Five days after U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the group announced his successor, the unknown Abu Hamza al-Muhajir. Speculation abounds about the man and the signifi…

U.S. presidential nominating conventions often touch on national security and foreign policy, but don’t always signal the direction of a winning candidate’s policy, explains this Backgrounder.

Since cutting ties in 1979, U.S.-Iran dialogue has been sparse and largely fruitless.

Iran’s influence in Iraq is the subject of enormous speculation. The United States is taking steps to counter that influence.

Bashar al-Assad, whose regime looked shaky under international pressure last year, is consolidating his power and cracking down on dissent. Despite a UN probe linking Syrian officials to the assassin…