Policy Analysis

On January 10, 2007, Ghaith al-Omari, Mohammad Yaghi, and Dennis Ross addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Dr. al-Omari, a visiting fellow at the New America Foundation, has served as a political advisor to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and as a legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating

Syrian president Bashar al-Asad is apparently proposing peace talks with Israel. His aides are knocking at Ehud Olmert's door, from a distance. They exhort him to believe that their intentions are genuine, while out of the other side of their mouths, they issue threats that they cannot wait forever, and

The Washington Institute's 2007 catalog is now available online, offering easy access to information about more than twenty years worth of publications in one handy PDF document. Highlights include recent monographs on key issues such as transatlantic counterterrorism cooperation, a spotlight on the Institute's new online Policy Focus series, and

On January 21, 2007, Soner Cagaptay appeared on CNN-Turk's Burasi Washington program.

Soner Cagaptay appeared on CNN-Turk's Burasi Washington, ("This Is Washington") on January 21, 2007. In an extended interview with CNN-Turk correspondent Yasemin Congar, Mr. Cagaptay discussed issues of critical importance to U.S.-Turkish relations. Read a transcript in Turkish of the interview (PDF).

On January 16, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Kuwait for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—the oil-producing states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The final stop on Rice’s Middle East tour, the visit

As international pressure on the Iranian government toughens, the Iranian regime is facing more fragmentation at home. In an unprecedented action against a sitting president, 150 of the 290 members of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) signed a letter blaming President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad for raging inflation and high unemployment, and criticizing

President Bush's address to the nation on Iraq last week dispensed with many of the 79 recommendations included in the 142-page report of the Iraq Study Group. The headline on the speech was the decision to surge 21,000 troops, rather than downsize the U.S. military presence in Iraq as the

On January 12, 2007, Joe Klein and Martin Walker addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Joe Klein, the author of the bestseller Primary Colors, writes the "In the Arena" column about national and international affairs for Time magazine. Martin Walker is the editor emeritus of United Press International, and

On January 17, 2007, Institute counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow Dennis Ross testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. I have been asked to discuss Iraq in a regional context. I interpret the request to be less about how

On January 12, 2007, Joe Klein and Martin Walker addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Joe Klein, the author of the bestseller Primary Colors, writes the “In the Arena” column about national and international affairs for Time magazine. Martin Walker is the editor emeritus of United Press International, and

On January 14, in a rare show of unity, Sunni and Shiite Arab, Turkmen, and Christian Iraqis gathered at a conference in Ankara to denounce Kurdish plans to incorporate Kirkuk, the capital of Iraq’s at-Tamim province, into the Kurdish region. This comes after recent violence in Kirkuk, including a December

In the context of debate surrounding U.S. military strategy in Iraq, Prussian military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz offers this classic directive: it is essential to understand the nature of the war you are fighting. To this end, the U.S. military in Iraq no longer faces a traditional insurgency conflict --

Beginning in September 2000, Israel was confronted with an unprecedented wave of Palestinian violence in the form of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and numerous other hostile acts. Since then, the conflict has undergone many evolutions, with both sides continuously changing their strategies and tactics. Although Palestinian attacks continue even during

Precisely because expectations of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trips to the Middle East usually plunge lower than the Dead Sea, she seems to feel that she can quietly gauge receptivity to new approaches to the Israeli-Palestinian situation without setting off world headlines. As President George W. Bush puts

I became embroiled in a controversy with former President Jimmy Carter over the use of two maps in his recent book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." While some criticized what appeared to be the misappropriation of maps I had commissioned for my book, "The Missing Peace," my concern was always different

In early September, as Kofi Annan passed through the Middle East on a farewell journey as United Nations secretary general, he made a stop in Tehran. There, in a meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad, Iran’s president, he heard something startling. As later recounted to the New York Times by an Annan

On December 29, 2006, the Financial Times published the following letter to the editor from Institute counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow Dennis Ross. Sir, Having recently spent several days in Jerusalem and Ramallah, I am struck by the struggle that is now under way for the heart and soul of

The situation in Iraq is not only violent, it is confusing, even for those watching it closely. Dramatic events, searing images, and daily pronouncements by policymakers contribute to a sense of chaos. Nevertheless, some events are more important than others—with trends in events being especially important. Such trends, or indicators

Hafez el Assad, the father of Syrian President Bashar Assad, established Syria's primacy in the Levant and transformed a country ravaged by nearly 30 coups in 24 years into a country led by one leader for nearly 30. The elder Assad made sure that Syria manipulated events in the Middle