Middle East

The Iraq War That Might Have Been

Ten years on, newly published secret documents shed new light on potential turning points the United States missed.

BY MICHAEL R. GORDON, BERNARD E. TRAINOR | MARCH 12, 2013

How Not to Repair a Broken Pot

The lesson of Iraq isn't that American intervention only makes things worse; it's that there's a smarter way to do it.

BY JAMES TRAUB | MARCH 8, 2013

Why Is This Man Smiling?

How the Iranian regime used the Kazakhstan talks as pre-election propaganda.

BY MARK D. WALLACE, KRISTEN SILVERBERG | MARCH 8, 2013

Is Oslo Dead?

The peace process's two top negotiators reflect on the 20 years since their fleeting triumph.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | MARCH 7, 2013

Tehran Tanking

Iran's popularity in the Arab world is way down, but sectarianism is on the rise.

BY MARC LYNCH | MARCH 7, 2013

Why Being So Right Feels So Bad

Why did it take the State Department 10 years and billions of dollars to figure out that Iraq reconstruction was a massive failure?

BY PETER VAN BUREN | MARCH 6, 2013

Syria's House of Cards

After two years, 1 million refugees, and more than 70,000 dead, some Syrians -- and one American president -- are still looking to protect their own interests rather than save a country.

BY AMAL HANANO | MARCH 6, 2013

A Clear View from Foggy Bottom

How State Department analysts  -- and no one else -- foresaw the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

BY WILLIAM BURR | MARCH 5, 2013

Lessons Learned (and Not)

Seven things we've learned after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BY DAVID ROTHKOPF | MARCH 4, 2013

Democracy’s Backward March

The six countries where freedom is fading fastest.

BY ELIAS GROLL | MARCH 4, 2013

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Democracy is in retreat. And there's a surprising culprit.

BY JOSHUA KURLANTZICK | MARCH 4, 2013

'Homeland' in the Holy Land

A TV thriller taps into Israel's collective subconscious.

BY DEBRA KAMIN | MARCH 4, 2013

Give Us the Weapons We Need to Beat Assad

The chief of staff of the opposition Syrian Military Joint Command calls on the United States to provide arms, not just non-lethal aid.

BY SALIM IDRIS | MARCH 1, 2013

What Is Egypt?

As America's new secretary of state arrives in Cairo, it's still not clear the United States knows what it's dealing with.

BY STEVEN A. COOK | MARCH 1, 2013

The Brotherhood vs. the Free Press

Egypt's new rulers are determined to tighten their grip on the media scene in Cairo. I should know -- they had me fired.

BY HANI SHUKRALLAH | MARCH 1, 2013

Dead-End Road

Rogue states have a pretty convincing track record of ignoring sanctions, so what makes Congress and the White House think they'll work on Iran?

BY TY MCCORMICK | FEBRUARY 28, 2013

It’s Not an Intifada

Palestinians aren't ready to rise up -- yet.

BY JONATHAN SCHANZER | FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Welcome to the Middle East, Mr. Secretary

What John Kerry needs to know about his first assignment.

BY MARC LYNCH | FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Ending the Syrian War

It’s time for the United States to do what is necessary to bring down Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

BY SEN. ROBERT P. CASEY, JR. | FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Tribes With Flags

How the Arab Spring has exposed the myth of Arab statehood.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Uncharitable Organizations

Islamist groups are bankrolling terror groups across the Middle East and pretending it's aid work.

BY DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, AARON Y. ZELIN | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

The Russia Gambit

For the sake of Syrian lives, John Kerry’s got to play hardball with Moscow.

BY CHRISTOPHER S. CHIVVIS, EDWARD P. JOSEPH | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Give Me Shelter

Syrians brave bombs and bullets to deliver aid to their war-torn country.

BY JUSTIN VELA | FEBRUARY 26, 2013

The First Rule of Drone Club

The bad lessons Turkey learned from Obama's war from above.

BY AARON STEIN | FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Limited Partnership

No, North Korea did not just test an Iranian nuke.

BY JEFFREY LEWIS | FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Here’s Your Plan B

Arming the rebels isn’t the only way the United States can help Syria.

BY MARC LYNCH | FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Israel's Script Turns Sour

Hollywood used to portray Israelis as heroic and brave. Today, it's films about the brutality of the occupation that make it to the silver screen.

BY LISA GOLDMAN | FEBRUARY 22, 2013

You Don't Know Chuck

Who said it: Sen. Hagel or the Shin Bet?

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Iran Can’t Agree to a Damn Thing

Let's face it: The Islamic Republic is just too dysfunctional to cut a nuclear deal.

BY PATRICK CLAWSON | FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Hostage for a Day

How I became a bargaining chip in Yemen’s tribal maze.

BY ADAM BARON | FEBRUARY 19, 2013