The President and King Abdullah talk regional security
President Obama’s brief visit to Saudi Arabia last week was intended to revalidate the security partnership between Washington and Riyadh, and to reconfirm our shared strategic interests in the region, after some unusually public disagreements about the various regional crises. In the runup to the visit, there was much talk of serious rifts in the […]
Ellen Laipson is quoted in Al Arabiya on US-Tunisia diplomatic relations
What can U.S. ‘strategic dialogues’ bring to the Maghreb? United States Secretary of State John Kerry recently announced the launch of a U.S.-Tunisia “strategic dialogue” next April. This third “dialogue” of its kind with a Maghreb country illustrates the growing U.S. attention to the region. But what can it bring? Strategic dialogues reflect an enhanced […]
Mona Yacoubian participates in Belfer Center panel on Syrian crisis
Experts on Syrian Crisis: How to End the Bloodshed On September 24, the Belfer Center and the Institute of Politics co-sponsored a discussion on the state of the ongoing crisis in Syria. “The Syrian Tragedy: Ending the Bloodshed” was moderated by Kennedy School Professor Meghan O’Sullivan and featured Frederic Hof, senior fellow at The Atlantic […]
A strategy to rescue diplomacy on Syria
The Syrian crisis is rapidly turning into a humanitarian and security nightmare with regional and possibly global implications. The conflict is now firmly entrenched in a military stalemate. While “stalemate” conveys a sense of stasis, the impasse translates into the deepening deterioration of conditions on the ground. Meanwhile, the supercharged sectarian dynamic emanating from Syria […]
Mona Yacoubian policy brief on Syria diplomacy published by Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center
A strategy to rescue diplomacy on Syria The Syrian crisis is rapidly turning into a humanitarian and security nightmare with regional and possibly global implications. The conflict is now firmly entrenched in a military stalemate. While “stalemate” conveys a sense of stasis, the impasse translates into the deepening deterioration of conditions on the ground. Meanwhile, […]
Challenges Ahead for the Kurdish Struggle in Syria
In the northeast corner of Syria, the black and red flags of the Syrian Arab Republic have become a rare sight. Unlike in many other parts of the war stricken country, they have not been replaced with either the flag of the Syrian opposition, adopted by the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Coalition, […]
Geneive Abdo’s op-ed on Rouhani’s presidency and Iran’s policies published in Aljazeera America
The honeymoon that Iran’s hard-liners extended to President Hassan Rouhani after his June 2013 election is coming to an end. As they have in the past, particularly during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, the conservative factions within the state are reasserting their power against a perceived reformist threat. The verbal warfare among political elites in […]
Mona Yacoubian is quoted in Syria:direct on Hezbollah intervention in Syria
A-Nusra calls Lebanon bombing ‘retaliatory measure’ AMMAN: The Lebanese branch of al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat a-Nusra has claimed credit for a car bombing in the Lebanese town of Hermel that killed three on Saturday just miles from the border with Syria, as repercussions from Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian conflict on the regime’s behalf ripple throughout […]