Topic: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

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Iran fires at US drone: the top 3 pressing questions

Iranian military forces fired at a US Predator drone for the first time ever earlier this month, the Pentagon acknowledged this week. It’s a revelation that has raised a host of questions for the US military. Here are the top three.

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Terrorism & Security Syrian Army fires across border into Israel to retaliate for airstrikes

Today's incident marks the first time that Syria has admitted breaching the border with Israel since the civil war began.
Syrian regime's core supporters begin to drift away

Support for Assad among the Alawites, a religious minority, is waning. But sectarian hostilities and increasing religiosity make Alawites hesitant to join the opposition.
Al Qaeda in Iraq and Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra make it official

The leader of Iraq's local Al Qaeda affiliate has claimed sponsorship of Jabhat al-Nusra, a militant group fighting alongside the Syrian rebels – confirming what everyone long suspected.
Will unlikely coalition partners force new path for Israel?

In forming new government, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has had to concede to two parties with little in common other than their desire to end exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox.
Marco Rubio sounds a lot like Obama in big foreign-policy speech

Sen. Marco Rubio, seen as being on the Republican presidential short list in 2016, delivered a foreign policy speech Wednesday that included a lot of common ground with President Obama.
Syrian government offers to meet with opposition

Against a backdrop of steady military gains for the opposition forces, Bashar Assad's government proposed a meeting. Critics call it a tactic to keep western arms out of opposition hands.
Syrian regime battles rebels for control of highway to its safe haven

Lebanon appears closer than ever to getting dragged into Syria's war as the regime and rebels battle just over the border and Hezbollah's growing involvement raises rebel ire.
Terrorist tweets: how Al Qaeda's social media move could cause problems

Al Qaeda and its affiliates are moving onto social media after years of relying largely on chat rooms to spread their doctrine online, a study says. The trend raises a host of questions.
Turkey suicide bombing: This time, US calls it a terrorist attack right away (+video)

A Turkish security guard was killed in the attack Friday. The State Department is still sensitive to charges that it was slow to call the attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, a terrorist attack.
Ferocious battle for strategic suburb could hold the keys to Damascus (+video)

Syria's Assad regime appears to be investing all it has in the battle for Daraya to ensure its grip on power. Sixty percent of Army troops are deployed in Damascus.
Backchannels US designates Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra front a 'terrorist' group at lightning speed

The US State Department designated Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra, one of the militias fighting Bashar al-Assad, a foreign terrorist organization.
As Syria's rebels close in, Assad has three options

The most likely is a retreat into the mountains controlled by his minority Alawite community.
Syrian rebels riding momentum to Damascus

The fighting follows a number of gains for opposition forces in the north of Syria, which has sparked optimism among Syrians hoping for the downfall of the Assad regime.
Cover Story Inside the mind of Iran's Khamenei (+video)

Why Iran's iron ayatollah distrusts the US and what that means for nuclear talks and the possibility of war with the West.
Why Obama is standing with Egypt's President Morsi

The Obama administration – as the US did for years with Hozni Mubarak — wants to separate President Mohammed Morsi's domestic political maneuvers from his role as a Middle East mediator. The US needs Morsi as a peace broker between Hamas and Israel.
Iran fires at US drone: the top 3 pressing questions

Iranian military forces fired at a US Predator drone for the first time ever earlier this month, the Pentagon acknowledged this week. It’s a revelation that has raised a host of questions for the US military. Here are the top three.
Terrorism & Security Responses to Syrian shelling highlight Turkish-Western divide on conflict (+video)

While the US and other Western nations resist being drawn into the fighting in Syria, Turkey is feeling the direct effects of bloodshed and refugees, putting pressure on Ankara to act.
Activists: Now, yes now, is the time for US to push for MidEast peace

Israeli-Palestinian group OneVoice is bucking conventional wisdom and trying to drum up support in America for another presidential push toward a final agreement.
Ambassador Chris Stevens killed in Libya: Is Arab Spring turning against US?

The flareup of violence in which Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in Libya shows how the Arab Spring has unleashed forces that are vehemently opposed to America and its ideals.
Terrorism & Security Israel-US spat: A help to Iran? (+video)

A public row between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration is distracting the two allies from presenting a united front against Iran's nuclear program.
Russian nuclear support for Iran limited by distrust

Russia has trained hundreds of Iranian nuclear scientists and blocked international action against Tehran. But beneath the surface, there is profound distrust.
With Migron outpost evacuation, Israeli settlers lose the battle – but not the war

Israeli peace activists are celebrating this week's Supreme Court order to evacuate the Migron outpost, but the settler population continues to expand in the background of such standoffs.
NAM summit: Iran attempts to prove Western efforts to isolate it have failed

Though Iran pulled out all the stops this week as host of the Non-Aligned Movement summit, it was met with some heavy international criticism.
Tweeting jihadists: The next generation of militants

Twitter is an unfiltered space for Islamist extremists. Groups are using the service to provide the jihadist take on current events and conflicts.
Why no safe zone in Syria, yet? 5 complications

The flood of Syrian refugees entering Turkey – as many as 5,000 a day for the last 10 days – has ratcheted up the pressure for a safe zone’s creation. But a safe zone is complicated and carries many risks.