Policy Analysis

While the last two weeks have focused on the Israeli-Palestinian clashes, the Washington summit and the "war scare" with Syria, inside Lebanon the main political drama concerned the concluding rounds of parliamentary elections. These, as expected, produced a Syria-friendly legislature. Initial euphoria in some quarters about the early losses suffered

In 1989 Jordan began implementing an economic reform program. The program was interrupted by the Gulf crisis but resumed in 1992 encompassing both economic and political reforms. Objectives of Reform The government's main objective in reform is to enhance the lives of Jordanian citizens. It would seem that basic economic

"I want to repeat here once again our commitment to security cooperation with Israel and our commitment to cooperate with Israel in all aspects in accordance with the agreement signed. This cooperation with Israel in all fields will continue irrespective of our political differences." —Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, September

In 1992 a spectrum of Iraqi dissidents met in Vienna, Austria and then in Salahuddin, northern Iraq (under Kurdish control), and established the Iraqi National Congress (INC) to lead the opposition to Saddam Hussein. The INC opposes the use of force as the solution for ethnic and nationality problems and

The new Israeli government inherited from the Labor party a timetable for the completion of final status negotiations by the summer of 1999. The Labor government also developed the principle of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement based on some form of separation and partition of Eretz Yisrael into two distinct political entities

In recent days, the Clinton Administration has articulated a clear distinction between U.S. strategic interests in southern Iraq and solely humanitarian concerns in northern Iraq. Following are statements since the end of the Gulf War chronicling the evolution of this policy. "[O]ur interest in the Kurds in [northern Iraq] is

In terms of domestic political opinion in Iraq, Saddam won a significant victory in the recent operation in northern Iraq. His prestige is greater than it has ever been since the Gulf War, and he has positioned himself well for at least the next year. In about a years time

Although the Clinton Administration's response to Saddam Hussein's attack on Erbil is based on a moral commitment to protect the Kurds of northern Iraq, Washington has focused its response on southern Iraq. U.S. strikes have hit targets in southern Iraq, rather than in the north; President Clinton has not demanded

BEIRUT—While headline news was being made in Iraq and the Erez checkpoint, a less-noticed political drama has been unfolding in another corner of the Middle East, Lebanon. Here, Lebanese are in the midst of a five-week election five electoral districts each voting on subsequent Sundays that could have an important

The U.S. cruise missile strikes on Iraqi air defense forces yesterday and today were intended to have three main consequences: 1) to exact a price for the Iraqi army's actions in Irbil and thereby restore credibility to U.S. deterrence; 2) to degrade Iraqi air defenses in the newly extended no-fly

While U.S. officials were in London on Friday evening, resting between mediation sessions with representatives of both main Kurdish factions, Saddam Husayn ordered his panzers into Irbil. The few Kurdish and Iraqi National Congress defenders of Irbil were overwhelmed by the more than 40,000 members of the three Republican Guard

With pro-Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan at the helm of the Turkish government since late June, Washington faces a rare policy dilemma: how to deal with an ally whose leader harbors long-term goals inimical to U.S. interests. The U.S. won its first major policy challenge of the Erbakan era when

The past week has seen speculation by Defense Secretary William Perry tying Iran to the recent bombing of U.S. military personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and a report in Time linking Iran to the downing of TWA 800. How might the U.S. respond if these reports are true? A New

Leaders of the Middle East, along with leaders around the world, can create a new path toward economic development and prosperity in the Middle East. The alternative would be to descend into regional instability bred by a 3 percent annual Middle East population growth. But leaders need to deflate their

In 1989, following a costly eight-year war with Iraq, Iran initiated a major military build-up intended to rebuild, expand, and modernize its ravaged armed forces and thereby transform itself into a regional military power. Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, its naval build-up in the Persian Gulf, its efforts to undermine

Throughout history, immigration to Israel has been responsible for the state's growth, development, and vitality. As a result, the relationship between immigrants and Israeli society plays an important role in the characteristics of the state. The challenge that has confronted Israel since 1948 has been how to maintain natural cohesion

Erbakan's pro-Islamist Refah Party finished first, with only 21.4 percent of the vote, in December 1995 parliamentary elections. Initially shut out of government, Erbakan managed to bring down the minority secularist government and, on June 28, formed a coalition with former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, who has long touted herself

Contrary to initial analyses of the April elections, it is now clear that conservative ideologues_not the reputedly more pro-Western supporters of President Rafsanjani_are the dominant force in the Iranian Majlis. That result, plus early Iranian presidential politicking, makes prospects for U.S.-Iranian dialogue as unlikely as ever and could foreshadow an

Research think tanks are a relatively new phenomenon in the Middle East. For example, the al-Ahram Center in Cairo has only been in operation since 1968, and it was addressing strategic issues virtually alone until the 1980s. There are about fifteen institutions in the region working on strategic issues now

Hafez al-Assad's decision to join the peace process in 1991 was perhaps one of the most difficult decisions of his entire political career. Many analysts do not see this as a strategic decision, however it does reflect a major change in Assad's policy toward Israel. The mere fact that Assad