MIDDLE EAST
AP Photo
September 20, 2009
"Settling for Failure in the Middle East"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
"This situation is a tragedy in the making between peoples who have known more than their share. Unless Obama summons the will and skill to break the logjam, a two-state solution will become impossible and those who yearn for peace will be even worse off than before."
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"The Paradox of Iran's Nuclear Consensus"
Journal Article, World Policy Journal, issue 3, volume 26
By Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
"...[S]ituated in what it sees as a hostile neighborhood, it is hardly surprising that the Iranian government views an independent nuclear fuel cycle as interchangeable with deterrence, rather than as a bid for building a nuclear arsenal. While building a nuclear arsenal would be a costly endeavor, risking international isolation and assuring Iran's 'pariah status,' acquiring civilian nuclear capability would afford Iran the security and psychological edge it has long sought, and at a lower cost."
September 9, 2009
Work to Do on West-Middle East Relations
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
HAMBURG, Germany -- I had the pleasure in Hamburg this week of sharing a panel discussion with two impressive people -- Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, and former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer. The gathering, sponsored by the Korber Foundation to discuss "The Future of the Middle East,",confirmed that we have much work to do on the issue of when, and whether, powerful Western countries have the responsibility and/or the right to intervene in the internal affairs of Third World countries.
September 2, 2009
"Meghan O’Sullivan Named Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School"
Press Release
A former top Bush Administration official is joining the faculty at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Meghan O'Sullivan, who served as special assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004-07, has been named the Evron and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs, as announced by Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Dean David T. Ellwood. O'Sullivan is affiliated with Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
AP Photo/Eyad Baba)
August 24, 2009
"Talk to Hamas"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Is it important for Israel and the United States to sit down with Hamas and talk business? Yes, it is, according to Rami Khouri, for the same reasons the US is trying to extract itself from its self-inflicted mess in Afghanistan by negotiating with Taliban elements, and from Iraq by partnering with and paying off Sunni insurgents who had spent several years killing Americans.
AP Photo
August 19, 2009
"The Grand Bargain that is the Mideast’s Best Hope"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Shai Feldman, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Gilead Sher
The Obama administration should persuade the Arab states formally to reaffirm and revive the API. Given their domestic fragmentation, the Palestinians are limited in what they can provide Israel in exchange for the concessions it is being asked to make. By contrast, the promise of peace with the Arab world is a more enticing context, justifying Israeli down payments such as in settlement construction.
AP Photo
August 19, 2009
"Riding an Old Path to Nowhere"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Hosni Mubarak has sat in the White House for almost three decades stating that progress is being made towards a negotiated peace, and every time we sit through this spectacle it becomes less convincing, even just a little bit more childish.
AP Photo
August 17, 2009
"Human Rights Watch Gets It"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Equal treatment is the key to a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli peace-making, whether in assessing conduct in war or crafting a permanent peace agreement that acknowledges the historical traumas of both sides.
AP Photo
August 10, 2009
"A Pro-Israel Panic"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Key elements in the pro-Israel lobby in the United States are attacking the internationally respected former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson -- who President Obama will give the Presidential Medal of Honor award for her humanitarian work. That is a pretty strong sign of panic in reaction to the Obama administration.
AP Photo
August 9, 2009
"Reclaiming Islam"
Op-Ed, Sunday Herald
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"In Britain, the radicalisation process has been exacerbated by a gaping lack of mainstream Islamic education for the young, and a dearth of advice on how to apply the rules in a business context. When Islamic companies have needed advice in accordance with mainstream interpretations of Islamic law, there has been no organisation qualified to provide it. This gap has often been filled by scholars who interpret Islamic law in ways that are not appropriate to modern life. In some areas it has been filled by extremist preachers, unqualified in Islamic law and theology, normally from outside Europe, who have replaced traditional pietistic, apolitical Islam with an ignorant, pamphlet-based Islam which emphasises politics. So the best answer to the question of what we can do to break the link between foreign policy and radicalisation is simply to educate our young people in genuine, authentic Islamic teachings. Then, if they encounter radical narratives, dubious theology or ignorant preaching, they will be able to see these for the perversions of the religion that they really are. The fact that the vast majority of extremists have not undergone this process reinforces the point."
