Policy Analysis

Why are local Lebanese subsidiaries of major American corporations -- like PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Western Union -- lending comfort and support to terrorists by advertising on Hezbollah television? Al Manar -- the Arabic word for beacon -- is the official television station of Lebanon's Party of God, more

Why does the Middle East have so many crises and problems? This question is usually answered in one of two ways. The "just around the corner" view, often favored by Western government officials and the media, argues that the region's conflicts and lack of significant progress could be rectified quickly

In September 2000, the Palestinians made a strategic decision to abandon the Oslo process and prepare the groundwork for a struggle with Israel, which was to be conducted by means of terror and violence. Two years later, the armed conflict persists, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to finance and

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

*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

* Secretary Roche's remarks represent his own views and not necessarily those of the U.S. government. I have a new job. This one has 700,000 employees and a budget of $80 billion. That's the good news. The bad news is that we are paying for health care, not for equipment

Unfortunately, there is no Iraqi on this panel. I wish there were. But because Kuwait is closest, in many ways, to Iraq, we Kuwaitis probably share some of the Iraqi vision of the future of Iraq. The atmosphere in Kuwait is one of anxiety and nervousness, with a strong sense

I recently read the United Nations (UN) Arab Human Development Report from one end to the other. It was the most miserable thing I have read in a long time. The report reveals the presence of a number of deficits in the Arab world. One of them is a freedom

The last two years of violence deserve a lot of analysis. In looking at the underlying strategic components of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, I have come to the conclusion that certain matters must be discussed openly and clearly between the two sides. If there is disagreement, it is

Martin Indyk proposes an ambitious, groundbreaking path. The other path described by David Makovsky and David Satterfield is a less ambitious one, based on an assumption that it is the only realistic option. I would differentiate between the "process" approach that you heard from the two Davids and what I

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