Elliott Abrams, former chief Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, says the Obama administration’s move to send diplomats to Damascus for talks marks "a real policy change" but he is …

Steven A. Cook, a leading Middle East expert, says the current U.S. effort to make progress in the Israeli-Palestinian talks is inevitably linked to the U.S. desire to get Arab support for the shaky …

Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria and Lebanon, says the drawn-out Iraq conflict has fed an image of declining U.S. influence in Lebanon, which has led Hezbollah to try to weaken, if not overthrow, th…

CFR’s Mohamad Bazzi says Syria continues to "meddle" in the business of many states in the Mideast but could be a useful partner for the United States in the region.

Martin S. Indyk, a former top U.S.policymaker on the Middle East, says it would be wrong to invite Iran and Syria, the major backers of Hezbollah, into negotiations to end the current fighting betwee…