Turkey’s balanced secular government represents a possible method in which moderate Islamic political movements can provide their populations with the freedoms often attributed to Western society and the values of an Islamic one.

The October 18th prisoner exchange, seemingly a one-shot, no-strings-attached PR boon for both the Israeli government and Hamas, sets no future precedent for cooperation and will have far-reaching consequences for which neither party is prepared.

While troop withdrawal is part of a legacy of questionable decisions made in Iraq, it also presents an opportunity for America to improve existing relations with the Iraqi people and their politicians.

Constructive, positive dialogue between the interim government and the rebels is the key to the successful establishment of a new government in Libya.

In the three short months of the “Arab Spring,” waves of young, inexperienced, and unorganized protesters have accomplished what older opposition leaders and ideologues could not in three decades. In Tunisia and Egypt, protestors held out for more than two weeks, braving arrest, oppression, and bullets to see deposed the tyrannical authors of their brutal [...]

The complicated state of affairs in Syria could make democratic change difficult. The ruthless regime of Bashar al-Assad and religious diversity within Syria make internal stability a particularly acute challenge.

The Israeli government needs to move forward in its plans to remove Israeli settlements from private Palestinian land and halt further settlement construction if there are to be any peace negotiations in the near future.

America’s policy regarding Egypt has long consisted of staunchly backing the autocrat with little concern for human rights.

The recent political upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt have introduced instabilities across the volatile Middle East, and may ultimately provide the impetus for progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A victory in the region for democracy and liberalism may be a disaster for American foreign policy, and we may soon wish we had come to the defense of our friends, the Arab dictators.