Policy Analysis

This past week, Lebanon witnessed its most intense internal violence since its 1975 civil war. Fighting between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah Islam, as well as three bomb attacks in Beirut, have taken a heavy toll, raising concerns about Lebanon's stability. Like most of the

Despite the public bluster of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime's behavior shows that it suffers from deep self-doubt. The arrests of visiting Iranian-born U.S. scholars Haleh Esfandiari (director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson Center) and Kian Tajbakhsh (a consultant for philanthropist George Soros's Open

On May 20, thousands of secular Turks demonstrated in the Black Sea port city of Samsun against the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has an Islamist pedigree. It was the most recent display of protest in a power struggle between the AKP and its opponents over determining a

I applaud Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's commitment to renewed activism on Arab-Israeli diplomacy. I have worried that her focus on the political end game was misplaced, particularly given that realities on the ground were likely to threaten to undo any political process. Thus, at least in theory, her decision

A few weeks ago, President George W. Bush called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to congratulate him on the wedding of his son and political heir apparent, Gamal. Meanwhile, Mubarak's pro-democracy opposition was protesting because it understood Gamal's nuptials as yet another step in the 79-year-old president's plan to transfer authority

On May 10, 2007, Robert Kimmitt addressed The Washington Institute's nineteenth annual Soref Symposium. Ambassador Kimmitt is deputy secretary of the treasury. The following are edited extracts from his comments during the question and answer session. Read the prepared text of Ambassador Kimmitt's address. Q: What are the relative constraints

Media headlines following the April 30 release of the State Department's annual report on global terrorism developments, Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, focused on the theme of increased terrorism. But the 335-page document, along with its accompanying statistical assessment produced by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), also contained important insights

On April 24, 2007, Wafa' Abdel Rahman, Owen Kirby, and Mohammad Yaghi addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum on the Palestinian social and political environment since Hamas's victory in January 2006 legislative elections. Owen Kirby is the manager of the political pillar of the State Department's Middle East Partnership

The following are edited extracts from an exclusive on-camera interview with Israeli vice prime minister Shimon Peres, conducted by David Makovsky, director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process. The interview was shown to participants at the Institute's Soref Symposium on May 11, 2007. Q: Can

On May 11, 2007, David Makovsky conducted a special keynote interview of the Honorable Shimon Peres at The Washington Institute's 19th annual Soref Symposium. David Makovsky is a senior fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Institute. Shimon Peres is the deputy prime

On May 11, 2007, David Makovsky and Dennis Ross addressed The Washington Institute's Soref Symposium. Mr. Makovsky is a senior fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Institute. Ambassador Ross is the Institute's counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow. The following is a rapporteur's

On May 11, 2007, Charles Hill, Kurt Campbell, and Michael Eisenstadt addressed The Washington Institute's Soref Symposium. Mr. Hill is a diplomat-in-residence at Yale University. Dr. Campbell is cofounder and chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security. Mr. Eisenstadt is a senior fellow and director of

On May 11, 2007, Mehdi Khalaji, Sami al-Faraj, and Neil Crompton addressed The Washington Institute's Soref Symposium. Mr. Khalaji is the Institute's Next Generation fellow. Dr. al-Faraj is president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. Mr. Crompton is the Iran coordinator at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The

Editor's Note: Martin Kramer is an authority on contemporary Islam and Arab politics, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Olin Institute Senior Fellow at Harvard University. On April 30, he delivered a lecture at Harvard on the subject of Iraq and the future of the

On May 10, 2007, Robert Kimmitt addressed The Washington Institute's 19th annual Soref Symposium. Ambassador Kimmitt is deputy secretary of the treasury. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. Read a summary of the audience Q&A session following Ambassador Kimmitt's address. Thank you very much, Peter. It is

Economic sanctions have long been at the core of the international community's efforts to deal with rogue regimes and terrorist organisations. Iraq, Iran, Libya and Sudan have faced sanctions, as have terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and Hamas. For such a frequently used tool, sanctions are not well regarded. Critics

The political turmoil in Turkey prompted by the April 24 nomination by Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister, as his candidate for presidency is far from over. The actions of the leadership of the AKP, a party

In April 2007, Syria's nationwide parliamentary elections passed with little fanfare, as much of the population showed apathy toward a process they view as undemocratic. Despite the unusually open display of skepticism among the people, the country's organized opposition movements could do little more than call for a voter boycott

Vice President Dick Cheney departed today on a trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. A bland statement issued from his office on May 3 said he was asked to travel by President Bush and would be having "discussions with the leaders of these countries on

Talk to senior Israeli military officials, as I have recently, about how the Israeli government will respond to regional threats, and one hears the same refrain: "Wait for the Winograd findings." Well, we now know what they are. The Winograd Commission, established last fall to investigate Israel's war with Lebanon