العراق

On June 2, after a seventeen-year closure, Syria opened its border at three points to its neighbor and long-time rival Iraq. The move, coming amidst unusual reciprocal visits of Iraqi and Syrian business delegations to each others' capitals, suggests an economic marriage of convenience. There is a possibility, however, that

With Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo today, taking their most critical stance against Israel since the start of the Madrid peace process—"recommending" that member-states "stop all normalization" with Israel, suspend participation in the multilateral talks, and "reactivate" the Arab boycott—tomorrow's meeting between President Clinton and Jordan's King Hussein

UNSCOM was established in April 1991 to monitor along with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Iraqi compliance with Resolution 687 (the cease fire resolution that concluded the 1991 Persian Gulf War). Resolution 687 requires Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and links the lifting of the

Jordan's position as a bridge between the Levant and the Persian Gulf, coupled with her small size and lack of natural resources, have created its unique geopolitical role in the Middle East. Despite being surrounded by powerful neighbors, Jordan consistently exercises an independent approach to achieve its national interests. Perhaps

While U.S. officials were in London on Friday evening, resting between mediation sessions with representatives of both main Kurdish factions, Saddam Husayn ordered his panzers into Irbil. The few Kurdish and Iraqi National Congress defenders of Irbil were overwhelmed by the more than 40,000 members of the three Republican Guard

Seeking to achieve stability in northern Iraq as part of a longer-term effort to bring down Saddam Hussein, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Pelletreau this week completed a round of meetings in Turkey with feuding Iraqi Kurdish leaders. However, prospects for success of this effort are minimal, the durability of

In recent days, the Clinton Administration has articulated a clear distinction between U.S. strategic interests in southern Iraq and solely humanitarian concerns in northern Iraq. Following are statements since the end of the Gulf War chronicling the evolution of this policy. "[O]ur interest in the Kurds in [northern Iraq] is

Although the Clinton Administration's response to Saddam Hussein's attack on Erbil is based on a moral commitment to protect the Kurds of northern Iraq, Washington has focused its response on southern Iraq. U.S. strikes have hit targets in southern Iraq, rather than in the north; President Clinton has not demanded

Iraq and the United Nations are in the fourth round of negotiations about terms for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 986 -- an arrangement to permit limited and controlled oil sales to provide Baghdad with funds to purchase humanitarian goods. The talks hit a snag in late April, when the