Presiding over Chaos
On October 31, the Lebanese parliament elected Michel Aoun president, ending a two-and-a-half-year stalemate during which the country had no head of state. The presidency is reserved for the coun...
Country
Russia’s Middle East Offensive
Even before Russian bombers launched strikes into Syria from an Iranian air base last month, it was clear that one of President Barack Obama’s more dubious foreign policy legacies would be...
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Strikes Back
For those concerned about the fallout from President Barack Obama and his administration’s nuclear deal with Iran — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actio...
Op-eds
Russia and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
Research Memo
Memos
German government agency involved in violation of Iran sanctions
Co-written by Bjorn Stritzel A German government quality control agency and a private certification agency that works with it both violated EU sanctions and the federal agency&r...
Op-eds
Istanbul Attack Must Prompt Tougher Turkish IS Policy
Three suicide bombers attacked the Istanbul Ataturk international airport Tuesday night, killing 43 people, including...
Policy Briefs
Hezbollah doesn’t want a President – Because it doesn’t want a Lebanese Republic
Hezbollah appears to have switched loyalties in Lebanon’s never-ending presidential race. Despite maintaining long-standing support for the candidacy of the pro-Syrian former general Michel...
Op-eds
Hezbollah doesn’t want a President – Because it doesn’t want a Lebanese Republic
Hezbollah appears to have switched loyalties in Lebanon’s never-ending presidential race. Despite maintaining long-standing support for the candidacy of the pro-Syrian former general Michel...
Op-eds
Erdoğan’s Reckless Referendum Ploy
The Turkish Parliament on Tuesday held the first of...
Policy Briefs
Turkey Moves to Strip Kurdish Deputies’ Immunity
Turkey set the stage for stripping Kurdish parliamentarians of their immunity Monday, when a parliamentary committee...
Policy Briefs
A Dire Situation in Iraq
With Iraq’s political crisis worsening as chaos erupted in parliament on Wednesday over Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi plan to reshuffle his cabinet and combat corruption, The Cipher Br...
Op-eds
Terror in Europe: Safeguarding U.S. Citizens at Home and Abroad
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Legislative Testimonies
Joining Hezbollah: An Insider’s Account
In late December 2015, Lebanese journalist Carol Malouf held an in-depth interview with two Hezbollah captives of Jabhat al-Nusra. The intervi...
Op-eds
Iran’s Assembly of Experts Election: A Foregone Conclusion
Iranians go to the ballot box today to cast votes in two elections: one for the Assembly of Experts and the other for parliament. The former is charged with choosing and supervising the supreme l...
Policy Briefs
Despite Stillborn Deal, Saudi-Russian Petrodiplomacy Could Reshape The Future Of Oil
The Saudi-Iran grudge match still hangs over the oil patch. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s two largest oil exporters, finally reached an ...
Op-eds
What to Do When Your Man Just Won’t Commit, Baghdad Edition
I've been highly critical of President Barack Obama’s tenure as America’s commander in chief. But his shortcomings in this regard hardly came as a shock. Start your presidency wi...
Op-eds
Doubling Down on Damascus: Iran’s Military Surge to Save the Assad Regime
FDD Press
Monographs
Putin’s Belligerence Reaches a Tipping Point
Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet today after it violated the country’s airspace. The Turkish military...
Policy Briefs
Analysis: The Mood in Germany: Kristallnacht ‘Nein,’ BDS ‘Ja’
Each year on November 9, Berlin remembers the lethal anti-Semitic pogroms carried out by Germans against Jews and synagogues in 1938 – the so-called Kristallnacht anniversary. The comm...
Op-eds
After Ankara, Cover-Ups and Conspiracies
Twin bombs rocked the Turkish capital Ankara on October 10, killing close to 100 civilians and injuring over...