Research & Commentary Results

This Commentary was first published as an op-ed in the Daily Beast on September 7, 2011

The events of that day were so jarring that they are recorded in our memories as if they had taken place last week. But it has been a long decade, one in which we have made as many mistakes as we have had successes. Now, and not after we suffer another major terrorist attack, is good time to pause, look back, learn lessons, and begin to chart a path away from the past.

This Commentary was first published as an op-ed in the Washington Post on August 4, 2011

The political crisis in Bahrain appears to have subsided, even if the issues that provoked it remain unresolved. Now, the challenge before Washington is redefining the terms on which it deals with an important but seriously tarnished ally.

The global community was surprised by the suddenness and intensity of democratic movements in the Arab countries. While universally welcomed, the global response in support of these movements has so far been reactive, uncertain, and slow to build up. The only coherent rendering of such an initiative is the declaration of Deauville Partnership by the Group of 8 countries on May26-27, 2011.

This Commentary was first published as an op-ed in the Washington Post on July 29, 2011

With debt talks at an impasse, foreign policy is the last thing on many American minds. But how Congress and the president deal with the debt will affect US relations with other countries and our national security for years to come.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Ilan Peleg and Dov Waxman, authors of the book Israel's Palestinians:The Conflict Within (Cambridge, 2011), for a discussion about their findings. One in five citizens of Israel are Palestinian. Often overlooked by outside observers, the challenges facing the Palestinian minority in Israel are an inseparable part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Resolving this conflict – a central concern of U.S. foreign policy and current international diplomacy – requires more than the establishment of a Palestinian state.

*This article was first published by Freedom House on July 18, 2011.

*This Commentary first appeared on neimanwatchdog.org on July 8, 2011

While political debate still roils over the legality of the American role in Libya, other questions have grown more pressing. Those questions include whether the European side of the NATO operation can be sustained and whether the Libyan opposition truly has the ability to achieve their goal of taking down the regime of Muammar Qaddhafi & Co.

These issues are critical for those favoring US participation in NATO operations as well as those opposed.

*This article originally appeared in Newsweek Pakistan in their June 10, 2011 edition

This article originally appeared in Newsweek Pakistan in their June 10, 2011 edition

The Middle East Institute and The Foundation for Middle East Peace are proud to host Ziad Abu Zayyad a veteran journalist and the co-founder and editor of the Palestine/Israel Journal. In his talk, Mr. Abu Zayyad will address whether a rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas is possible, and will also discuss the main challenges facing the US-Palestinian bilateral relationship.

Speaker: Ziad Abu Zayyad

The Middle East Institute and the Foundation for Middle East Peace are proud to host Ziad Abu Zayyad a veteran journalist and the co-founder and editor of the Palestine/Israel Journal. In his talk, Mr.Abu Zayyad will address whether a rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas is possible, and will also discuss the main challenges facing the US-Palestinian bilateral relationship.

American policy toward conflict in Libya is bearing disappointing fruit. The conflict there seems to be settling in to a stalemate with the likely prospect of becoming an extended civil war. In the face of this prospect, John McCain and other Senators are calling for greater US involvement. That goes against the grain of American public opinion. It raises in sharp relief the question: Will our current limited engagement policy work? And if so, when?

This article originally appeared in the National Interest online under the title "Collapse Imminent in Afghanistan" on April 21, 2011

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin for a discussion about the ongoing challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on their knowledge and experiences recounted in their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Myre and Griffin, journalists who are husband and wife, traveled to Jerusalem in 1999 in hopes of finally seeing Middle East peace. Instead, the pair watched as violence in the area escalated and the peace process disintegrated.

It was absolutely predictable that Republicans would attack President Obama whatever he did in Libya, though Newt Gingrich, in his overeagerness, overreached by criticizing him for too explicitly opposite reasons. It was also likely that the anti-interventionist left, which sees (almost?) any use of American military power as imperialistic and unwarranted would likewise be opposed.