Policy Analysis

The explosion of violence this morning in Luxor, which left 64 civilians dead and 25 wounded, gives renewed indication that the battle between the government of Egypt and militants who seek its overthrow is far from over. It remains to be seen whether a broader crackdown by Egyptian security forces

"Both [President Sadat and Prime Minister Rabin] were leaders in the sense that they understood the responsibility they had to lead their people, not to be led by their public opinions, not to be constrained by them, but rather to get out ahead of them and to try to change

Against the backdrop of a brewing confrontation with Iraq, Secretary of State Albright travels to the nearby state of Qatar later this week to talk about regional economic development. Despite Albright's presence, many Arab countries—including regional leaders Egypt and Saudi Arabia—have declared that they will boycott the fourth annual Middle

During the Cold War, Turkey played a vital role as the southeast bastion of NATO. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, a new configuration in the Middle East has emerged, one that has actually increased Turkey's importance in the region. The

In a region where subtle messages often serve as political discourse, the Clinton Administration may be communicating to Syria that the United States is changing its approach to Damascus. One step the Administration is considering is especially likely to send such a signal: declaring that Syria is no longer a

This marks the third parliamentary election since 1989 and the first since the Jordan-Israel peace treaty. It is important to recall three principles when evaluating the parliamentary experience in Jordan: 1) Democratization has been, from its origin, instrumental-i.e., it was meant to serve other goals. The reconvening of parliament in

The growing confrontation between the United Nations and Iraq focuses on American participation in U.N. weapons inspections. However, this crisis with a charter member of the State Department's list of state-sponsors of international terrorism can also be viewed through the prism of Washington's flagging efforts to contain rogue states, in

A demographic profile of Jews living in the West Bank and Gaza, written by the head of the Settlements Division at the World Zionist Organization. It examines the settlement policies of various Israeli administrations since 1967 as well as the motivations -- political and ideological -- of the settlers themselves

On Wednesday, Iraq announced that the American inspectors of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) had one week to leave the country. For good measure, Baghdad demanded that UNSCOM cease using American U-2 spy planes as part of its efforts to enforce the dismantling of Iraq's weapons of

Iran has been a key issue in this week's U.S.-China summit. Two weeks ago, Beijing promised to halt the transfer of antiship missiles to Iran and, in the run-up to the summit, the Chinese provided written assurances to Washington that it will not initiate any new nuclear cooperation with Iran

Iraq's announcement yesterday banning the participation of U.S. citizens in future inspection missions of the UN Special Commission investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program is the latest in a long series of Iraqi challenges to the UN Security Council. Since the end of the Gulf War, however, the Security

Since the attempted assassination of Hamas leader Khalid Mish'al in Jordan and the release of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Shaykh Ahmed Yassin, many observers have predicted that Hamas may have moderated its message, possibly offering itself as a potential partner for peace. However, since Shaykh Yassin outlined a "temporary

Yemen is a very traditional country and society, and to some extent it is characterized by traditional politics. Yemen's past-including its long traditions of trade and diplomacy with surrounding countries-influences its current actions. This century has been a particularly difficult one for Yemen. The North and South were divided, and

A significant loophole in U.S. immigration and national security policy allows students from terrorist-sponsoring countries in the Middle East-Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria-to enter the United States to study subjects that can potentially contribute to their countries' chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs. While the majority of foreign students

An ongoing series of shake-ups at the highest levels of the Iranian military and intelligence communities suggest that Iran's new President, Hojjat-ol Islam Mohammed Khatami, may be moving to exert control over the hardline defense establishment. In recent days he has reshuffled the leadership in the Defense Ministry, the Intelligence

Russia and Turkey are partners as well as rivals. Bilateral trade (official and unofficial) amounts to $14 billion. Turkey purchases major quantities of natural gas from Russia. There are 30,000 Turkish workers and some $6 billion invested by the Turkish construction sector in Russia. There is also considerable tourism in

This past weekend, Vice President Gore and the President's special envoy on Russian-Iranian proliferation issues, Ambassador Frank Wisner, arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin and other senior officials. Topping the agenda was a subject of growing concern for U.S. policymakers: Russia's deepening involvement in the proliferation

What I would like to do rather than brief on Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's trip to the Middle East, from which we have just returned, on what she did accomplish and what she did not, is share six observations about where we are and where we may be going

Keynote addresses by Thomas Pickering and Aaron David Miller. With Rajan Menon, Reuvan Merhav, Arnold Kanter, Paul Wolfowitz, Dominique Moisi, Michael Sturmer, and Donald Bandler.

I come before this group at a critical moment in the history of the Middle East. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent trip occurred on the heels of two horrific terrorist incidents amidst a fundamental crisis of confidence between Israel and the Palestinians. The situation in the Middle East had