Middle East
How We Speak About the Failure of the PLO
Accounts still get the history of Palestinian diplomacy wrong.
Mourning in Tehran
On Ashura, Shi’a Muslims grieve the Prophet’s grandson. But with Iran crippled by COVID-19 and U.S. sanctions, it was also an occasion this year to mourn the country’s deaths from disease and despair.
The Sanctions Game
Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” strategy is doomed to fail, especially as tensions rise between Iran and the United States.
The Anti-Defamation League Is Not What It Seems
Under the guise of fighting hate speech, the ADL has a long history of attacking Arab, Black, and queer people.
Two-State Head, One-State Heart
For a two-state solution to succeed, Israeli Jews must first forswear their righteous narrative of moral superiority.
The U.S. Debt to Syria
With Assad preparing a major offensive on the last rebel stronghold, the United States must offer a path forward.
Erdogan’s Ottomania
In a bid to consolidate power, Erdoğan is reshaping Turkish politics in the image of the Ottoman past.
Remember Syria?
U.S. policy in Syria has always been about grand strategy—never about what would actually help the people on the ground.
A Kurdish Problem
Kurds—the largest stateless ethnic group in the world—can be found on all sides of an increasingly complex conflict that stretches across Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
In Syria, Keeping the Faith
Democratic forces persist amid brutal regime violence and sectarian conflict.
Matters of Choice
Scholar and retired Army officer Andrew Bacevich on the U.S. war for the Greater Middle East
How Refugees Can Save Europe
Europe must accept that post-nationalism, by nature, is porous at its borders.
Turkey Descends into Authoritarianism
Fears of terrorism, and President Erdoğan’s rivalry with an exiled theologian, have become excuses for censorship and repression.
Weaponizing Syria’s Water
For anti-Assad rebels, a southern spring has become a kind of suicide bomb.
Assassinating Terrorists Does Not Work
It creates more violent terrorists and leaves no one who can talk peace.
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