Policy Analysis

Note: In December 1999, the Institute published a Research Note updating this Policy Focus. Six years after revelations emerged that Saddam Hussein sent hundreds of Iraqi students abroad to study subjects that would help Baghdad develop its nuclear weapons program, the U.S. government continues to issue visas to students from

The course of history since the first Zionist convention 100 years ago—World War II, the Soviet breakup, and of course, the establishment of Israel—would leave the first Zionists in awe. Beginning with the founding of Israel as a homeland for Holocaust refugees and ending with the influx of Soviet Jews

Zionism was born of a mixture of desperation, imagination, and sheer coincidence. Theodore Herzl and many of his colleagues wanted only to be accepted into European society, but were rebuffed because of their religion. In the face of such discrimination, Herzl took up the cause of Zionism as his only

Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad Khatami, who won a landslide victory in Iran's presidential elections on May 23, has scored another stunning achievement with the Iranian Majlis' (parliament) approval of all twenty-two of his cabinet ministers on August 20. The ratification of all-even the most controversial-appointments, was a substantial show of Khatami's

The current standstill in the peace process has created a situation where Lebanon's problems might be viewed as one of the most important components to the overall conclusion of the Middle East peace process. Lebanon now holds the dubious distinction of being the last "satellite" state in the world. Today

In May 1996, the peace process was not the dynamic, successful set of negotiations that many today retrospectively claim it was. In fact, the Israeli-Palestinian track was on the verge of collapse. Had it been making real progress, Binyamin Netanyahu would not have been elected prime minister. Thus, when the

President Mohammed Khatami submitted his list of nominees for the twenty-two cabinet positions to the Iranian Majlis (parliament) on August 12. The Majlis must approve every candidate, and the assembly will announce its decisions by August 20. Since the presidential election in May, many analysts have debated the extent to

The actions of former Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan caused chaos in the formulation and implementation of Turkish foreign policy, concern in the West, and a higher profile for the half-military National Security Council (and the military itself) in the policymaking process. Erbakan and Tansu Ciller, former deputy Prime Minister

The Clinton administration responded to internal and international pressure to ratchet up its role in the Arab- Israeli peace process yesterday with two important statements—a full-scale speech by Secretary of State Albright and extended comments by President Clinton at a Rose Garden press conference. The result was two key shifts

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The deepening military relationship between Israel and Turkey has heightened Arab and Iranian concerns about the potential implications of this new axis between the two most powerful states in the region. Though these anxieties seem exaggerated, it is animated by a fear that this thus far limited relationship could eventually

Six months after the signing of the Hebron protocol and the U.S.-negotiated Note for the Record, it is clear that the negotiating process is at an impasse. While the Hebron violence has subsided and the two sides have returned to the bargaining table just this week, this is clearly the

The Turkish military was the driving force behind events that led to Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's resignation. Also important, however, were civilian elements of the Turkish establishment, which was acting on all cylinders. The most powerful delegitimation of Erbakan's government was the unprecedented cooperation between rival trade unions and

Having won his parliamentary vote of confidence Saturday by a relatively comfortable margin, Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has set about the difficult task of governing with his ideologically diffuse but all-secular government. The departure of the Erbakan-Ciller government has eased tensions in Turkey, though questions about the future of

Although Saudi Arabia faces opposition from its Shi'i minority, the threat from its mainstream Sunni population is far more serious. While the Shi'i opposition is a problem, it also serves to divert attention from the more serious danger posed by discontented members of the Sunni majority, whose opposition threatens the

Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979 was inspired by social, economic, cultural, political, and international factors, in addition to strictly religious motives. The revolution guaranteed that "Islam is the solution" to the problems plaguing the lower strata of Iranian society. However, this promise for a better life has not been realized

Israel-Palestinian Track: "The standoff is dangerous and threatening. If it persists, it may lead to the collapse of all our endeavors and achievements thus far... The [U.S.] mediator's role is going to be limited if the principals continue to shun each other because of political pressure to which they claim

The nation-state is not a familiar concept in the Middle East. It has no equivalent in the political traditions of the region. In classical Islam the state is a theocracy, a community of God governed by the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate successors. Such a state was not constrained by

Mid-course corrections are necessary to maintain the viability of Washington's Gulf policy and to secure U.S. interests, including those in Central Asia. Sanctions have not worked in the past to hasten the downfall of leaders such as Castro, Qaddafi, or Saddam. Although sanctions have slowed down Iran's development of a

Today's announcement of the deal between U.S. law enforcement officials and Hani al-Sayigh, an alleged member of the clandestine Shi`i organization "Saudi Hizballah" with links to the al-Khobar Towers bombing, has strategic, not just legal, implications for the investigation of that terrorist act. The decision to seek al-Sayigh's deportation to