Policy Analysis

Yesterday, Pakistani authorities announced the capture of the third-ranking leader of al-Qaeda, a native Libyan named Abu Faraj al-Libbi (alias Dr. Taufeeq). Al-Libbi, along with five other foreign al-Qaeda operatives, was captured following a shootout in the village of Fatami, 30 miles northeast of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan. Authorities had

Jordan’s commitment to reform and modernization is not a reaction to pressure or influence from others, but rather an understanding that Jordan, like all Arab countries, requires reform in order to accommodate the rising requirements of its young populace. Jordan’s population is growing at a rate of 2.4 percent annually

On April 19, 2005, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Robert Satloff held a policy debate at The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Mr. Gerecht is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy (2004). Dr

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to disengage from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank beginning this summer has earned him the ire of the 8,000 people living in the twenty-five settlements scheduled for evacuation. It has also generated opposition among the quarter-million settlers living in the remainder

The following paper was originally published by the National Defense University's Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, appearing as Occasional Paper no. 2. For more on the center, visit its website. Recent proliferation surprises in the Middle East—the failure to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in

The containment of Iraq, the potential nuclear threat posed by Iran, and the displacement of Saudi Arabia as a key U.S. strategic partner are all playing a role in shaping Persian Gulf security policies.... © IHS (Global) Limited, Jane's Intelligence Review. Reproduced with permission.

At first glance, Turkey and Israel could not be more different. Israel is small, predominantly Jewish and post-industrial; Turkey is large, predominantly Muslim and industrial. But from the perspective of recent history the two nations have much in common. Israel is a country of Jews expelled from eastern and central

On April 27, the State Department publicly released its annual report on global terrorism trends, Country Reports on Terrorism 2004 ( read a PDF of the full report). Previously called Patterns of Global Terrorism, the renamed report has generated considerable controversy for the second year in a row, again centered

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood - banned for nearly 25 years - has been increasingly vocal recently in its criticism of the regime of President Bashar Assad. Earlier this month, for example, it demanded the organization of free elections, cancellation of the state of emergency and dismantlement of special courts, warning that

The United States needs to do more to consolidate the cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians and help coordinate a pullout from Gaza or else the current narrow window of opportunity, characterized by the leadership potential of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli plan for disengagement from Gaza, may

On April 25, President George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, held a three-hour meeting in Crawford, Texas, producing a joint statement in which both leaders agreed “to forge a new relationship” between the two countries. Both sides reportedly saw the meeting as

Testimony before the Joint Hearing of the House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats INTRODUCTION The rise of global jihadist movements in Europe is alarming, not only because of the threat such movements pose to our European allies but because Europe has served as a launching

On May 1–2, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Israel. Erdogan’s trip is important since it follows harsh criticism of Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories (see “Where Goes the Turkish-Israeli Relationship?” by this author in Middle East Quarterly, fall 2004). Turkish-Israeli relations, which flourished in the 1990s

On April 25, 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will meet with President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas. The de facto ruler of the world’s largest oil exporter flies in from Morocco, where he has been vacationing after a three-day visit to France. While President Bush is expected

On April 14, 2005, Ambassador Ali Tuygan, Turkish undersecretary of foreign affairs, addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Tuygan served as deputy undersecretary for bilateral political affairs at the Turkish foreign ministry between 2001 and 2004. Prior to that, he served as Turkish ambassador to Greece, Saudi Arabia

After several months of negotiation between Jordanian and Israeli officials, the Israeli cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday to release nine Jordanian prisoners. According to Jordan's foreign ministry, seven of the nine were released today. Although the Jordanian government welcomed this move as a gesture intended to strengthen bilateral relations, the

On April 7, 2005, Dennis Ross, Michael Herzog, and David Makovsky addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Ross is the Institute’s counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow, former U.S. Middle East peace envoy, and author of The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace

Disengagement is the most important step Israel can take at this time to secure its own future; however, disengagement poses a unique challenge, namely, how to address the emotional and practical difficulties in removing settlers from Gaza and the West Bank. The Knesset's recent rejection of a referendum bill to

Turkish-US relations are at a low point. In Turkey, literally every Turk feels resentful of America's Middle East policies, and Ankara is reaching out to US foes Syria and Iran. An outgoing US ambassador to Ankara may not be replaced immediately when the time comes in the summer, a sure