Middle East

Middle East

Stretching from the Western Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East continues to be a region struggling with violent conflict, political repression, and poor development. Numerous pro-democracy protest movements, a burgeoning youth population, and efforts to reform governments and lessen economic dependence on oil, however, are causes for optimism. The United States and the international community must remain engaged with the region to provide support for these positive moves and to address the many remaining challenges.

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MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

تفتت الفصائل المسلحة العراقية بعد تحول النظام الإيراني من الثيوقراطية الى الجنتوقراطية

By
Munqith Dagher

كيف يؤثر تغيير القيادة في ايران على الميليشيات العراقية؟ د. منقذ داغر يبدو اننا بتنا ، بعد 28 فبراير 2026 ،امام نظام مختلف وظيفياً، بل وحتى هيكلياً عما عرفناه طوال السنوات السبعة وأربعين من عمر النظام الايراني. فقد اتسم نظام الحكم في ايران بنسخته الخمينية الأولى 1979-1989  بأحادية قطبية لا مكان فيها سوى للمرشد الأعلى(الخميني). […]


Arabic

Conflict


MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

Iraq’s militias are fracturing as Iran turns from theocracy to juntocracy

By
Munqith Dagher

Iraq’s militias face a spiritual and organizational dilemma that gravely endangers their existence, in the wake of Iran's leadership change.


Conflict

Iran


MENASource

May 26, 2026

An oil windfall will not fix Libya’s economy

By
Ahmed Shalghoum and Frank Talbot

Libya's new unified budget needs transparency, accountability, and oversight to deliver for the people.


Economy & Business

Libya

READ More from MENASOURCE

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

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Content

Libya Working Group

May 6, 2013

Libya Needs the US for its Transition to Democracy

By Charles Dunne Stephen McInerney and Karim Mezran

Deborah Jones is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination as the new U.S. ambassador to Libya. This will present a stark reminder of the events that took the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11, 2012.

Libya

Libya Working Group

May 3, 2013

Libyan Stability at Risk

By Jason Pack and Karim Mezran

Last week’s attack on the French Embassy in Tripoli was the first significant terrorist attack against foreign interests in the Libyan capital since the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi. More crucially, it marks an escalation in the covert war being waged to determine the future orientation, institutions, constitution, and very soul of the new Libya. At […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

May 3, 2013

What Was Obama Thinking?

By Barry Pavel

What was President Obama thinking in August 2012 when he declared that Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria would alter his calculus and cross a red line, triggering U.S. intervention?

Security & Defense Syria

MENASource

May 3, 2013

The Promise and Perils of Gulf Aid

By Faysal Itani

In a hostile and unstable region, the Gulf Arab states have had to compensate for their limited capacity and appetite for military action. Using immense oil wealth and tight control of policymaking, the ruling families of the Gulf have refined aid and investment into sophisticated foreign policy tools. Gulf aid is likely to impact significantly […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

May 2, 2013

Rebel Commander Implores Obama to Protect the Syrian People, Take Action Against Assad

In a written appeal to US President Barack Obama, Syrian Supreme Military Council leader General Salim Idris calls for international support to protect the Syrian people and rid the world of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Download the PDF

Syria

MENASource

May 2, 2013

Iraq’s Dangerous Relapse Needs US Attention

By Ramzy Mardini

The month of April marked the tenth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the third provincial election of the post-Saddam era—the country’s first without the presence of US troops—and seven years since a relatively unknown Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the prime minister of Iraq. Nevertheless, after a period of relatively low violence and another election […]

Iraq United States and Canada
Obama.JPG

MENASource

May 1, 2013

Syria: The Chemical Weapons Red Line

By Frederic C. Hof

The real significance of Syria’s likely crossing of US President Barack Obama’s chemical weapons red line may be that it will focus the administration’s attention on here-and-now Syria policy options as it has not been focused heretofore. As the president said in his April 30 press conference, regime culpability in using chemical weapons would force […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 30, 2013

Time For Some American Shock and Awe in Syria

By Sarwar Kashmeri

United States’ intelligence agencies and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are still not certain the Syrian government of President Assad has used chemical weapons against its opposition. Nothing has yet emerged from France, Germany or Britain to unequivocally confirm this charge either. But the clamor among the hawkish segment of Washington lawmakers to get the […]

Security & Defense Syria

MENASource

Apr 30, 2013

Eroding Civil Liberties in Kuwait

By Mary Ann Tetreault

The sentencing of popular Kuwaiti opposition leader Musallem al-Barrak on April 15 for insulting the amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is part of a pattern of deteriorating civil liberties in Kuwait. Although the roots of the current conflict can be traced back to a 2006 social movement whose aim was to change the election […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 29, 2013

Obama Should Remember Rwanda as He Weighs Action in Syria

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

The Rwanda genocide began in April 1994; within a few weeks, nongovernmental organizations there were estimating that 100,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been massacred. Yet two months later, Reuters correspondent Alan Elsner and State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly had an infamous exchange: Elsner: “How would you describe the events taking place in Rwanda?” Shelly: […]

Syria United States and Canada
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Experts

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Fellow

Carmiel Arbit

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Rabah Arezki

Distinguished Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Africa Economy & Business

Millennium fellow

Iliyana Arnaudova

Clean Energy Finance Manager, C40

Millennium Leadership Program

Africa Climate Change & Climate Action

Fellow

Sareta Ashraph

Senior Legal Advisor

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Fellow

Amir Asmar

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Intelligence Israel
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