Middle East

MENASource Discussions: Libya Under the Microscope

By MENASource

A new Atlantic Council report examines the threats to Libya’s stability, provides a detailed mapping of the militia landscape, and details policy options for the Libyan government and its international partners. In Libya’s Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle, the authors attribute the cycle of violence, intractable political stalemate, and weakened economy to the Libyan authorities’ […]

President Jarba Visits the Council

By The Atlantic Council

On May 8, 2014, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted President Ahmad Jarba of the Syrian National Coalition and his delegation for a private, off-the-record discussion.

Jarba, Syrian Opposition Council Pushes for US Support

By Barbara Slavin

On his first visit to Washington this week, Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), has faced a daunting challenge: convincing the Obama administration that his organization deserves more support, including lethal weaponry, to counteract the brutal tactics of a regime that appears to be winning Syria’s three-year-old civil war.

Iraq’s Post-Election Environment: A Preliminary Assessment

Following Iraq’s April 30 parliamentary elections, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a discussion on implications of the latest round of voting on Iraq’s future. Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon Wilson moderated a discussion with Ambassador James Jeffrey, the former US envoy to Iraq, and Ambassador Feisal Istrabadi, who was previously […]

Sisi in the Hot Seat: Reading Between the Lines

By Wael Eskandar

Former Field Marshall and presidential hopeful Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appeared on television for the first time in an extended interview on May 5 and May 6 of 2014. The interview was conducted by two leading presenters in Egyptian media who championed the ouster of former present Mohamed Morsi, Ibrahim Eissa, known to have been an […]

The Gulf Rising: Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Dramatic changes in the world of defense, coupled with increasing political, financial, and fiscal pressures in the transatlantic community, have forced some of the most advanced US industrial allies and partners to make tough choices regarding their national defense programs, leaving them either more dependent on the United States or with capability shortages. Facing even […]