Policy Analysis

The eventual bankruptcy under international boycott of the Palestinian Authority led by Hamas appears imminent. Since Hamas's sweeping victory in January, the US and the European Union have sought to put pressure on the movement to moderate or face international isolation by blocking all financial aid to pay for the

On May 11, 2006, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns delivered the Michael Stein Address on U.S. Middle East Policy at The Washington Institute's annual Soref Symposium. Following is a full transcript of his remarks. I want to present to you some thoughts about the way we

On May 17, 2006, Institute deputy director for research Patrick Clawson testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. If Iran saw its nuclear program as essential to defending the country’s very existence -- the way Israel and Pakistan view

During the early morning hours of May 7, militants from Hamas and Fatah engaged in a bloody clash near Khan Yunis in Gaza that left three fighters dead. Reporting on this incident -- one of the deadliest intra-Palestinian confrontations in recent history -- indicates that Hamas activists responded to the

On May 12, 2006, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, Amjad Atallah, and David Makovsky addressed the 2006 Soref Symposium. General Yaalon served as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 2002 to 2005 and is currently the distinguished military fellow at The Washington Institute. Mr. Atallah is

On May 12, 2006, Graham Allison and Richard Haass addressed the 2006 Soref Symposium. Dr. Allison is a professor of government and the director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. During the Clinton administration, he served as assistant secretary of defense

On May 12, 2006, Dan Meridor, former Israeli minister of finance, justice, and strategic affairs, addressed The Washington Institute’s Soref Symposium. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of his remarks. The last several years have witnessed two parallel movements in Israeli and Palestinian societies. From the Israeli side, there was

On May 7, Lebanese Druze leader and member of parliament Walid Jumblat told reporters in Cairo that Hizballah should disarm. These comments came just four days after Jumblat offered his assistance to the Syrian opposition in establishing "a democratic and free Syria." Jumblat has always been an enigmatic and unpredictable

With mounting international pressure to force Iran to halt its nuclear program, internal demands for Tehran to begin direct negotiations with the United States are increasing. On April 20, Hassan Rowhani, director of the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research and a former secretary of the Supreme Council for National

On April 30, the Sunday Times of London reported that Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan had warned U.S. officials during a secret visit to Washington of covert Iranian plans for enriching uranium, which may mean Tehran was "nearer to acquiring nuclear weapons than widely believed." The same report quoted Knesset

Last month, King Abdullah II appointed his former minister of finance, Bassem Awadallah, as director of his office. Awadallah is considered one of the major architects of Jordan's economic liberalization program, which has topped the king's agenda ever since he came to the throne. The regime's old guard considers Awadallah

On April 18, the Jordanian government announced it had discovered a cache of weapons -- including rockets, C-4 explosives, and small arms -- in a northern Jordanian town. Jordanian authorities said the weapons belonged to Hamas and had entered Jordan from Syria. Subsequently, Jordan arrested ten Hamas militants and cancelled

Reports from Syria indicate that President Bashar Assad is engaged in a systematic crackdown on his opposition. The good news is that Syria may be feeling the pressure of U.S. efforts to promote reform in the world's last Baathist regime, including a promised $5 million to pro-democracy groups. The bad

On April 28, 2006, Jeffrey White, Matt Sherman, and Michael Eisenstadt addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Jeffrey White, the Berrie Defense Fellow at The Washington Institute, spent thirty-four years with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Matt Sherman recently returned from Iraq after serving for two years as the senior

In March 2006, while campaigning for the post of Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert surprised many by pledging, if elected, to dismantle the majority of Israel's West Bank settlements. Dubbing his plan "convergence," he outlined a strategy that would involve evacuating Israeli settlers from most of the West Bank. Olmert's

Since the September 11 attacks, Europe has become one of the most important battlegrounds in the global fight against terrorism. Accordingly, U.S. cooperation with European counterterrorism efforts is more vital than ever. Despite often-heated rhetoric, authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have adopted many of the same methods --

On April 7, the State Department announced its plan for restructuring aid to the Palestinians in response to the formation of a government led by Hamas, which has refused Quartet demands to recognize Israel, cease violence and terror, and accept past diplomatic agreements. In order to target assistance toward the

Hala Mustafa is editor-in-chief of the Egyptian political quarterly al-Dimuqratiya (Democracy) and Keston Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute. The following is an excerpt from the conclusion of her article. Download the complete text of the paper in PDF format. The United States Must Revise Its Approach to Democracy Promotion

The United States and Iran are playing programmed roles in a minuet on nuclear weapons. The United States pushes the U.N. Security Council to warn Iran about the consequences of going nuclear. And Iran continues its march toward development of nuclear power, even as its president declares that "we don't

"Gulf stability is not just a regional issue; it is a global one. This book is a critical reference for understanding the security challenges in an area containing the bulk of the world's energy reserves." --Anthony Cordesman, former director of intelligence assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense Whatever the