The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI) is an American pro-Israel think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. It was established in 1985 with the support of AIPAC and the funding of many AIPAC donors, in order to provide higher quality research than AIPAC's publications. The institute's mission statement says that it seeks "to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them."