Bitter Fruits of Occupation

Whatever the circumstances and regardless of the Palestinians' internal struggle, Israel must recognize that continued occupation is not only non-sustainable but insidiously eroding rather than enhancing its own national security. This is why a responsible Israeli government must develop a framework for withdrawal and implement it in stages…

October 23, 2006 Read more

The Palestinian Leadership Crisis

The failure of Fatah and Hamas to reach an agreement on a unity government that recognizes Israel and begins to deal with the desperate needs of their people is just another in a string of failures that have come to characterize the Palestinian situation. For nearly sixty years, the Palestinians hav

October 11, 2006 Read more

Challenges To Democracy In The Arab And Muslim World

In this essay I argue that because of the long history of authoritarianism, tribalism, and religious and cultural sectarianism in the Arab and Muslim world, the introduction of democracy is not likely to succeed without an initial transitional period measured in years rather than months. During this period, four core measures that deal with the main challenges to democracy in the Arab and Muslim world must be undertaken simultaneously. They are: gradual political reforms, economic incentives through sustainable development, educational reform, and the building of democratic institutions. Together, they will allow home-grown liberal-oriented forces to work in concert, under the protection of the law, in shaping the emergence of a new democratic system congruent with each community’s unique needs and traditional environment.

October 6, 2006 Read more

Futile Debate

Irrespective of how and when American troops are withdrawn, Iraq will gradually edge closer to an all-out civil war unless the country is first divided and then put back together in some kind of confederation. Iraq has been broken, and this administration can do nothing to put it together again short of a constitutional amendment…

September 29, 2006 Read more

Israel Lost the War of Perception

Israel has lost the war of perception. As the dust settles, Israel must reassess its strategy toward Iran and the Arab states, and reestablish its military credibility, not only for its own sake, but for the sake of its enemies to prevent their making a tragic miscalculation, based on recent events. Whether because of tactical…

September 29, 2006 Read more

Syria: Part of the Solution

Ending the war in Lebanon has the potential of changing dramatically the region’s geopolitical landscape in such a way as to lead to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. To achieve that, Syria must be part of the solution. Damascus has been, and remains, key to Lebanon’s political stability and to any future peace between Israel and…

September 29, 2006 Read more

Iraq’s Failed Policy

Try as it may to put the best face on it, the American intelligence agencies' assessment of global terrorism trends is damning the Bush administration in whichever way we look at it. In many ways the report stated the obvious: The Iraq war has contributed directly to the rise of Islamic radicalism and the diffusion of the Jihad ideology globally…

September 29, 2006 Read more

A Region In Turmoil

For the more than two decades that I have been involved, directly and indirectly, in Middle-Eastern negotiations and, at the same time, in my research and analysis of the region’s trials, never have I witnessed such turmoil. At present, nearly every nation there is embroiled in an internal conflict that is shaking not simply…

September 18, 2006 Read more
Page 2 of 61234...Last