Policy Analysis

The Azad pharmacy in Sulaymaniyah is stocked with medicines. So is the Shara pharmacy next door. In the cool early evening hours, the street bustles with shoppers, some of whom drift inside. They hand over prescriptions, pay the equivalent of a few cents, and walk out with antibiotics for their

Friday, June 15 marks day one hundred for the Sharon administration and Israel's sixth national unity government. The occasion warrants a look back at the five previous Israeli unity governments. Israel's First National Unity Government (1967-1969) Between 1949 and 1967, Israel witnessed thirteen separate governmental rotations, each coalition surviving for

On June 5, 2001, Michael Rubin, a visiting scholar at The Washington Institute, addressed Institute's Special Policy Forum. In 2000–2001, Dr. Rubin was a visiting professor at three universities in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. This forum marked the publication of his new Institute study, Into the Shadows: Radical

Tomorrow, Mohammed Khatami is sure to be re-elected president of Iran. But that is not likely to make much difference to Iranians, as Khatami has no coherent program for any of Iran's three pressing problems: economic revitalization, political liberalization, and reduction of security threats. Even though Khatami has shown disinterest

The following report evaluates trends in Israeli-Palestinian violence during the past seven months using fatality statistics. This analysis covers the period from the outbreak of the "Al Aqsa Intifada" on September 28, 2000, through April 30, 2001. The following statistics are based primarily on information provided by the Israeli human

The Bush administration confronts a certain context on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian territories: Increasing violence. The violence gets worse and worse, and seems to have a logic and momentum of its own. There has been a descent into what may only be described as "communal violence." Leaders

On May 24, 2001, David Makovsky, Robert Satloff, and David Makovsky addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Mr. Makovsky is senior fellow at the Institute and former editor of the Jerusalem Post. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks. Read a summary of Dr. Satloff and Ambassador

On May 10, 2001, Geneive Abdo, a research scholar at the Middle East Institute of the Columbia University School of International Affairs, addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following is a rapporteur's summary of her remarks. Read a full transcript. The election of Muhammad Khatami as president of

This week, the United States and United Kingdom are circulating a draft resolution in the UN Security Council proposing a package of new measures intended to "re-energize" sanctions against Iraq. They hope to bring the resolution to a vote before the next six-month phase of the "oil for food" program

While the violence in the West Bank and Gaza captures most of the attention, arguably more important developments in the last year have occurred in the Syria-Lebanon-Israel triangle. The Collapse of the Syrian-Israeli Peace Process The collapse of the Geneva summit in March 2000 formalized the demise of the negotiations

Yesterday, facing a mounting death toll among Israelis and Palestinians, Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the contours of an international report on the ongoing conflict and issued what he termed a "clarion call" for an "unconditional cessation of violence." The sequence of events he proposed — a complete ceasefire

The Bush administration this week launched initiatives on two fronts of U.S. concern about the Middle East: Secretary of State Colin Powell's proposals to end Arab–Israeli violence and Vice President Dick Cheney's national energy policy. While the energy policy report concentrates on domestic issues, it necessarily discusses the Middle East

We are witnessing a progressive deterioration in the Middle East. New thresholds of violence are regularly crossed. President Bush speaks of our efforts to try to bring the situation under control, but the security meetings we organize, the limited understandings we promote and the statements we make are quickly overwhelmed

At the dawn of the new millennium, Turkey remains a significant actor in its region despite economic difficulties. Turkey, a strategic partner with the United States, is a source of steadiness that is vital for peace in its region. Turkey's long relations with Israel play a stabilizing role in the

American policymakers face a number of decision points concerning U.S. policy toward Iraq and Iran in the coming weeks. The UN Security Council has to act by June 4 to renew the oil-for-food program, providing the United States with an opportunity to secure approval for the "re-energized" sanctions regime that

In April 2001, Brenda Shaffer, research director of Harvard University's Caspian Studies Program and a 2000 visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, addressed the Institute's Special Policy Forum to mark the publication of her Policy Paper, Partners in Need: The Stategic Relationship of Russia and Iran. The following is a

This morning, the text of the long-awaited Mitchell Commission Report, an account of the past seven months of Israeli-Palestinian violence written by a five-member committee headed by former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, was made publicly available. Conceived as a "committee of fact finding" at the October 17, 2000 Sharm

On May 1, 2001, Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following are excerpts from his remarks. Read a full transcript. Overview of the Current Situation "We are passing through a very demanding corridor of politics and exchanges, of an emotional crisis of blame

Today's decision by Iranian president Mohammad Khatami to run for re-election was more important than the actual election on June 8, which he is sure to win. But neither matters nearly as much as the crucial question for Iran's future namely, will hardliners let the formal government rule or will

On April 21, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh Abd al-Aziz bin Abdallah Aal al-Shaykh, said that Islam forbids suicide terrorist attacks. This has raised a storm of criticism from supporters of the Palestinian intifada against Israel. However, the mufti may have been thinking more about Osama bin Laden