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The Mecca Accord (Part II):

Implications for Arabs, Israel, and U.S. Policy

This is the second of a two-part examination of the meaning and implications of the Mecca accord. Read part one. The Fatah-Hamas unity agreement reached in Mecca last week has powerful implications for all regional players. The most serious challenge it poses is to U.S. diplomacy. Arab Winners and Losers

Robert Satloff

Syrian-Iraqi Relations: A New Chapter?

Syria and Iraq began a new phase in their relationship two months ago with the resumption of diplomatic ties and the visits of Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Muallem to Baghdad and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani to Damascus. At the same time, however, the United States continues to criticize Syria for

Seth Wikas

Articles & Testimony

Just One Question:

The Difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims

Q: What's the simplest way to remember the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims? A: Sunni is a longer word than Shia -- there are more Sunnis than Shias. Most ShIAs live in IrAn. IrAq also has a ShIA majority (as does BahrAIn). Mostly SUnnI SaUdI Arabia considers itself the

Articles & Testimony

Mideast Deja Vu

Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren (W.W. Norton & Co., 672 pages, $35). "Congress balks at funding Mideast war against 'terrorists.' " "Evangelicals lobby on behalf of the Jewish state." "Washington exports ideals of democracy and freedom to Arab

In-Depth Reports

Islamist Terrorism in Northwestern Africa:

A 'Thorn in the Neck' of the United States?

In August 2006, al-Qaeda's second-in-command announced a new alliance with the Algeria-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), with the stated aim of becoming a "thorn in the neck" of America and the West. This radical network -- which is little known in the United States but has become

Emily Hunt

Articles & Testimony

The Impact of a Rising Iran on Saudi Arabia

It is going to be a long, hot summer in Riyadh. True, it normally is. But this year will almost certainly be different. And the rest of the world will need to pay attention. Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Islam, oil. Pick your preferred crisis. The chances are that all will be

Articles & Testimony

How the Syrians Can Best Help Lebanon

In less than two months, Lebanon will celebrate the two-year anniversary of Syria's military withdrawal from Lebanon. Following the February 14, 2005, assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, international pressure forced Syria, thought to be behind the killing, to remove its troops. In Beirut in early 2007, however

Articles & Testimony

The Way Forward in Iraq

On January 25, 2007, Institute counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow Dennis Ross testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. The challenge today in Iraq is internal. Iraq's leaders must find salvation by reaching across sectarian lines, not waiting for their

Dennis Ross

Is Lebanon Headed toward Another Civil War?

Violent clashes in Beirut on January 25 between students of rival political parties have overshadowed the promising news that Lebanon received pledges of $7.6 billion at the Paris III donor conference on Lebanon's economy. The violence, which was largely along sectarian lines, was the latest in a series of escalating

David Schenker
Andrew Exum

Knowing Thy Enemy: Decisionmaking of Regional Adversaries

On January 22, 2007, Washington Institute Wexler-Fromer fellow Martin Kramer addressed the Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference on the balance of Israel's national security. These are his remarks. My role here this morning is to serve as a proxy for "the enemy." Now it might have been more interesting to invite

Martin Kramer

Hamas vs. Fatah:

Is Confrontation Inevitable?

On January 10, 2007, Ghaith al-Omari, Mohammad Yaghi, and Dennis Ross addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Dr. al-Omari, a visiting fellow at the New America Foundation, has served as a political advisor to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and as a legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating

Ghaith al-Omari
Mohammad Yaghi
Dennis Ross

President Bush’s Iraq Strategy:

The Gulf Dimension

On January 16, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Kuwait for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—the oil-producing states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The final stop on Rice’s Middle East tour, the visit

Simon Henderson

Articles & Testimony

If You Must Engage Syria, Do It the Lantos Way

President Bush's address to the nation on Iraq last week dispensed with many of the 79 recommendations included in the 142-page report of the Iraq Study Group. The headline on the speech was the decision to surge 21,000 troops, rather than downsize the U.S. military presence in Iraq as the

David Schenker

Articles & Testimony

Who Holds the Key to its Future?

On January 17, 2007, Institute counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow Dennis Ross testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. I have been asked to discuss Iraq in a regional context. I interpret the request to be less about how

Dennis Ross

Annual Post-New Year's Event:

America and the Middle East, circa 2007

On January 12, 2007, Joe Klein and Martin Walker addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Joe Klein, the author of the bestseller Primary Colors, writes the "In the Arena" column about national and international affairs for Time magazine. Martin Walker is the editor emeritus of United Press International, and

The Battle for Kirkuk:

How to Prevent a New Front in Iraq

On January 14, in a rare show of unity, Sunni and Shiite Arab, Turkmen, and Christian Iraqis gathered at a conference in Ankara to denounce Kurdish plans to incorporate Kirkuk, the capital of Iraq’s at-Tamim province, into the Kurdish region. This comes after recent violence in Kirkuk, including a December

Soner Cagaptay

Articles & Testimony

Syria Poised to Assert Itself

Hafez el Assad, the father of Syrian President Bashar Assad, established Syria's primacy in the Levant and transformed a country ravaged by nearly 30 coups in 24 years into a country led by one leader for nearly 30. The elder Assad made sure that Syria manipulated events in the Middle

Articles & Testimony

As he travels through his lands, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad delivers a daily speech, each time in a different city, during which he proposes reexamining the Holocaust and putting to "scientific test" the claim that 6 million Jews were annihilated by the Nazis. It is important to point out, by

Democracy Promotion in the Middle East:

Time for a Plan B?

On December 4, 2006, Jennifer Windsor, Carl Gershman, and Martin Kramer addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Jennifer Windsor is executive director of Freedom House and also a member of the Secretary of State's Advisory Commission. Carl Gershman is president of the National Endowment of Democracy and a member

Martin Kramer

In-Depth Reports

The Muslim Scholars Association:

A Key Actor in Iraq

On November 16, the Iraqi government issued an arrest warrant for Harith al-Dhari, secretary-general of the Muslim Scholars Association, the country's most influential Sunni Arab religious organization. He was charged with inciting terrorism and violence due to his presumed ties to the Sunni insurgency. The move was strongly criticized by

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Supported by the

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

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Featured experts

David Schenker

David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics. He is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

Ghaith al-Omari

Ghaith al-Omari

Ghaith al-Omari is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship.

Hanin Ghaddar

Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.

Bilal Wahab

Bilal Wahab was the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.

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