Policy Analysis

* 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.

After two years of armed conflict, Israeli-Palestinian strife still persists. Palestinian terrorism in general, and suicide bombers in particular, pose a serious threat to Israel, create a distressing environment for Israelis, and engender a challenge for the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) counterterrorism strategies. The Palestinian Authority (PA) and its chairman

The intifada is not yet over; thus, the Israeli-Palestinian situation has the potential to deteriorate or to improve. Several key changes have taken place over the past two years, affecting the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. First, the violence that has been exercised by both sides has reversed the

Last week, intensified Islamist violence prompted Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to launch his military's largest counteroffensive against radical Islamic elements in five years. The target of this ongoing operation is the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a breakaway faction of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). GSPC deserves special

Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones was in Ankara Monday to discuss foreign policy issues including Iraq with her Turkish counterparts. Interestingly, Iraq's vice premier Tariq Aziz visited Ankara yesterday for the same purpose. These trips come at a crucial time as Washington prepares for a confrontation with Saddam Husayn

INTRODUCTION In the first year of the U.S.-led war on terror, a proliferation of reports and studies have analyzed al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden from every conceivable angle -- and with good reason. On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda operatives stunned the world with four synchronized suicide hijackings, a terrorist

Congressional friends of Israel, from both parties, offered hard-to-swallow advice to Israel's leaders this week. If attacked by Iraq, they counseled, sit tight and let America fight your fight. Retaliation would inflame Arabs and other Muslims, they warned, and may even provoke menacing riots against U.S. embassies and interests. Pretty

The United States and Britain are consulting with the other three permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, France, and China) before introducing a new draft resolution on Iraq. Much attention has been given to whether the resolution will explicitly authorize the use of force. At least as important

As the United States considers a possible military campaign in Iraq, Turkey is preoccupied with its upcoming elections. Although a party with roots in Islamism will be a major contender in the November 3 elections, it is unlikely that Turkey's approach to the Iraq issue will change much, regardless of

On September 9, 2002, Martin Kramer and Mouafac Harb addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum with Robert Satloff. Dr. Kramer is the Wexler-Fromer fellow at the Institute, editor of Middle East Quarterly, and author of the Institute's best-selling publication Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies

As the advance towards war against Iraq continues, the Bush administration has started lobbing missiles at hardline liberals ever unconvinced about the threat Saddam Hussein poses to his region and the world. The administration's game presumably is to make these diehards change their minds and to win over skeptical members

With high-profile arrests from upstate New York to faraway Karachi, recent days have been good for the good guys in the "war on terrorism." But in one critical arena -- the battle for hearts and minds in the Middle East, known in Beltway-speak as "public diplomacy" -- the United States

According to the September 17, 2002, issue of Ha'aretz, a delegation of American water experts toured the Wazzani River in southern Lebanon on September 16 to review Lebanese government projects aimed at directing water to nearby villages. Ever since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon in