Policy Analysis

While the Tehran Islamic summit and the new Israeli spy scandal have garnered the Middle East headlines this week, important developments have taken place in Jordan that both suggest the Israeli-Palestinian peace process may be poised for progress and point to the re-engagement of a critical player—King Hussein. Diplomatic context

Two widespread analyses have accompanied this morning's opening of the eighth summit conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The first is that the turnout-the "full house," as one Iranian newspaper put it-demonstrates the failure of the U.S. effort to isolate Iran. The second is that the showing

British policy toward the Middle East has assumed greater relevance in the international arena due to the growing relationship between Washington and the new Blair administration as well as the British accession to the European Union (EU) presidency in January 1998. Stagnation in the Peace Process. Politicians, diplomats, and all

The mood in post-Erbakan Turkey is one of calm after a storm. For a comprehensive understanding of Turkey's problems, a critical, non-ideological assessment of the pro-Islamist Refah (Welfare) Party is needed. Despite its existence since 1969, Refah truly emerged as a political force only in 1995. Receiving some 21 percent

In the Middle East, money talks -- but not as loudly as politics. That's the lesson to be learned from the Middle East/North Africa economic summit, which concluded late last month in Doha, Qatar, under the shadow of the Iraq crisis. For Washington, the two events are connected, with the

In confronting the UN Special Commission for the Disarmament of Iraq (UNSCOM), Saddam has two apparently contradictory goals: keeping his weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and lifting the UN sanctions on Iraq. According to UN Resolution 687, Iraq was required to provide a full and final disclosure concerning its WMD

The most recent episode of the ongoing Iraq saga ended last week with at least one permanent member of the UN Security Council-Russia-committing itself to work for the end of UN sanctions, especially the oil export ban. Other Council members (e.g., France, China and Egypt) have also voiced strong support

With the world focused on the UN-Iraqi standoff, the fourth annual Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Economic Conference concluded quietly in Qatar earlier this week. As Arab world heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia officially boycotted the proceedings, the MENA summit ended on an ambivalent note: Though viewed as a general success

To the Clinton Administration, the Iraq crisis appears headed toward a satisfactory outcome. As a result of the UN Security Council's unanimous condemnation of Iraq and imposition of additional (if modest) new sanctions, Saddam seems to have succumbed to the will of the international community, with UNSCOM inspectors soon returning

As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright prepares to meet with the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Russia tonight in Geneva to discuss a possible diplomatic solution to the standoff between Iraq and the UN, Washington continues preparations for a military option: the U.S.S. George Washington carrier battle group is

Saddam Husayn probably had several motives in seeking to disrupt UN weapons inspections. First, he sought to undermine the effectiveness of the UN weapons inspectors, if not expel them altogether, because they are the main obstacle to his efforts to transform Iraq into a regional power. Second, Saddam currently has

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