The “Anti-Strategic President” Needs to Revive a Policy Process to Resolve Iran
President Donald Trump’s disdain for strategy extends to process: mass National Security Council firings and reliance on a tiny circle of advisors have left the interagency policy process dormant amid the Iran war. The result is improvised, damaging moves like the Strait of Hormuz toll scheme. Reviving a professional, deliberative policy process is essential.
It has become a commonplace for Americans to describe our current war with Iran as stuck in a kind of limbo, neither full war nor real peace. We’re not the only ones. Iraq finds itself caught in a limbo of its own, between America and Iran, between the tolerable and the intolerable, between progress and relapse.
The Iraqi Peshmerga, the military arm of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), remains one of the United States’ most important defense partners in the Middle East. This monograph provides an in-depth assessment of Peshmerga combat effectiveness, particularly considering its experience in the war against the Islamic State and its subsequent clash with the Iraqi Army and Iran-backed militias. Drawing on past research and more than two dozen interviews with Peshmerga officers, US military officers, and subject matter experts, this study includes detailed policy recommendations as well as a discussion of their implications.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
المدونات الصوتية
التركيز على الشرق الأوسط
البودكاست الأسبوعي الرائد لمعهد الشرق الأوسط حول السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية والقضايا السياسية والاجتماعية المعاصرة في الشرق الأوسط.
Will Trump’s red line on West Bank annexation hold?
The spotlight for US policy in the Middle East will shift from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York to Washington, DC, where US President Donald Trump will meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for the fourth time in eight months.
A Middle East NATO? Regional Security Options After Doha
Israel’s September 9 strike on Hamas leaders in Doha rattled Gulf capitals and revived a decades-old debate over whether the region needs a NATO-style defensive alliance. MEI Senior Fellow Jason Campbell joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack why past attempts at collective defense have fallen short, whether this moment is different, and what the crisis means for US security strategy in the Middle East.
War and Peace in the Middle East: A View from Qatar
In this special bonus episode of Taking the Edge Off the Middle East, host Brian Katulis sits down with Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, adviser to the Prime Minister of Qatar and spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Al-Ansari offers insights into the small country’s unique role in mediating conflicts worldwide.
تحول استراتيجي في سياسة الولايات المتحدة تجاه الشرق الأوسط مع خطاب ترامب على الساحة العالمية
استغل الرئيس دونالد ترامب خطابه هذا الأسبوع أمام الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة لتعزيز أسلوبه الفريد في صنع السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية وانتقاد الآخرين، بما في ذلك الأمم المتحدة نفسها. لكن ترامب لم يفعل الكثير لخلق إطار عمل لصياغة حلول لمعالجة المشاكل والتحديات الأمنية الشائكة.
كان لبنان يُعتبر في الماضي ديمقراطية نادرة في الشرق الأوسط، لكنه انزلق الآن إلى مصاف الأنظمة الاستبدادية المغلقة. لقد تركت عقود من الفساد والحكم الطائفي والتدخل الأجنبي البلاد في حالة من الاضطراب، وشهد العام الماضي اغتيالات وتشريد جماعي وحرباً شاملة شنتها إسرائيل ضد حزب الله في الجنوب. مع اقتصاده في حالة انهيار حر ونظامه السياسي على أجهزة الإنعاش، يقف لبنان عند مفترق طرق: هل يمكن أن تمهد التغيرات في القوى الإقليمية والجهود لنزع سلاح حزب الله وتغيير القيادة الطريق للانتعاش، أم أن عدم الاستقرار سيتعمق؟
Unconventional Wisdom: The Search for America’s Soul
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and longtime Democratic National Security and Communications strategist Doug Wilson joins Brian for an expansive conversation about what’s at stake in US foreign policy at a time of global upheaval. Drawing on decades of experience in government, the private sector, and political campaigns, Wilson reflects on how Trump’s second term has upended America’s role in the world — from dealing with autocrats to the collapse of US credibility abroad.
