Even before the rise of the Islamic State, the Gulf Cooperation Council faced challenges, both internal and external. Unlike anything it had confronted in its 33-year history, those challenges – political, economic, security, social and environmental – erode the unity and effectiveness of the GCC. Now, a new and more ominous challenge confronts the GCC. […]

Degrading and defeating the Islamic State — a vicious terrorist organization with an effective army, enormous financial resources, a seductively pernicious ideology, wide-ranging media campaign and powerful recruitment operation — will require much more than air and drone strikes. What is needed is a comprehensive strategy that eliminates all of the legs on which ISIS […]

By filming James Foley’s murder and distributing the video across the internet, the Islamic State appalled a world already grown accustomed to the nightmare horrors of terrorism. Al Qaeda executed a violent campaign in Saudi Arabia in 2003 and 2004 reminiscent of that of the present-day Islamic State. Images of executions bring terrorism and the […]

The latest violence in Gaza could lead to a positive outcome, but only if all sides are willing to make painful compromises. The confrontation between Israel and Hamas in Gaza again raises the nagging question of how to settle the Middle East’s most enduring conflict. As Israelis, Palestinians and the international community seek a much […]

The announcement that Haider al-Abadi will succeed Nouri al-Maliki as Iraq’s new prime minister is welcome news for Iraqis. Maliki once claimed to seek inclusiveness as Prime Minister. By 2010, however, as political alliances became more clearly drawn along strict sectarian lines and after his delayed appointment to a second term, Maliki turned to sectarian […]