U.S. Policy

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs. Events of recent weeks -- intensified attacks on U.S. civilian and military personnel in Iraq, ongoing political and terrorist violence against Iraqis, and tensions related to the brewing debate in Iraq about the U.S. military presence beyond 2011 --

The Israeli-Palestinian portion of President Obama's May 19 speech generated much more attention than his comments on trade, investment, and development initiatives to promote growth and opportunities across the Middle East. Yet without a strong and credible economic program, efforts to advance Washington's political and security agenda in the region

For almost two generations, major parts of academe have been alienated from America's exercise of power due to entrenched ideological differences with the federal government. Following President Obama's election, however, signs of a remarkable shift emerged, with more academics serving in policy positions, huddling with top officials behind closed doors

Those who fear Iranian nuclear weapons above all else tend to minimize the risks of using force, while those who fear war tend to exaggerate them.

President Obama made news last month in advocating a borders-and-security-first approach to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and articulating an official view that the territorial solution should be a return to the 1967 lines, amended by mutually agreed land swaps. Those who contend that there was nothing new in the president's comments fail

On June 3, 2011, Michael Knights, Lachlyn Soper, Andrew Lembke, and Barak Salmoni addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Knights is a Lafer fellow with the Institute and author of The Iraqi Security Forces: Local Context and U.S. Assistance. Ms. Soper is a social scientist for the

Between May 19 and May 24, 2011, President Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered three landmark speeches that generated significant controversy regarding the status of relations between the two leaders and Washington's near-term plans for the peace process. At a time when the Palestinian Authority seems bent

The specific Israeli-Palestinian territorial principles enunciated by President Obama have within them the seeds of deepening tension between the United States and Israel, and perhaps even a rift.

On May 20, 2011, J. Scott Carpenter, Andrew J. Tabler, and Robert Satloff addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Carpenter is the Institute's Keston Family fellow and director of Project Fikra, which focuses on empowering Arab democrats in their struggle against extremism. Mr. Tabler is the Institute's