnecessary Move

by Rana Allam As the lights in the building of the Arab League in Cairo remain off, the streets of many Arab cities are alight with protests. In Cairo as in Palestine, security forces used force to disperse protesters, and… Continue Reading

The Qatar Crisis in an Age of Alternative Facts

by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) holds its annual Summit in Kuwait City this week, exactly six months since three of the six GCC states—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—cut diplomatic relations and imposed economic… Continue Reading

Regime Change in Iran By Other Means

by Mitchell Plitnick While the Iran nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA) is far from safe from attacks by Donald Trump, it is becoming clear that a Plan B is being put in motion. The United States… Continue Reading

Palestinian Reconciliation, in the Hands of Israel

by Paul R. Pillar The latest attempt at reconciliation between the competing Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas has produced a preliminary agreement that Egypt brokered and that was announced earlier this month. Movement on this subject at this time is… Continue Reading

Risks of Ejecting the Taliban’s Office from Qatar

by Giorgio Cafiero In 2013, with support from the American, Afghan, and Qatari governments, the Taliban opened an office in Doha. The office was to serve as a platform to engage the Taliban’s representatives in talks to bring peace to… Continue Reading