MENASource

As the MENA region continues to be the epicenter of news headlines, the Atlantic Council’s MENASource is a hub for thought-provoking and hard-hitting analyses about the latest trends, ideas, and debates. This online publication provides fast reactions and in-depth commentary on breaking news and key regional topics by a diverse team of experts and contributors.

MENASource brings you up-close to a region at the epicenter of geo-political headlines. It is the Atlantic Council’s hub for in-depth commentary about breaking news, key topics, and trends from our team of experts on the Middle East and North Africa.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

MENASource
Jan 14, 2026

Voices from Iran: As rejection of government reaches all-time high, Iranians also wary of foreign intervention

If Trump is serious about peace, stability, and a lasting legacy, the path forward does not run through air strikes or transactional deals with a failing theocracy.

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Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

MENASource
Jan 28, 2026

Trump’s National Security Strategy doesn’t downgrade the Middle East, it redefines it

By
Kristian Alexander

Trump’s strategy is a sophisticated refinement of “America First.” For the Gulf, the implications are significant, but manageable.

Middle East
National Security

Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

MENASource
Jan 13, 2026

Eight questions (and expert answers) on the SDF’s withdrawal from Syria’s Aleppo

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts unpack why violence erupted, what it means for Kurdish safety and integration in Syria, and how Washington is engaging.

Civil Society
Conflict

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Content

MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

By Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Despite the incredible gains that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made in Iraq in the past few days, the Kurdish government has lent its security forces to aid in pushing the paramilitary group out of the north. But with the abandonment of Iraqi army posts, the Kurdish authority may now have […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

After Mosul?

By Ramzy Mardini

The United States pulled its remaining troops out from Iraq two and a half years ago, ending a military occupation that lasted almost a decade. The civil war in Syria has become the strategic driver shaping the security dynamics across the Levant, and has breathed new life into militancy in Iraq, rejuvenating the confidence, resources, […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

Top News: Sisi Calls for Saving on Fuel Costs by Taking Part in Cycling Marathon

By EgyptSource

During a cycling marathon in Egypt on Friday, newly elected president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called on Egyptians to walk more to save the country money on fuel. 

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Nominee for US Ambassador Emphasizes Engagement with Egypt

By Elissa Miller

Egypt’s security, prosperity, pluralism, and its democratization remain vitally important to the United States. This was the key thrust of Ambassador Robert Stephen Beecroft’s testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 11, where he appeared as President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next US ambassador to Egypt.   The United States has been […]

North Africa United States and Canada

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

YemenSource | Ceasefire Agreement Reached in Northern Amran

By YemenSource

Following the death of an estimated 120 people, Amran deputy governor, Ahmed al-Bekry confirmed that a ceasefire agreement had been reached with the Houthi rebels. The fighting ended after both sides agreed to a ceasefire. No clashes were reported the following day.

Yemen

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Top News: Kurdish Forces Take Full Control of Kirkuk

By MENASource

As ISIS vows to take two more Iraqi cities including the capital Baghdad, Kurdish forces take full control of the country’s oil city of Kirkuk after the Iraqi army abandoned their posts. Iraqi parliament is divided over implementing a state of emergency, a call made by Nuri al-Maliki. Only 128 of 325 members of parliament […]

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Reflections on the Why and How of Syria’s Elections

By Aya Majzoub

The farcical Syrian presidential election, held in the midst of a bloody civil war, is unlikely to radically alter the dynamics on the battlefield inside Syria or convince Assad’s opponents of his democratic legitimacy. However, it would be a dangerous miscalculation to dismiss its significance; a mistake Secretary of State John Kerry recently committed in […]

Syria

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Top News: United Nations Calls on Egypt Authorities to Enforce Sexual Harassment Law

By EgyptSource

The United Nations (UN) in Egypt on Wednesday commended the newly approved anti-sexual harassment law that was added as an amendment to the Egyptian penal code.

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

For ISIS, Iraq’s Spoils Could Tip Balance in Eastern Syria

By Karen Leigh

Photos depicting militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) driving US-made armored vehicles across the Iraqi border into the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor could prove that the porous border between Iraq and Syria is now an open road for ISIS fighters hoping to establish a Sunni caliphate in the region.

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 11, 2014

On the Price Egypt Paid, Unacceptable Arrogance, and Major Challenges to Come

By Amr Hamzawy

There is a price to be paid for the absence of democracy and for the way that security practices have dominated the system of rule in Egypt, utterly corrupting political life and subjugating it to the social and party elite such that one must either support these power arrangements, along with their decisions and actions, […]

Elections North Africa
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