Middle East

Briefing with Gary Lewis

On Thursday, March 13, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted Gary Lewis for a private briefing. Drawing on his experiences of over 26 years at the United Nations, most notably as the current United Nations resident coordinator in Iran, Lewis spoke on a range of issues including but not limited to the ongoing nuclear […]

The Gulf’s Geoeconomic Interests in Egypt

By EgyptSource

Mohsin Khan, a resident senior fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East focusing on the economic dimensions of transition in the Middle East and North Africa, argues in his latest article for the Atlantic Council’s MENASource that the Gulf states “have started using their vast  resources to shape the region, direct political developments, […]

Why Barrel Bombs in Syria Threaten US National Security

By Mohammed Alaa Ghanem and Shlomo Bolts

As Syria peace talks deadlock at Geneva, forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad have unleashed a potentially decisive military offensive that may eliminate the possibility of a political settlement.

A Margin for Democracy

By Amr Hamzawy

A series of questions for those who have long stayed silent

Moving the New US-Saudi Relationship Beyond Reassurance

By Richard LeBaron

Over the past two months, US and Saudi officials have done what they needed to do to calm the waters in US-Saudi relations. Senior officials visited Riyadh to discuss the status of the negotiations with Iran; the Saudi interior minister visited the United States to coordinate Syria policy more effectively; the vocal complaints of the […]

Syria: Escaping the Policy Cul-De-Sac

By Frederic C. Hof

The collapse of the Geneva II negotiations seems to have inspired a reassessment of Syria policy within the Obama administration. The Assad regime challenges vital US interests in at least two respects: as a magnet for al-Qaeda and other transnational terrorists; and as a perpetrator of war crimes and crimes against humanity producing tsunami-like effects […]