Policy Analysis

For the first time in Palestinian history, there is a Palestinian prime minister. Though the timing of the appointment can be attributed to the Bush administration's determination not to deal with Yasser Arafat and the pressure of the international community, the idea of having a prime minister came from Palestinian

Addressing the Palestinian Legislative Council Tuesday, new Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister Mahmoud Abbas outlined a bold program of domestic reform and commitment to diplomacy that balanced loyalty to Yasir Arafat with an evident desire for fundamental political change. The speech's most positive aspects were Abbas's affirmation of negotiations as

Mahmoud Abbas—better known as Abu Mazen—represents a moderate course of thinking in Palestinian politics and a marked departure from the policy of intransigence and duplicity that has characterized Yasir Arafat's tainted regime. Specifically, he has challenged the premise of emphasizing national unity before national responsibility; in other words, turning a

After the unveiling of an American backed Israeli-Palestinian plan known as the road map earlier this month, US Secretary of State Colin Powell embarked on a trip to the Middle East. Significantly, however, he did not stop in Israel or the West Bank on this trip, but went straight to

Today, the State Department releases the 2002 edition of Patterns of Global Terrorism, its congressionally mandated annual accounting of international terrorism. The report chronicles a year marked by both devastating terrorist attacks and remarkable progress targeting al-Qaeda in the war on terror. However, against the backdrop of the increasingly successful

The United States is on the verge of embarking on a diplomatic campaign to implement an Israeli-Palestinian "roadmap" toward peace that risks sapping the political gains of victory in Iraq to advance a plan that has stunningly little chance of success. The basic idea of the roadmap, written jointly by

The end of Saddam Husayn's regime offers several key benefits with regard to U.S. interests. World oil supplies will increase as Iraq -- which has not been a major oil exporter since the beginning of the 1980-1988 war with Iran -- raises its oil production capacity to its full potential

Whatever the long-term prospects for a stable and democratic Iraq, the potential exists for the development of resistance to that goal. This potential is rooted in both historical factors (e.g., Iraq's political culture; Iraqi distrust of the United States; enduring images of colonialism) and immediate circumstances (e.g., the collapse of

This Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- the oil producers' cartel of which Iraq is a founding member -- meets in Vienna to discuss production cuts intended to maintain the current, relatively high price of oil. The United States is not expected to send a representative

With the Iraqi regime defeated and military victory near at hand, the United States and it allies are positioned to leverage greater cooperation in the war on terror from key Arab states, chief among them Saudi Arabia. For all its rhetoric, and its limited actions, Saudi Arabia remains part of

March and April 2003 will long be remembered as defining months in forging a new Middle East scene. Before addressing the now–commonly termed challenge of the “morning after,” we must look at the region as it has reacted during the war. This will be our point of departure in evaluating

On April 9, 2003, The Washington Institute released a major policy document, Winning the Peace in the Middle East: A Bipartisan Blueprint for Postwar U.S. Policy. Dennis Ross, Washington Institute director/Ziegler distinguished fellow, and Robert Satloff, the Institute's director of policy and strategic planning, discussed the principal recommendations of this

It has become de rigueur in Europe and the Arab world to proclaim that the problem in the Middle East is that the Bush administration is not "engaged" in restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Yet the United States has been engaged in important ways, and hopeful signs are now coming

WALTER STERN: Good afternoon. I'm Wally Stern, vice president and Executive Committee member of the Institute. I want to welcome you to the closing session. It is a rare opportunity to have a chance to hear directly from a national security advisor, especially in war time. It is even rarer

Peter David: Robert Satloff said he wanted a British ally to be present at this meeting. So in one sense, I owe my presence here to the work of the Seventh Armored Brigade, the British unit that captured Basra. The way the brigade captured Basra was quite unusual. They approached

Keynote addresses by Efraim Halevy and Shafeeq Ghabra. With J. Brian Atwood, William Kristol, Dennis Ross, Patrick Clawson, Peter David, Robert Gallucci, and David Makovsky.

Brian Atwood: This is a moment for celebration, but it is also a moment for cogitation about what the United States should do with the power that it has so clearly demonstrated in the Middle East. What we have done is having an impact on people's lives. But, having demonstrated

Kuwait has endured difficulties with regard to the war in Iraq. Kuwait took a unique position by supporting U.S. action to change the regime of Saddam Husayn. The Kuwaiti position reflected its belief that the people of Iraq deserve a better life. Kuwait's seven months of Iraqi occupation made its

Although military operations have passed the "tipping point" in Iraq, U.S. Central Command spokesmen continue to stress that their primary focus remains the completion of high-intensity operations against remaining pockets of resistance. Moreover, in contrast to previous statements that advocated allowing looting to burn itself out, recent statements suggest that

In light of the recent dramatic events in Baghdad, U.S. policymakers are eyeing the next phase of the war. U.S. forces will almost certainly encounter increased guerrilla fighting. Saddam Husayn's vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, recently stated that more than 6,000 Arab volunteer fighters are now in Iraq. With increasing