Middle East

Syrian Purgatory

As winter clutches northern Syria, thousands displaced by the civil war take cold comfort in a temporary tent city.

BY STEVEN SOTLOFF | JANUARY 14, 2013

There's No App for Syria

Why did Apple ban a game on the Syrian civil war?

BY MICHAEL PECK | JANUARY 11, 2013

The Most Hated Woman in Israel

Haneen Zoabi has made her career speaking up for Israel's Arab minority. In Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel, that's becoming harder each day.

BY LARRY DERFNER | JANUARY 11, 2013

Does Obama Have a Middle East Strategy?

If not, what should it be?

BY MARC LYNCH | JANUARY 10, 2013

The Three-State Solution

Are we witnessing a historic shift toward Palestinian unity? Don't bet on it.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | JANUARY 9, 2013

A 'Zero Option' for Afghanistan

Yes, President Karzai, we might pull out completely.

BY DAVID W. BARNO | JANUARY 7, 2013

No Surrender

The Syrian president’s speech at the Damascus Opera House shows that he still thinks he can win this war.

BY EMILE HOKAYEM | JANUARY 7, 2013

The Palestinian Implosion

Salam Fayyad's bold effort to build Palestinian institutions could soon collapse -- unless Israel and the United States spring to action.

BY ZIAD ASALI, GHAITH AL-OMARI | JANUARY 3, 2013

A Cluster Bomb Killed My Father

It's time to outlaw these dangerous weapons once and for all.

BY NADIM MATTA | JANUARY 3, 2013

Unholy Alliances

Israel's election is bringing together some strange bedfellows.

BY NOAH EFRON | JANUARY 3, 2013

Cursed With Plenty

America is on the verge of an energy boom. But will abundant shale gas create more problems than it fixes? 

BY DAVID ROTHKOPF | JANUARY 2, 2013

My Enemy, Myself

Who's your enemy? Why fight? Over the course of three years, Belgian-Tunisian photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa has traveled to both sides of the world's longest-simmering conflicts to ask these pointed questions. What he heard from combatants in the Gaza Strip, the disputed Kashmir region along the India-Pakistan border, and tribally divided South Sudan captures the futility of wars that never end -- and can't be won. Tragically, bitter rivals are often fighting for the very same reasons.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARIM BEN KHELIFA | JANUARY 2, 2013

The Year the Arab Spring Went Bad

Hopes for a democratic Middle East have faltered amid sectarian animosities and ideological divisions. Did it have to be this way?

BY F. GREGORY GAUSE, III | DECEMBER 31, 2012

Was It a Good Year in Afghanistan?

Looking back at a troubling 2012 filled with progress and peril, it's hard to determine whether the United States is winning this war.

BY IAN LIVINGSTON, MICHAEL O’HANLON | DECEMBER 27, 2012

The Settlement That Broke the Two-State Solution

Ma'aleh Adumim symbolizes why Middle East peace may no longer be possible.

BY LARRY DERFNER | DECEMBER 26, 2012

Anatomy of an Air Attack Gone Wrong

In rural Yemen, a botched attack on a terror suspect kills 12 civilians and destroys a community.

BY LETTA TAYLER | DECEMBER 26, 2012

From Bread Lines to Front Lines

In the latest phase of Syria's civil war, civilians have become the targets.

BY STEVEN SOTLOFF | DECEMBER 24, 2012

9 Stories That Will Move Markets in 2013

From the U.S. deficit to Mideast turmoil, the issues that could have the biggest impact on the global economy in the coming year.

BY DANIEL ALTMAN | DECEMBER 24, 2012

The World War on Christmas

Five places where Santa really does have to watch his back.

BY ELIZABETH F. RALPH | DECEMBER 24, 2012

Exit the Conciliator

Will Iraq fall apart if its president dies?

BY PETER W. GALBRAITH | DECEMBER 21, 2012

All (Syrian) Politics Is Local

How jihadists are winning hearts and minds in Syria.

BY HASSAN HASSAN | DECEMBER 20, 2012

Syria's Time Is Running Out

The country tears itself further apart with each passing day. This is the moment to do something about it.

BY FREDERIC HOF | DECEMBER 19, 2012

The Most Dangerous Beat on Earth

Four brave journalists weigh in on what it's like to cover Syria.

DECEMBER 19, 2012

My Dinner with Jalal

Remembering better times with Iraq's stricken president.

BY PETER BOUCKAERT | DECEMBER 18, 2012

'These Guys Are Thugs'

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei speaks exclusively to Foreign Policy on the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's political crisis.

Interview by DAVID KENNER | DECEMBER 18, 2012

Keeping the Light On

Celebrating Hannukah with the last Jews in Egypt.

BY BEN GITTLESON | DECEMBER 17, 2012

Beating the Brotherhood

Egypt's long-suffering opposition is fighting back against the Islamist government. But can they get their act together in time?

BY EVAN HILL | DECEMBER 17, 2012

Don't Blame Obama for Syria

What's happening in Syria is a tragedy. But John Hannah needs to recognize that the civil war was never ours to win or lose.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | DECEMBER 14, 2012

The Brothers and the Gulf

Why the Muslim Brotherhood has Gulf leaders worried -- now more than ever.

BY SULTAN AL QASSEMI | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Did Russia Just Throw Assad Under the Bus?

Not really. Watch what the Kremlin does, not what it says.

BY ANDREW S. WEISS | DECEMBER 13, 2012