Policy Analysis

Today, Jordan's King Hussein formally decreed that his eldest son, Abdullah, would become crown prince in place of the king's brother, Hassan. Following is a brief biographical sketch of Abdullah. Born: Amman, January 30, 1962 Mother: King Hussein's second wife, Princess Muna al-Hussein (Toni Avril Gardiner) Personal status: Married to

King Hussein's return to Amman, after six months of medical treatment in the United States, has produced not only jubilation among Jordanians at the monarch's apparent recovery but also intense speculation about impending changes in the Hashemite line of succession. At this sensitive moment -- with economic perils at home

U.S. View: Iranian Moderation? "In past years, Iran's opposition to the Middle East peace process and to those willing to negotiate with Israel has been vitriolic and violent. The Islamic Republic still refuses to recognize Israel, and its leaders continue to denounce Israel in inflammatory and unacceptable terms. But last

In the last two weeks, France, the United States, and Saudi Arabia have all proposed changes in UN restrictions on Iraq. While all would have the effect of cutting Saddam some slack, intriguingly, the Saudi plan is about as good as the American. The French Proposal. The French proposal is

With media attention focused on the fractious nature of Israeli politics in advance of Israel's May elections, little attention is paid to the fractious nature of Palestinians politics, which could also witness a governmental overhaul in May. Whether or not the fateful date of May 4 passes with a Palestinian

Twenty years after his last stint as prime minister, 73-year-old Bulent Ecevit once again became Turkey's prime minister yesterday. His minority government is unlikely to accomplish much, other than to take the nation to early (but long planned) elections scheduled for April 18. Given traditional difficulties in government formation --

This weekend's threatened resolution by the Iraqi parliament to rescind its recognition of the border with Kuwait -- a key element of the original Gulf War cease-fire resolution -- is the latest in a series of rash actions suggesting that last month's three-day bombing campaign succeeded in unnerving Iraqi president

The decline in world oil prices has hit Saudi Arabia hard. The benchmark Saudi crude, Arabian light, fell from $17 per barrel in 1997 to little more than $11 in 1998. Gross domestic product (GDP) declined in 1998 to about $125 billion. That translates into a per capita income of

Subsequent to the U.S.-led coalition's victory in Operation Desert Storm and Iraq's expulsion from Kuwait, the United States and the UN instituted a policy of "broad containment." The objectives of this policy were to keep Saddam weak politically and limit his military freedom of action in the region by supporting

Religious and ethnic minorities have significantly influenced political, economic, cultural, and ideological developments in the Middle East for the last two centuries. This Policy Paper focuses on Egypt, Sudan, and the countries of the Fertile Crescent, some of which have minority populations of 35 percent or more. The relationships of

During the Cold War, the United States used several intelligence platforms to help secure its interest in the Middle East. Reconnaissance aircraft and satellites played a crucial role in various Arab-Israeli wars, the Iran-Iraq War, and Operation Desert Storm. In fact, UAVs were first used by the United States on

Last week's Operation Desert Fox by British and American air forces against Iraq was more or less comparable in size to Operation Deliberate Force against Serbian forces in 1995. The 1991 Operation Desert Storm was much larger, but it included a tremendous effort against Iraqi ground forces that was not

Barring some last minute parliamentary leger demain by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, today almost surely marks the beginning of an election campaign in Israel, with the actual vote probably to be held in April 1999. Although prognostications are premature, the campaign is likely to witness an explosion of candidates for

The current bombing campaign against Iraq is clearly not going to solve all U.S. problems with Iraq. The issue of the day is then: how can the bombing be used to advance long-term U.S. goals? Ratchet up the Pressure. The United States seems intent on convincing Saddam Husayn that the

ROBERT SATLOFF The Peace Process: President Clinton's visit is generating Palestinian euphoria and Israeli ambivalence. The huge strategic gain for the Palestinians -- de facto U.S. recognition of the legitimacy of their aspirations to statehood -- is the product of a studied campaign by PA Chairman Yasir Arafat to do

On November 3, 1998, Patrick Clawson, director for research at The Washington Institute, and Zoe Danon Gedal, a Soref research fellow at the Institute, addressed the Institute's Special Policy Forum on the topic of their forthcoming book Dollars and Diplomacy: The Impact of U.S. Economic Initiatives on Arab-Israeli Negotiations. The

On November 24, 1998, Jon Alterman presented the findings of his new Washington Institute Policy Paper, New Media, New Politics? From Satellite Television to the Internet in the Arab World, at the Institute's Special Policy Forum. Mr. Alterman directs Middle East activities in the U.S. Institute of Peace's Research and

As President Clinton prepares to depart later this week for Gaza to deliver an unprecedented address before members of the Palestine National Council, the looming issues of Palestinian Authority (PA) compliance and implementation of the security provisions detailed in the Wye River Memorandum have once again become the focus of

The Clinton administration's Iraq policy has been to "keep Saddam in his box" by doing everything possible to keep U.N. inspectors and international economic sanctions in place. But actually Saddam has boxed us in. True, the sanctions must be having some effect, because Saddam complains about them so much. Indeed

The relationships between the United States and its allies in the Middle East are, for the most part, founded on national security considerations. As a result, trends that might affect the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. armed forces or Washington's ability to use force effectively have potentially far-reaching implications