Policy Analysis

On October 5, 2002, Zalmay Khalilzad, special assistant to the president for Near East, Southwest Asian, and North African affairs, addressed The Washington Institute's 2002 Weinberg Founders Conference. The following are excerpts from his remarks, edited for readability. Read an edited transcript of his full remarks, including the question-and-answer session

President George W. Bush recently articulated his case for liberating Iraq before the world at the United Nations, but unfortunately, his speech stands alone, not part of a larger, focused public diplomacy strategy. In fact, America's public diplomacy campaign is rudderless and, at times, counterproductive. One of the most glaring

Note: Mr. Khalilzad's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the U.S. government. Bob Goldman: My name is Bob Goldman. I'm a member of the Executive Committee of the Institute. One year ago when we met here the focus of our conference was the aftermath of September

I would like to preface my remarks with some thoughts about the fine speech that Zalmay Khalilzad made earlier in these proceedings. As good a speech as it was, it made our job on this panel more difficult. I am more confused now about what kind of Iraq the United

Most Arabs believe that the world is busy twenty-four hours a day plotting against them. There is no reason for it. The Arab mind must learn to differentiate between competition, struggle, and conspiracy. Life is full of struggle and competition, but the world certainly is not busy with conspiracy against

Keynote addresses by Zalmay Khalilzad and James Roche. With Sari Nusseibeh, Uzi Dayan, Shaul Mofaz, Martin Indyk, David Satterfield, Abdel Ilah Khatib, Ali Salem, David Ignatius, Nabeel Khoury, Paul Pillar, Ely Karmon, Amatzia Baram, Tarek Heggy, Ibrahim Karawan, Rend Rahim Francke, Bernard Lewis, and others.

Note: Mr. Satterfield's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the U.S. government. I will speak on behalf of the incremental approach, not because we believe that the trusteeship or mandate options are intrinsically wrong or flawed, but because we do not see a reality on the

In order to have my remarks put in the right context, I would rephrase the title of this session as "The Regional Implications of Regime Change in Iraq as a Result of External Military Action." Were change to come as a result of other actions -- by the Iraqi people

Patrick Clawson, The Washington Institute: I want to say a few words about the standards of success by which we should judge progress in Iraq after Saddam Husayn's regime is deposed. Two issues are of particular importance: weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and democracy. Because any war against Iraq will

The situation is bleak. But there are some glimmers of hope that are worth acknowledging. These glimmers are significant because they come from within -- from the Palestinians themselves. Ninety-one percent of Palestinians want reform; 83 percent say the Palestinian Authority is corrupt; and, for what might have been one

Those expressing concern about the prospect of regime change in Iraq fall into two groups: those who are afraid that the intended change will fail and those who are afraid that it will succeed, with the latter group being the more vociferous. As others have said repeatedly, the long-term objective

*Mr. Pillar's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the U.S. government. [Due to an unfortunate technical problem, the panelists' opening presentations were not recorded. An edited transcription of the panel's question-and-answer session follows.] Matthew Levitt, The Washington Institute: One of the more important elements driving the

We are at a stalemate. Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat is able to thwart any real political reform on the Palestinian side. Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has no good military options left, and, given the fact that he has the prospect of a primary and then elections coming up, he

Note: Mr. Khalilzad's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the U.S. government. I want to give you the Bush administration's perspective on where we are and what our vision is for Iraq. We believe that Saddam Husayn's regime is determined to retain, expand, and once again

*Mr. Khoury's remarks represent his own views and not those of the U.S. government. Robert Satloff, The Washington Institute: The basic premise of this panel is that the United States is currently promoting coercive democratization in Iraq and in the West Bank and Gaza. U.S. policy is coercive in the

Ladies and gentlemen, I am now going to read a legally recorded telephone call: "Hello! Hello! Rescue me! My house has caught fire! Help!" "Define your terms exactly. Has your house caught fire or has it burst into flames?" "Both! It has caught fire and it has burst into flames!"

A little more than a year ago, the most vile terror attack in the history of mankind took place in the United States, devastating the principal symbols of American military and economic power, indeed the very symbols of freedom and capitalism in the eyes of the world. September 11 --

*Mr. Eran's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the Israeli government. Dennis Ross, The Washington Institute: Many Israelis and Palestinians have a shared sense of urgency regarding the need to find a resolution to their ongoing conflict, even acknowledging the need to do so jointly. They

I want to start by praising someone who is not here, who would have been a good contributor to this discussion, my good friend Saad Eddin Ibrahim. (Applause.) He is a scholar, an activist, someone who is willing to pay the price of his convictions, even though that price is

I come from a country that has been engaged in war for the past two years. I am here to present an Israeli perspective on this confrontation -- a confrontation that will shape the nature of Israel, the Palestinian entity, and both societies in the coming years. How have we