Policy Analysis

On July 25, 2003, Turkish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Abdullah Gul addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Dr. Gul served as Turkey's prime minister between November 2002 and March 2003, and as minister of state and government spokesman in the Welfare Party government of 1997. The following

During the Soviet occupation, Afghanistan enjoyed a large measure of support from its neighbors and from allies in the Islamic and Western worlds. With the fall of the Soviet empire, however, global attention shifted elsewhere. In the interim, a vacuum emerged that allowed the Taliban and al-Qaeda to seize power

President Bush should deliver one unambiguous message to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) when they meet this Friday in Washington: The Palestinian Authority is going to war -- the only question is with whom. As Israel begins withdrawing from parts of Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinian

For the first time since the start of the Palestinian uprising nearly three years ago, hope for real peace between Israelis and Palestinians is beginning to take shape. Strangely, the Bush administration is sending signals that it is against it. I am not referring to the "road map" for Middle

Executives at some leading U.S. financial, corporate, and journalistic institutions, such as JP Morgan Chase, Wachovia, American Express Centurion Bank, Associated Press Television News (APTN), Telestar5, and Interland, should be aware that their organizations are unwitting accomplices in the terrorist activities of Hizballah, recently labeled "the A team" of terrorism

As the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" plods along, both proponents and critics of the "road map" are eagerly seizing on evidence to serve their own ends. This month the eminent Palestinian pollster, Khalil Shikaki, made waves by releasing new data on the Palestinian "right of return," the perennial Palestinian demand to

Remarks to a conference on "The Economic War on Terrorism: Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing," Garmisch, Germany, July 21–25, 2003 Constricting the Operating Environment The war on terror is far from over, even as we find ourselves fighting another -- more conventional but no less critical -- war in Iraq

During the build-up to the 2003 Iraq War, President George W. Bush delivered a watershed speech at a prominent Washington DC-based think tank. In late February at the American Enterprise Institute, Bush suggested that after dealing with Saddam Hussein, Israel "will be expected to support the creation of a viable

The Roadmap was never designed to be a blueprint. Instead, it provides a direction and a set of guidelines for Israeli and Palestinian actions. Because the Roadmap was negotiated not by Israelis and Palestinians but by members of the Quartet -- who are not responsible for implementing its steps—no one

As the American envoy to the peace process during the Clinton administration, I worked closely with Mahmoud Abbas, often sitting across a table from him around the clock, seven days a week. Of course, I knew him by his patronymic, Abu Mazen -- "father of Mazen." Abu Mazen is a

On September 11, 2001, I was giving a lecture at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. My lecture was on the lessons of peacemaking in the Middle East. At the conclusion of the lecture, my hosts informed those assembled that two planes had been flown into the World Trade

Recently, the bitterness between Ankara and Washington over Turkey's failure to extend full support to the Iraq campaign culminated in a much-feared quagmire. On July 4, U.S. Army forces detained eleven Turkish special operations troops in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, possibly based on Iraqi Kurdish intelligence that they were planning to

According to a June 23, 2003, coalition administration announcement, recruitment for the new Iraqi army is to begin shortly. This is a potentially momentous step with major long-term implications for the future of the state. It will not be easy to create a new army to support a democratic Iraq

July 9 is the fourth anniversary of the student-sparked mass protests that erupted in Iran in 1999. New protests this July could test Washington no less than Tehran. Will the U.S. government side openly and publicly with the freedom-minded students against not only the unelected hardliners, but also the ineffectual

INTRODUCTION The appalling violence between Israelis and Palestinians that began in September 2000 has been one of the most painful episodes in the history of the modern Middle East. People on both sides, and many outsiders, had hoped that the famous handshakes on the White House lawn in 1993 that

The Intifada, better termed a Palestinian war, will not continue on as it has. In recent months we've witnessed the recognition of a political, economic, psychological and military Palestinian defeat. Leaders now recognize the gross miscalculation of the violence launched in September 2000. Indeed, Israel's reprisals and sanctions have crippled

One can discern two general schools of thought -- pessimists and optimists. Pessimists tend to believe that the conflict is due to a discrepancy between ideas of legitimacy. Pro-Israel members of this camp doubt that Palestinians will accept Israel's right to exist. The implications are clear -- jumpstarting the so-called

"The tragic conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continues to elude resolution. But I believe that there exists a window of opportunity similar to the one that existed in the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991." —James Baker III, former U.S. secretary of state[1] President George W. Bush hinted during

Earlier this month, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency announced new rules governing Saudi charities and welfare agencies. From now on, each charity must consolidate its funds in a single bank account licensed by the government, from which cash withdrawals are banned. Explaining the new rules in Washington, Saudi ambassador Prince

After a week of violence that followed the Aqaba summit, most Middle East observers are pessimistic about breaking the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. Yet after a week of extensive discussions with both sides, I believe it's possible to create a period of calm. Among Palestinians, I found a profound desire to see