A Moveable Feast of MENA Pop Art at the MEI Gallery
معرض جديد في معرض الفنون التابع لمعهد الشرق الأوسط بعنوان "الفن الشعبي العربي: بين الشرق والغرب" يقدم تذكيراً في الوقت المناسب بأنه على الرغم من الصراع والاضطرابات في المنطقة، هناك ثقافة حيوية ومتنوعة وعالمية تزدهر في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا.
أعلن الاتحاد الأوروبي عن خطط لفرض عقوبات على إسرائيل بسبب الأزمة الإنسانية في غزة. إذا تم اعتماد هذه الخطوة، فستشكل تحولاً تاريخياً في العلاقات بين الاتحاد الأوروبي وإسرائيل. تشرح يوليا جوجا من معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) خلفية الاقتراح، وما ستترتب عليه العقوبات، وتأثيرها المحتمل على موقف الاتحاد الأوروبي في الشرق الأوسط.
تحول دول شمال أفريقيا علاقاتها الدبلوماسية الطويلة الأمد إلى فرص جديدة للضغط، مستخدمة تدفقات الهجرة وإمدادات الطاقة والشراكات الأمنية كورقة مساومة. تعمل هذه التكتيكات والاستراتيجيات الجديدة على إعادة تشكيل الدبلوماسية الإقليمية.
Crossing Red Lines: Israel's Doha Strike and What Comes Next
Israel’s strike on Hamas officials in Qatar frustrated Washington, outraged Arab partners, and underscored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s choice to prioritize destroying Hamas over carrying on hostage talks. MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the fallout. They discuss the immediate consequences of the strike, its impact on future negotiations with Hamas, and political repercussions at home. Additionally, they get into the Israeli government’s broader calculations, the ramifications for its regional and international partnerships, and Netanyahu’s warning that Israel may face a new era of isolation.
At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for the final time. For nearly half a century, blue helmets have been a fixture in South Lebanon, an extraordinary tenure for a country only eight decades old. In many ways, UNIFIL’s longstanding presence served as a reminder of Lebanon’s struggle to assert its sovereignty, which has had destabilizing consequences for international peace and security.
منحنية لكن غير مكسورة: اتفاقيات أبراهام بعد خمس سنوات
في الذكرى الخامسة لاتفاقيات أبراهام، يتأمل براين كاتوليس من معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) في مدى استمراريتها ومستقبلها: "لن يتم خرق اتفاقيات أبراهام. قد تتعرض للانحراف، لكنني أعتقد أنها ستبقى سارية. لكنها لن تتوسع بأي شكل من الأشكال حتى يتم إحراز تقدم في القضية الفلسطينية". ويحلل كاتوليس أصل الاتفاقيات ونقاط قوتها وقيودها والتحديات الرئيسية التي يجب معالجتها حتى تصبح أقوى.
This month brings world leaders together to mark the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Their formal speeches in front of the assembly vary in interest, as many contain more pious platitudes than meaty information. The real work of interest often happens behind-the-scenes, as world leaders meet bilaterally or in small groups to discuss the issues of the day away from the glare of media or the pressure for summits to deliver results. The occasion also provides opportunities for the unexpected to happen. The Middle East will figure largely in these talks. Here are some po
Under Pressure: Will Snapback Sanctions Bring Iran Back to the Table?
With Iran’s nuclear program devastated, the reimposition of UN sanctions looming, and Tehran grappling with the fallout of the 12-Day War, is the time ripe for Iran to return to the negotiating table? MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Alan Eyre — former senior US diplomat and member of the 2015 JCPOA negotiating team — joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess whether meaningful US-Iran talks are still possible and what they could achieve amid deep mistrust and escalating pressure.
تُعد المجلة الرئيسية لمعهد الشرق الأوسط أقدم مطبوعة محكّمة مكرّسة لدراسة الشرق الأوسط الحديث، وتغطي المجلة الرئيسية في المعهد السياسة والمجتمع والثقافة في المنطقة.
