Policy Analysis

On June 12, 2006, David Makovsky appeared on the PBS program NewsHour with Jim Lehrer along with Hisham Melhem; they were interviewed by NewsHour senior correspondent Margaret Warner. The following is a transcript of of the program. MARGARET WARNER: And for more now, we’re joined by Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau

When Hafez al-Assad was president-for-life of Syria, Washington overlooked the misdeeds of his Baathist dictatorship because it always seemed the brass ring of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal was just around the corner. Now that Assad is dead and his son Bashar nears the six-year mark of his own rule

I recently returned from a trip to Europe, where I observed a troubling analytical failure: the widespread refusal to consider Hamas’s January electoral victory beyond the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In reality, Hamas’s rise to power has global ramifications. It opens a new front for radical Islamism in its

On June 8, 2006, Patrick Clawson testified before the House Armed Services Committee’s hearing on U.S. policy options toward Iran. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. The United States will almost certainly have to deter and contain Iran for the foreseeable future -- almost like the Cold

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and the most wanted man in the country, died violently and fittingly in a coalition airstrike June 7. His death represents a case of justice delayed, but justice done, and constitutes an important victory for the coalition and the Iraqi

On June 7, 2006, Institute senior fellow David Schenker testified before the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. President Bush signed the implementing order of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration

In a June 4 speech marking the anniversary of the death of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a warning to the United States in the crisis of over Iran’s nuclear program. “If the Americans make a wrong move toward Iran, the shipment of

Brewing discontent among Iran's Azeri population has potential implications for U.S. and Western policy toward Tehran.

If there is one thing that the Bush administration and its critics agree on, it is that we can not win the war on terror only through military means. So long as the greater Middle East is a cauldron of anger, resentment, alienation and frustration'characterized by conflict and corrupt regimes'radical

David Makovsky reviewed Schlomo Ben-Ami’s new book, Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy (Oxford University Press, 2006), for the June 4, 2006, Washington Post Book World. The following is the text of his review. Shlomo Ben-Ami was there when it all went sour -- serving as Israel's

On May 18, 2006, Ambassador James Jeffrey and Maj. Gen. William McCoy addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Jeffrey is senior advisor to the secretary of state and coordinator for Iraq policy at the U.S. Department of State. He previously served as deputy chief of mission and charge

While Algeria appears to have succeeded in defeating the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, in reality the threat can still not be discounted. Emily Hunt explains why the terrorist organization’s silence does not necessarily mean it is defeated, but may instead show that the group is evolving into a

Iraq is most likely to see a protracted internal war and economic difficulties for years to come. A mildly optimistic scenario is possible but so are some outcomes that would be destabilizing for the region, unpleasant for Iraq, and detrimental for U.S. interests. Iraq's difficulties are disappointing to the Iraqi

On May 17, a gunman chanting Islamist slogans attacked the Turkish Council of State (the Danistay, or high court for administrative affairs) in Ankara. The gunman killed one judge and wounded four others who were sitting in the Council’s second chamber, which has recently upheld Turkey’s ban on “turbans” in

Ehud Olmert's first visit to Washington as Israel's prime minister may not produce dramatic announcements, but a lot will be riding on his private conversations with President Bush. Olmert will be presenting his concept of "consolidation," which, if implemented, could lead to Israel's evacuating more than 60,000 settlers from 72

Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas’s surprise May 25 announcement that he would call for a national referendum should Palestinian factions fail to reach agreement during their national dialogue was wrongly interpreted as a peace plan by many in the press. The document Abbas threatened to put to a popular

On May 3, 2006, Efraim Halevy addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum. Efraim Halevy is head of the Center for Strategic and Policy Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He served as head of the Mossad from 1998 to 2002 and head of Israel’s National Security Council from

As the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany consult today about what measures to take to influence Iran’s decisions about its nuclear program, it is worth evaluating what impact outside pressure would have on President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad’s administration and its ability to overcome internal political and

With Iran's nuclearization a hot button issue, analysts are asking how Turkey, the only NATO country bordering Iran, would respond if the United States imposed sanctions on Tehran or chose a military option to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. There is one answer that American policymakers will hear