Policy Analysis

When I decided to start up a current affairs magazine in Damascus, my friends told me that the first edition would likely also be the last. This October our monthly magazine, Syria Today -- a Syrian-American joint venture, celebrated its third anniversary. Historically, Syria has one of the Middle East's

Thirty years ago, in November 1977, Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat stunned the world by traveling to Jerusalem to speak peace directly to the Israeli people. Israel responded with open arms, and after many months of U.S.-brokered negotiations, the result was the Camp David Accords and the subsequent Egypt-Israel peace treaty

Thirty years ago, in November 1977, Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat stunned the world by traveling to Jerusalem to speak peace directly to the Israeli people. Israel responded with open arms, and after many months of U.S.-brokered negotiations, the result was the Camp David Accords and the subsequent Egypt-Israel peace treaty

On November 2, 2007 -- the ninetieth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration -- Michael Makovsky, Gerard Baker, and Simon Henderson addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Makovsky is foreign policy director of the new Bipartisan Policy Center and author of Churchill's Promised Land: Zionism and Statecraft (2007)

The resignation of Karen P. Hughes as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy gives President Bush an opportunity to fix one of the most glaring blunders in his administration's response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- a failure to prioritize ideological warfare over public relations. Today, most Americans

Executive Summary Britain finds itself in a unique position to place tremendous pressure on Iran to desist from its nuclear activities due to the central role that the City of London along with New York plays in the international financial system. Realizing the leverage that the U.S. financial markets give

Public remarks by top U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian officials this week indicate that the character of the upcoming Middle East peace conference in Annapolis has changed. First, instead of the expected pre-conference declaration of final status -- principles and conceptual tradeoffs on core issues such as Jerusalem, borders, security, and

In spring 2007, a Gulf diplomat visiting Washington was asked how states such as Kuwait seem to remain insulated from regional crises in Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere. His response was unexpectedly poetic: "Think of a swan gliding across a pond. It all seems so serene -- but right below the

On November 3, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, putting at risk, despite claims to the contrary, the upcoming January elections. Musharraf justified his move by citing an increase in "the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks." The action was taken despite recent pleas from

If there is one thing that Iraq does not need, it is additional sources of conflict and instability. Right now, the only part of Iraq that is stable and shows prospects o developing economically and politically is the Kurdish areas of the north. Though no without challenges, especially given the

Secretary of State Rice is again shuttling back and forth to the Middle East, with plans to convene an international meeting in Annapolis later this month with the Israelis, Palestinians and leaders from a number of Arab countries. Her aim is to have the participants endorse a joint statement on

Over the next few days, oil is likely to break the $100 per barrel mark -- a price that will further raise U.S. consumer costs and conflict with economic measures such as the October 31 interest rate cut. Ironically, good news, such as predictions of greater economic growth, is just

The U.S. ratcheted up the financial pressure against Tehran last week, unilaterally slapping sanctions on Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, three state-owned banks, and a number of key officials for their involvement in the regime's terrorist financing and WMD-related activities. Realizing the leverage that American financial markets give Washington

Read the full text of this article (PDF). This article was adapted from the chapter of the same name in the author's book, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad (Yale, 2006). On 22 March 2004, Israeli security forces assassinated Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yasin. His deputy

On October 31, Saad Hariri, leader of the "March 14" majority bloc in the Lebanese parliament, met with opposition leader Michel Aoun, head of the Hizballah-allied Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the largest Maronite Christian party in Lebanon. Discussions focused on the September 25-November 25 presidential elections, which will decide whether

On November 5, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet US President George W. Bush to discuss likely action against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The recent spike in terror attacks on Turkey by the PKK from northern Iraq and subsequent Turkish shelling have heightened expectations that Turkey could

Tomorrow, around 400,000 Omani men and women are expected to vote in elections for eighty-five seats on the nation's Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Council. Among the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf region, Oman -- a key U.S. ally and exporter of oil and gas, strategically positioned opposite Iran

Today, the State and Treasury Departments announced a new package of sweeping unilateral sanctions targeting multiple entities in Iran, including three banks, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Qods Force, the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, several IRGC-affiliated companies, and eight individuals. Can such sanctions be

The October 20 announcement of Ali Larijani's resignation as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has intensified pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad. Faced with criticism over the resignation, Tehran ensured that Larijani attended the Iran-European Union (EU) nuclear talks in Rome on October

A map of PKK positions in the western portion of northern Iraq. Copyright 2007 The Washington Institute