U.S. Policy

This article originally appeared as a chapter in the book The Last Arab-Israeli Battlefield? Implications of an Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon (Washington Institute, 2000). John Hillen is currently assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. When he wrote this essay, he was serving on the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st

The June 29 parliamentary elections in Kuwait achieved international media coverage because women were allowed to stand for office and vote for the first time in the sheikhdom. Less well reported were the local political divisions that had brought about elections a year earlier than expected. The results of the

Institute senior fellow Michael Eisenstadt contributed an essay to the book, Iraq and America: Choices and Consequences (Stimson Center, 2006), edited by Ellen Laipson and Maureen S. Steinbruner. The following is an excerpt from Mr. Eisenstadt’s essay. Download the full text in PDF format. Much of the current public debate

Has America abandoned the cause of democracy in the Middle East? Recent events give plenty of reason for concern. Last month in Egypt, police beat hundreds of anti-Mubarak demonstrators, while in Syria the Assad regime rounded up civil-society activists. The White House issued only a relatively perfunctory condemnation of Egypt

When Hafez al-Assad was president-for-life of Syria, Washington overlooked the misdeeds of his Baathist dictatorship because it always seemed the brass ring of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal was just around the corner. Now that Assad is dead and his son Bashar nears the six-year mark of his own rule

On June 8, 2006, Patrick Clawson testified before the House Armed Services Committee’s hearing on U.S. policy options toward Iran. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. The United States will almost certainly have to deter and contain Iran for the foreseeable future -- almost like the Cold

On June 7, 2006, Institute senior fellow David Schenker testified before the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. President Bush signed the implementing order of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration

If there is one thing that the Bush administration and its critics agree on, it is that we can not win the war on terror only through military means. So long as the greater Middle East is a cauldron of anger, resentment, alienation and frustration'characterized by conflict and corrupt regimes'radical

Iraq is most likely to see a protracted internal war and economic difficulties for years to come. A mildly optimistic scenario is possible but so are some outcomes that would be destabilizing for the region, unpleasant for Iraq, and detrimental for U.S. interests. Iraq's difficulties are disappointing to the Iraqi