Policy Analysis

The following is a transcript from the Washington Post online. Israel began its planned pullout from the Gaza Strip on today, despite internal opposition highlighted by the recent resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu from his position as finance minister. Netanyahu and the Likud party oppose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 's plan

Iran's hardline establishment often declares that all Iranian citizens are united in their determination to see Iran exercise its "right" to nuclear power and "self-sufficiency" -- that is, operation of the complete fuel cycle. But are all Iranians really so enthused by the national nuclear program and heedless of international

Within hours, history will almost surely be made in the Middle East as Israel begins its withdrawal from Gaza after 38 years of occupation. By taking this unprecedented step to dismantle the 21 settlements there, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- the driving force behind the Israeli settler movement --

On August 4, 2005, Dennis Ross, Brig. Gen. Michael Herzog, and David Makovsky addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and former U.S. Middle East peace envoy, has just returned from a month in the region. General Herzog of the Israel

The July 23 bombings at Sharm al-Shaykh offered a harsh reminder that Egypt remains vulnerable to Islamists who see terrorism as their only viable means of affecting political change. The attacks, which left at least sixty-four dead and more than two hundred injured, were the deadliest to be carried out

Iran's bold August 7 decision to resume uranium conversion -- previously frozen under an agreement with Britain, France, and Germany -- came only four days after new president Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad took office. This confrontational step suggests that the new administration may take strong actions to advance its hardline agenda. At

The significance of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza is obvious: For the first time since the 1967 war, it is setting about to dismantle settlements in an area that Palestinians see as part of their ultimate state, and it is doing so under the leadership of the man who was the

The division in the domestic Palestinian political scene ahead of Israel's forthcoming withdrawal from Gaza is pronounced. The Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas seeks a smooth, co-ordinated transfer of power in order to define the Israeli pull-out as a positive step towards ending the occupation of

The London bombings served as an unpleasant reminder that Britain remains a primary target of the global Islamist terrorist movement. Michael Jacobson's forthcoming book on legal and law enforcement changes in the United States and Europe is particularly pertinent in light of such attacks. The following excerpts from his analysis

Important detail was missed in much of the reporting of the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia on Monday. Carried by the Saudi Press Agency, it was information in the new official biographies of the new King Abdullah and his designated successor, Crown Prince Sultan. Why does this matter

Daily images of carnage from Iraq and uncertainty over how to measure coalition progress continue to stoke debate in the United States. How does one assess the status of the insurgency? How are the efforts to recruit and train Iraq's security forces proceeding? What are America's options in Iraq? JACK

Controversy continues to surround the murky role played by financing in Iraq's insurgency since Operation Iraqi Freedom began two years ago. Lieutenant-General John Vines, the Multinational Force commander in Iraq, stated on 21 June 2005: "These insurgents do not have an ideology except violence and power. They have nothing to

Keynote addresses by Stephen Hadley and Wendy Sherman. With Fareed Zakaria, Tzipi Livni, Hassan Abu Libdeh, Dan Senor, R. James Woolsey, James Steinberg, Frank Wisner, Martin Kramer, Larry Diamond, Jana Hybaskova, Josef Joffe, Denis Pietton, and others.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s July 22–24 visit to the Israeli-Palestinian scene came amid critical domestic challenges to the Palestinian leadership against the backdrop of imminent Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank, scheduled to begin August 15. In an unprecedented step, Palestinian Authority

According to British diplomats, Britain is actively pressing the United Nations to adopt a "no excuses" definition of terrorism and an explicit and unconditional condemnation of all acts of terror. The push for such a definition was given new impetus in the wake of the terrorist attacks in London and

We are at a seminal moment in the Israeli-Palestinian saga. After years of terror and violence, there is a moment of promise. Next month, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will evacuate 9,000 Israeli settlers from Gaza and the northern West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after much hesitancy, is finally

In her Senate nominating testimony last week, Undersecretary of State-designate for public diplomacy Karen Hughes characterized America's challenge to win allies and understanding around the globe as a "struggle of ideas." Here's a story of what happened when one bright idea -- ahem, my bright idea -- offered as a

Anatolian Eagle is one of the largest and most complex joint air force exercises in the world, paralleled only by Red Flag, held periodically at Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base, and the annual Maple Flag exercise in Canada. The Turkish Air Force (TUAF) is now preparing for the multinational leg

On July 20, the Saudi foreign ministry announced that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the long-serving Saudi ambassador to the United States, was stepping down, and that "the process of nominating" Prince Turki al-Faisal, the current Saudi ambassador in London, to replace him had begun. When the widely anticipated death of

On July 18, 2005, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns addressed The Washington Institute’s Seventh Turgut Ozal Memorial Lecture. Undersecretary Burns’s prepared remarks were delivered by Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried. The following are excerpts from the speech followed by a summary of