Policy Analysis

The following is a summary of Matthew Levitt's “Hizballah Finances: Funding the Party of God,” a chapter in the forthcoming volume Terrorism Financing and State Responses in Comparative Perspective, sponsored by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School. Read the full text of the chapter

Although the elections in Iraq did not produce the nightmare scenarios predicted by many analysts, they have set in motion a process of intense political dialogue and violent brinksmanship that is likely to last throughout 2005....

WASHINGTON - Soner Çagaptay’a göre, ABD için Türkiye hâlâ gözde. Ama, Türkiye’deki Amerikan aleyhtarligindan kaygi duyuyor. Türkiye’nin destegi ABD’nin hareket alanini genisletiyor. Isler Türkiye’siz de oluyor; ama Türkiye ile daha kolay... Gelecek 5-10 yilda Amerikan ordusunda en aktif görev alacak subaylar, 1 Mart tezkeresinden öTürkiye’ye kizginlik duyanlar olacak.

On March 1, British prime minister Tony Blair will host a conference in London dedicated to garnering support for the Palestinian Authority (PA). The summit is intended to help the new Palestinian leadership strengthen PA institutions, with a special focus on facilitating economic development, encouraging donor pledges, and identifying investment

On February 24, 2005, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved the new cabinet presented by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei by a vote of fifty-four to ten, with four abstentions, establishing the first official government appointed after the January election of President Mahmoud Abbas. After a week of political infighting over

Freedom As a Strategic Concept Since the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration has radically altered U.S. Middle East policy. Broadly defined, the administration’s view is that democracy and freedom in the region is the central strategic concept offering a serious, long-term alternative to jihadi terrorism. This policy shift marks

On February 16, 2005, Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Terrorism Studies Program, testified in a joint hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia and the Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, House Committee on International Relations. The following is a summary

President Bush's current trip to Europe is being viewed as a means to ease tensions and promote better relations. The often heated rhetoric over the past few years between the U.S. and Europeans has obscured the fact that they are facing many of the same challenges and have encountered similar

The United States is facing an extraordinary moment of challenge in the Middle East, one that demands an integrated U.S. strategy built on a set of three pillars: security, reform, and peace. The security agenda is the most pressing, but it alone is not sufficient. If the United States wants

The United States is facing an extraordinary moment of challenge in the Middle East, one that demands an integrated U.S. strategy built on a set of three pillars: security, reform, and peace. The security agenda is the most pressing, but it alone is not sufficient. If the United States wants

The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a massive bombing in Beirut a few days ago came at a time of growing Lebanese opposition to Syria’s fifteen-year "trusteeship" (occupation) of the country. Lebanese politics have become polarized by the September 2004 term extension of the pro-Syrian president

U.S. president George W. Bush heads to Europe next week, where he will meet with European leaders, including German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. While Bush and Schroeder will certainly spend time discussing and attempting to iron out the differences between the two countries, it is also a good opportunity for the

When will Iran achieve "nuclear status"? When other states form their own policies on the assumption that Iran has nuclear weapons—whether or not it has declared or tested a nuclear bomb. The earliest warning will probably come from Iran acting in a more assertive manner. Despite all the concern in

President Bush will visit Brussels next week and meet with leaders of the European Union (EU). While the Iranian nuclear program and the war in Iraq will undoubtedly be the top items on the agenda, counterterrorism is also certain to be a topic of discussion. This meeting-and the more conciliatory

The February 8 Sharm al-Shaykh summit may have marked the definitive end of the Arafat era. Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders issued orchestrated parallel statements declaring cessation of hostilities and highlighted the resumption of bilateral engagement after almost four and a half years of armed confrontation. Within hours, however, militant

Testimony before the House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, and the Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation. CIA officials regularly describe Iran as “the foremost state sponsor of terror.”[1] President Bush reaffirmed this assessment in his recent State of the Union address, saying

The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut highlights the need for increased attention to terrorism in Lebanon. Today, European Union (EU) officials will have a perfect opportunity to do so at a meeting in Brussels where they will debate whether

The statements about Iran's nuclear program made by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Muhammad ElBaradei, have served as an eye opener for many Turkish officials, both from civilian and military ranks. They are now taking Iran’s activities in the nuclear field much more seriously and

Matthew Levitt contributed this paper to the project "Terrorism Financing and State Responses in Comparative Perspective," sponsored by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. This paper and others were published in March 2007 in Terrorism Financing and State Responses: a Comparative Perspective