Policy Analysis

This two-part essay, prepared for the Foreign Policy Research Institute ( www.fpri.org), is a condensed version of an article that appears in the Winter 2001–2002 issue of the National Interest. Read Part II. "With respect to what is sometimes characterized as taking out Saddam, I never saw a plan that

Recent events have highlighted the crisis in leadership in the Muslim world. Over the past 150 years, Muslim society has undergone a period of rapid transformation that has produced three groups of leaders: clerics, lineage-based traditional groups, and central authorities. Over the past two to three decades there has been

Even before September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration faced difficult challenges and choices as it charted U.S. policy toward Iraq. The period of Iraqi quiescence following Operation Desert Fox in December 1998 was clearly over, the containment regime on Iraq had weakened, and the resurgence of Israeli-Palestinian violence had imposed

The decision by Israel's security cabinet last night to sever contact with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat, declaring him "irrelevant" in halting current Hamas suicide bombings and attacks, marks a new nadir in Israeli-Palestinian relations since the 1993 Oslo accords. Israel is frustrated by how little the PA has

Now that the reign of the Taliban appears over, the question for President Bush is how to confront other state sponsors of terrorism. There are two choices: "engagement" or confrontation. In Afghanistan, he chose confrontation. It looks increasingly likely that the White House will also choose confrontation in Iraq. Yet

On November 27, 2001, Amy Hawthorne, a Washington Institute Soref fellow, addressed the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's hearing on "Promoting Religious Freedom during the Campaign against Terrorism." The commission is an independent government agency advising the administration and Congress on issues of religious freedom worldwide. The following is

The Israeli cabinet's December 4 decision to treat the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a "terror-supporting entity," and the Tanzim militia and PA chairman Yasir Arafat's elite unit Force 17 as terrorist organizations, has seemingly expanded the range of military options for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in its war against

Muhammad Khatami became the darling of the Western media the minute he triumphed in Iran's presidential elections four years ago. The soft, smiling underdog had defeated three other candidates -- including Ayatollah Khamanei's handpicked candidate, the colorless and unquestionably hardline speaker of the parliament -- in landslide fashion. Tens of

In the wake of this weekend's heinous Hamas suicide attacks in Israel, President Bush demanded, "Now more than ever, Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must demonstrate through their actions and not merely their words their commitment to fight terror." Last month the administration designated Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Despite reports that Saddam Hussein has rebuilt his army under sanctions, military morale is perilously low in Iraq. If the United States were to throw its weight behind the Iraqi opposition, Saddam Hussein's police state would likely collapse faster than did the Taliban. I lived in Iraq for nine months

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, many academics and policymakers cite America's support for United Nations sanctions on Iraq, and the oft-reported figure of one million resulting deaths, as a legitimate grievance against Washington's foreign policy. However, the facts upon which these critics make their case do

On September 11, 2001, the world expressed shock as Al-Qa'ida terrorists hijacked four airliners, toppled the World Trade Center, and heavily damaged the Pentagon. This dramatic display of Al-Qa'ida's global reach has dominated international media attention, virtually to the exclusion of all other international news. However, the United States was

Since September 11, the Bush administration has issued seven different lists of terrorist groups, including terrorist organizations, front companies, and individuals. In its effort to prosecute the war on terrorism, the administration has articulated the goal of eradicating Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network and its Taliban hosts rather

In Washington, the debate over Iraq is shifting from the simple question of whether it should be targeted in phase II of the antiterror war, to how we should deal with a country that continually refuses to fulfill its UN obligations and surrender weapons of mass destruction (WMD). From the

Testimony before the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom To win the war against terrorism, the U.S. government will need to pursue with equal vigor the short-term imperative to eradicate terrorist groups and their international support networks and the longer-term objective to advance a positive vision for the peoples

Secretary Powell's November 19 speech did not introduce any new substantive points into the debate. However, it outlined for the first time the Bush administration's view regarding the situation in the Middle East. It also offered some important symbolic points that could provide Yasir Arafat a means of ending the

Secretary of State Colin Powell's November 19 Louisville address on the Arab-Israeli peace process was important as much for what it did not say as what it did say. Indeed, the sole innovation in the speech was the appointment of a new "senior advisor"—retired Marine General Anthony Zinni—to "prod and

Kabul has fallen and the Taliban has collapsed. The Bush administration has demonstrated that it has the might and political willpower to pursue the war against terrorists and their sponsors. Well, some of them. According to the most recent State Department "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, Iran is "the most

In his long-anticipated speech on the Middle East yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell reminded both Arabs and Israelis of certain basic realities: that there can be no peace without unequivocal recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state within secure borders; that Israel is entitled to security

The Bush administration came to office, seeking to stay as far clear of the Mideast peace process as possible. Who could blame them? President Bill Clinton invested an extraordinary amount of time and energy in a bid for a far-reaching grand deal -- a comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and