ARTICLES AND OP-EDS
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May 7, 2013
"The Real Scare in Syria is Not Chemical Weapons"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"One of my rules of thumb of observing which way the wind blows in the Middle East is now in active operative mode: When Hezbollah and Israel both are actively fighting in the same third country, and Iran and the United States are both actively warning about their determination to act to protect their allies and their interests in that same third country, it is time to make another pot of coffee and make sure you have plenty of fresh batteries at home for your transistor radio."
May 6, 2013
"Killing without a Script"
Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"No society as open as ours can promise perfect security. Thus, it makes sense that a strategy that resigns itself to some form of terrorism in our modern age would, naturally, concentrate on making sure that those who do harm us are stupid, disorganized, rushed, and fickle. Their violence is smaller scale and therefore more manageable, made even more so by the efforts of well-trained first responders."
May 4, 2013
"Drop the Failed Approaches and Try New Ideas"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"There is good news and bad news on the Arab-Israeli peace-making front this week. The good news is that the United States and the Arab League’s ministerial committee seem energized to restart Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. This culminated a few days ago in the Arab clarification that the 2002 Arab Peace Plan that offers Israel a comprehensive and permanent peace can include minor and mutually agreed land swaps around the 1967 borders."
May 3, 2013
"Out on a Presidential Limb"
The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[I]n the event of a worst-case scenario in which negotiations completely fail, Barack Obama has committed himself to an unprovoked military attack on Iran, which would have a disastrous effect on world public opinion and lead to unpredictable human and material damage."
May 3, 2013
"Calming the West's Water Wars"
Los Angeles Times
By Scott Moore, Giorgio Ruffolo Doctoral Research Fellow, Sustainability Science Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group
"The president and Congress, despite the political and organizational barriers, can nonetheless take steps to help end America's water wars. First, Congress should restore funding for the U.S. Water Resources Council and the regional River Basin Commissions. Before they were de-funded during the Reagan administration, these bodies served as focal points for water policy and as useful platforms for dialogue between states and the federal government. By fostering sustained, structured communication among Washington and the states themselves, they can help prevent disputes from arising in the first place."
May 2, 2013
"Immigration Reform Stays on US Soil"
Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Immigration reform is about meeting the economic needs of the United States in the 21st century, from rural labor to Silicon Valley start-ups. It is about creating a border enforcement policy that is tough but also not cruel. It is about the United States. It is not about Mexico."
April 24, 2013
"Hard Lessons in Keynesian Economics"
Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"John Maynard Keynes once said that words should be used aggressively, “for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking.” That’s a starting point for an appreciation of Mervyn King, who will retire soon as governor of the Bank of England and who has displayed the quirky intellectual passion of Keynes himself."
April 26, 2013
"Why Obama Remains Cautious About Syria"
Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
The Obama administration has been cautious in its response to the evidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons in part because it still hopes to convince Russia to join in an internationally supported move for a political transition from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
April 30, 2013
"Frustrated by Obama’s Caution on Syria"
Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"Gen. Salim Idriss, the commander of rebel forces in Syria, complained late Tuesday that President Obama’s desire “to wait and wait for more evidence” that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons is encouraging their continued use — and that these attacks will only stop if the United States and its allies impose a no-fly zone."
May 1, 2013
"Obama Bets Big on Syrian Rebel Leader"
Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"The Obama administration is placing a large bet on the ability of a Syrian former professor of military engineering to build a coherent rebel army that can defeat the regime of Bashar al-Assad, combat Islamic radicals and help build a stable new Syria."
