Policy Analysis

Not since Israeli historian Benny Morris' controversial 1989 book, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, has a single study impacted the public discourse over the "right of return" like the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research's (PSR) July 2003 poll.[1] According to Dr. Khalil Shikaki, the well-known director

The key ingredient for a successful peace effort is not a foreign peacekeeping force—regardless of how robust its presence or how broad its mandate—but rather the willingness of each side to honor its commitments to prevent violence.

Now that it controls an extremely capable terrorist network in the West Bank, Hezbollah has established itself as a proactive spoiler of Middle East peace, capable of commissioning attacks even if Palestinian groups agree to cease fire.

By almost any measure, the Israeli settlement movement has failed. Despite religious, ideological, and financial incentives, only around 5 percent of Israel’s Jewish population has relocated to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the land was captured in the 1967 war. Moreover, polls indicate a majority of Israelis

Once again high hopes are giving way to despair in the Middle East. While the administration still speaks of progress being made between Israelis and Palestinians, it is difficult to see it. Unfortunately, the progress was always more illusionary than real. There was a cease-fire, but there was not a

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose report about Iran leaked out yesterday, will soon have to decide whether to declare Iran noncompliant with its obligations under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). What the world does about Iran's nuclear program will largely determine the future of

Just three days before Palestinian terrorists violated the Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire with a pair of suicide bombings an hour apart, Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas denied that sources in Saudi Arabia fund Palestinian terrorist groups like Hamas. Following meetings with Saudi Arabia's King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah in Jeddah, Abbas

Along the serpentine road that heads east from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to the desert, the barrel of a tribe-owned tank peers out over rugged, lawless territory where heavily armed local patriarchs shun government authority and harbor Al Qaeda militants. In the governorate of Ma'rib, a cigarette-smoking 10-year-old carries

Riots last week in Baghdad and Basra raised questions about Shi'i opposition to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). While the Shi'i community has been relatively quiet compared to the Sunni population, elements of the Shi'i have adopted a consistent position against the CPA, occupation forces, and the appointed Governing Council

Last week, Hizballah drastically escalated its activity along Israel's northern border, ending seven months of relative calm there. Yet, the assault on Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms area and the cross-border shelling of northern Israeli towns pale in comparison to the potential danger posed by the terrorist cells and

The attacks against the United Nations headquarters yesterday and against Iraq's oil pipeline to Turkey last weekend illustrate how political and economic security are closely entwined. Ba'athist diehards know that the continuing hardships stemming from economic collapse is what will raise the political temperature among ordinary Iraqis. The lack of

Like a sports team after a dismal season, the State Department is going through a "rebuilding process" to figure out how to win Arab and Muslim friends. As depressing statistics about anti-Americanism continue to mount, especially in the Middle East, Foggy Bottom recently announced the formation of a new committee

Combating terrorist financing is one of the most critical fronts in both the war on terror and the implementation of the roadmap to peace. In both cases, cutting off the flow of funds to terrorists hinges on focusing on logistical and financial support networks. Too often security, intelligence, and law

On Tuesday, Hamas and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for two Palestinian bomb attacks that killed an equal number of Israelis. The bloodshed is the first major test for the 1 1/2-month-old Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire and, more broadly, the stalled "road map for peace." Both the Palestinian Authority and the

A Turkish delegation is expected to be in Israel within the next few weeks, perhaps as early as August 20, to sign an agreement committing Israel to buy 50 million cubic meters (mcm) of water annually from Turkey for the next twenty years. Once the operational details -- price, timeline

With so much recent focus on the West Bank "separation fence," the issue that prompted Israel to build a barrier in the first place has been obscured. But as this week's suicide bombings show, the threat of continued Palestinian terror lingers. And in some cases, that threat literally lingers just

A surprising summit meeting yesterday in Ankara involving members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, the Turkish General Staff, the Turkish Foreign Ministry, and the Turkish National Intelligence Organization produced an agreement "in principle" to send Turkish "peacekeeping soldiers" to Iraq. From one perspective, if Turkish troops were

Rarely do pollsters make waves like the Ramallah-based political scientist, Khalil Shikaki, who announced last month that the greatest obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace -- the so-called Palestinian "right of return" to Israel -- has been lifted. Shikaki claimed that based on his polling data, "It is now clear that an

On August 8, 2003, the seventh European Union (EU) reform package went into effect in Turkey, significantly curbing the role of the military in politics. This legislation, passed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government on August 4, follows six previous packages adopted since February 2002. Collectively, these reform

If Iraq is to rebuild its infrastructure and restore its economy at the pace forecast by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), it will need to bridge a major near-term financing gap by increasing capital inflows from outside the country and simultaneously improving its ability to absorb aid and investment. Oil