The March 31 local election in Turkey was a bombshell: Contrary to expectations, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost not only the capital Ankara, but the country’s biggest metropolis, Istanbul, where Erdoğan himself rose to prominence…
Lebanon is a complicated country historically riven by sectarian strife, serial economic mismanagement, and now a political system increasingly dictated by Hezbollah, Iran’s premier terrorist proxy. Yet American policymakers tend to view these as separate problems, which complicates efforts to…
The use of subterranean networks by militant groups and hybrid forces is a growing feature of modern warfare. In no country is the tactical and strategic development of tunnels more evident than in Israel, which is in an underground arms…
As tensions rise in the Black Sea to its north and Persian Gulf to the southeast, the Eastern Mediterranean is often an afterthought for American defense planning, despite its geostrategic importance as a crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. For the…
President Trump’s Iran policy has so far been effective at keeping the regime off balance. He especially distinguished himself by defying conventional opinion and withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, and imposing…
Tectonic shifts are underway in the Eastern Mediterranean. Some pose growing threats to American interests and allies, others offer new prospects for stability and prosperity. Washington now must develop a coherent regional strategy that addresses these challenges and capitalizes on…
The Middle East grows more and more volatile each day. Israel emerged from a contentious election, Hamas launched rockets against Israel and the Israeli army responded with lethal force, President Trump ordered a carrier group to the Persian Gulf, and Iran…
Every challenge the U.S. faces today – the rise of China, a resurgent Russia, the North Korean nuclear weapons program, Iranian adventurism throughout the Middle East, cyberthreats and many more – all have one thing in common: the need for…
A casual observer could be forgiven for presuming Israel and Hamas again stand on the precipice of war as rockets fly over Tel Aviv and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike key Hamas leadership targets in response. Despite the volatile…
