This publication is now archived. Who controls Iraq’s government?The Interim Iraq Government (IIG). Under the terms of an annex to Iraq’s temporary constitution--the Transitional Administrative Law (…

Likening the leadership in Damascus to The Sopranos, Steven A. Cook, an Arab affairs expert at the Council, says the UN report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is c…

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…

This publication is now archived. What are the organizational challenges of the January 30 Iraqi elections?The main one is the threat of violence from the ongoing insurgency. Against that background,…

This publication is now archived. Will the U.N. Security Council’s recent actions help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur?That remains to be seen. On September 18, the Security Council passed …