The ongoing Hamas elections will strengthen the military wing, weaken Khaled Mashal, make reconciliation with the PA more difficult, preserve close collaboration with Iran, and, perhaps, forge closer ties with Egypt.
Some "Arab Spring" uprisings are of limited strategic interest to the United States, and the outcome of others remains uncertain, but the Egyptian revolution clearly heralds a change in the regional strategic architecture that had been in place since 1979.
Mahmoud Salem, a.k.a. "Sandmonkey," addresses policymakers and journalists at a Washington Institute forum on May 9, 2012. Watch online starting at 12:30 pm EDT and tweet questions to #EgyYouth.
The Washington Institute's 2012 Weinberg Founders Conference brings together policymakers, diplomats, scholars, and journalists from across Washington and around the world to discuss the most important issues facing U.S. Middle East policy.
The question is not whether sanctions have worked but whether the strategy they serve is correct.
Denis McDonough, special assistant to President Barack Obama and deputy national security advisor, delivered the closing address at The Washington Institute's 2012 Weinberg Founders Conference.
Robert D. Blackwill , Dennis Ross , and Amos Yadlin
David Makovsky moderated a lively discussion on the status and future of the U.S.-Israel relationship amid regional upheaval and a quickening crisis over Iranian nuclear ambitions with a veteran American diplomat and scholar, a longtime Middle East policymaker, and the former director of Israeli military intelligence.
Colin Kahl and Jamie Fly
Speaking to the Washington Institute’s Weinberg Founders Conference, Colin Kahl, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, and Jamie Fly, who served in the Bush National Security Council and Defense Department, agreed that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons should be American foreign policy and that an Israeli military strike against the country’s nuclear facilities is inadvisable this year.
Former lead Israeli negotiator Tal Becker challenges the accepted wisdoms that have led many to fall back on despair, blame, or fantasy when discussing how to advance the peace process.
Policy Notes, Books
Much of the rhetoric surrounding the Iranian nuclear impasse has been marked by Tehran's staunch refusal to budge and pessimism among Western analysts that increasingly strong diplomatic and economic...
Policy Focus 115
Michael Eisenstadt and Mehdi Khalaji
As the various threats posed by Iran's nuclear efforts become increasingly clear to the international community, most published assessments of the regime's strategy continue to overlook the role of religion. Because Iran is a theocracy, any attempt to fashion an effective policy toward its nuclear program must account...
Policy Focus 84
Patrick Clawson and Michael Eisenstadt
Whether military force is viewed as a threat to gain diplomatic leverage or an actual "last resort," policymakers must come to a realistic understanding of its consequences if they hope to end the Iranian nuclear threat for the long term.
