Featured commentary & analysis


Counterterrorism Study Group

The Counterterrorism Study Group is a forum for former counterterrorism officials to review the latest threats, to understand emerging trends and future predictions, and to explore creative new proposals for improving the effectiveness of current policies and operations.


Podcast series

Listen to the latest episode of the China-MENA podcast, featuring conversations with academics, government leaders, and the policy community on China’s role in the Middle East.


Gulf Security Task Force

The Gulf Security Task Force is revisiting the question of how to best protect US interests in this sensitive, always relevant region. Our goal is to provide US decision-makers with an updated, fact-based strategy for protecting US interests in the air and maritime domain from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, and ensuring Gulf partners’ ability to assume this responsibility, with the assistance and leadership of the United States.

Content

In the News

Mar 29, 2015

Pham on the Conflict in Yemen

By J. Peter Pham

International Business Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on how Iran’s involvement in the conflict in Yemen could shift the balance of power in the region:

Iran Yemen

In the News

Mar 29, 2015

Saab: Houthi and the Blowback

By Bilal Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab writes for Foreign Affairs on Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen:

Saudi Arabia Yemen

In the News

Mar 27, 2015

Manning on Yemen and Oil Prices

By Robert Manning

Anadolu Agency’s Energy News Terminal quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Robert Manning on the crisis in Yemen and how it could affect oil prices:

Yemen

MENASource

Mar 27, 2015

Why Arab Intervention in Yemen Is So Significant

By Daniel DePetris

One of the main gripes among US officials in the past has been the inability, or unwillingness, of Arab governments to use their own military resources to solve security problems in the region.

North Africa Saudi Arabia

In the News

Mar 26, 2015

Pham on the Conflict in Yemen and Oil Shipping Routes

By J. Peter Pham

Reuters quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on how the conflict in Yemen could affect oil shipping routes and allow Iran to expand its presence in the region:

Iran Yemen

Article

Mar 26, 2015

Opinion: A Fourth Arab Country Melts Down

By Barbara Slavin

Reports on Wednesday that the president of Yemen has fled his country underline the latest crisis to strike the state system in the Middle East. Three other Arab nations – Libya, Syria and Iraq – are already fractured among religious, ethnic and tribal groups, with fighting exacerbated by outsiders bankrolling and arming proxies.

Iraq Libya

New Atlanticist

Mar 25, 2015

Will Chaos in Yemen Doom US War on al-Qaeda?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analyst sees opportunity for cooperation on drone strikes Yemen’s descent into chaos has jeopardized US counterterrorism operations there, but the Pentagon could still order scaled-down drone strikes against an al-Qaeda affiliate by working with like-minded elements in the Yemeni military, says an Atlantic Council analyst. US drone strikes on al Qaeda in the […]

Yemen

In the News

Mar 25, 2015

Khoury on the Developing Situation in Yemen

By Nabeel Khoury

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Nabeel Khoury joins NPR’s All Things Considered to discuss Yemen’s president fleeing the country and the withdrawal of US personnel from the country: Listen to the full interview here.

Yemen

Regional Security Initiative

Mar 23, 2015

Artful balance: The future of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab and Barry Pavel

A strategic review of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf is long overdue. In Artful Balance: Future US Defense Strategy and Force Posture in the Gulf, Bilal Y. Saab, Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, and Barry Pavel, Vice President and […]

Maritime Security Middle East

In the News

Mar 20, 2015

Khoury on the Violence in Yemen

By Nabeel Khoury

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Nabeel Khoury joins PBS NewsHour to discuss rising violence, ethnic tensions, and power struggles in Yemen:

Yemen

Experts