Middle East

‘The ball is now in Hamas’s court’ for a ceasefire in Gaza, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

By Katherine Golden

The US secretary of state spoke at the Atlantic Council on January 14, just as reports from the Middle East indicated an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release could come soon.

The Biden administration’s vision for postwar Gaza

By Antony J. Blinken

At an Atlantic Council Front Page event, Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered remarks on the Biden administration’s Middle East policy and the prospects for peace in the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Biden record in the Middle East—and what comes next

At an Atlantic Council event, the US secretary of state delivered remarks on the Middle East and the future of US leadership.

The next decade of strategic competition: How the Pentagon can use special operations forces to better compete

By Clementine G. Starling-Daniels, Theresa Luetkefend

Clementine G. Starling and Theresa Luetkefend discuss how the Department of Defense and Joint force should more effectively leverage Special Operations forces in strategic competition.

Turkey’s Syria and Libya strategies add up to a Mediterranean power play

By Emadeddin Badi and Abdullah al-Jabassini 

By aligning its strategies in Libya and Syria, Turkey seeks to consolidate influence and amplify its leverage across both theaters.

To help build the new Syria, the US needs to better understand the Kurds and Arabs of the northeast

By Ömer Özkizilcik

Washington should take note of the complexities in the region and not be bound by the past. The security of the entire region is at stake.

Can Lebanon’s new president stabilize a country in crisis?

By Nicholas Blanford

Amid deep uncertainty over the futures of Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the Middle East, the newest Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, was elected on January 9.

What’s behind Egypt and China’s ‘golden decade’ of partnership

By Jonathan Fulton

China’s outreach to Egypt has not happened in a vacuum but rather as part of a larger strategy to make Beijing a more important actor in the Middle East and North Africa.