MIDDLE EAST
AP Photo
July 1, 2009
"Three Cheers for Turkey"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
The most significant development in the Middle East? The continuing civilian control of the Turkish military -- the only instance where the power of military, police, and intelligence-security agencies is being checked by democratically-elected civilian authorities.
AP Photo
June 30, 2009
"Peace with Honor?"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Ivan Arreguin-Toft, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2002-2009
"'Peace with honor.' This was the Nixon administration's euphemism for disengagement from South Vietnam, a place where corruption and incompetence had long doomed any hope of victory; even a victory as modest as the simple negative objective of preserving the political independence of tiny South Vietnam."
AP Photo
June 30, 2009
"A Risky Prospect for Iraq"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Monica Duffy Toft, Associate Professor of Public Policy
"As American troops pull back from Iraq's urban areas, a central question is whether Iraq's forces will be able to secure the peace. If history is any guide, Iraq's security forces face a challenging task. Ending civil wars and keeping them ended is not easy. Iraq faces three critical risk factors."
AP Photo
June 29, 2009
"Why Do Arabs Not Revolt?"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Why do the top-heavy, non-democratic political control and governance systems of the Arab world persist without any significant popular opposition or public challenge?
June 24, 2009
"The Arabs' Forlorn Envy of Iranians"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Broadly speaking, the Arab world has maneuvered itself into a lose-lose situation vis-ŕ-vis developments in Iran -- despite different views of the Islamic Republic.
June 19, 2009
"Iran Makes History Again"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
This is uncharted territory in the context of contemporary Iran -- since the 1979 Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah. But it's routine behavior in the wider context of human beings who do not like being treated like idiots by their own government.
AP Photo
April 2009
"Enhancing Full-Spectrum Flexibility: Striking the Balance to Maximize Force Effectiveness in Conventional and Counterinsurgency Operations"
Paper
By William D. Anderson, Jr., Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008-2009
With the United States currently engaged in difficult and taxing counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, renewed emphasis has been focused upon the country's capabilities and priorities vis-ŕ-vis this type of warfare. Within the military, the Air Force has been especially and increasingly criticized for being too enamored with a Cold-War era conventionally minded force structure and for not shifting aggressively to meet the threats of COIN-style conflicts that many predict will be pervasive throughout the Global War on Terror.
This paper addresses the conceptual capabilities and limitations of air power in COIN in order to illuminate how the Air Force can leverage the distinct asymmetric advantage that air power presents across the spectrum of conflict. This asymmetry is founded upon a clear U.S. superiority in air power capabilities combined with the unique flexibility inherent in air power. An understanding of air power's efficacy in COIN, measured against conventional requirements and capabilities, will inform decisions on appropriate force structure and employment.
AP Photo
June 17, 2009
"Nothing New from Netanyahu"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Netanyahu wants for the Israelis today what God promised the ancient Hebrews in Deuteronomy, Exodus and Numbers: eternal, exclusive, pure, powerful, secure statehood in a land owned by others that will be miraculously ethnically cleansed with Divine mandate and legitimacy.
AP Photo
June 16, 2009
"Bibi Answers Obama"
Op-Ed, Human Events
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"In his recent speech to the Muslim world, Obama set a new course for U.S. policy in the region and in so doing challenged Netanyahu to join him in the effort, or risk American ire. Poor Bibi. During his first two months, he caused gratuitous tension with Obama by refusing to explicitly endorse a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and thereby convinced many that Israel, rather than the Palestinians, is the obstacle. Bibi knows that he cannot afford confrontation and that Israel must align itself with any administration."
AP Photo
June 15, 2009
"What Comes Around Goes Around"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Changes in American policies and rhetoric are already triggering intriguing responses from different parts of the Middle East, as we can see in four separate issues: Lebanon, Palestine-Israel, Iran, and American attitudes toward Islam and Muslims.
