Brookings Institution
Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and former director of its Saban Center for Middle East Policy; Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration and former US Ambassador to Israel and author of Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East
Another President, Another Try for Middle East Peace Secretary of State Clinton today formally opened the first direct talks in almost two years between Israel and the West Bank Palestinians. In a public ceremony, she addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Another President, Another Try for Middle East Peace Secretary of State Clinton today formally opened the first direct talks in almost two years between Israel and the West Bank Palestinians. In a public ceremony, she addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Under non-stop pressure from the United States, the challenge is to resolve decades-long disagreements in the next year, but even advocates of a Palestinian state say failure could make matters worse. How far apart are they on settlements, borders, the "right of return" and the status of Jerusalem? Neither Abbas nor Netanyahu has much domestic support for historic compromise. Did they come together because of their worries about Iran?
Israel under Siege after Deadly Raid on Gaza Protest Flotilla Turkey is Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world, but Prime Minister Recep Erdogan called yesterday's attack "a bloody massacre." In Washington, Turkey's foreign minister told CNN that Turkey wants an independent investigation…an apology from Israel…and compensation for Turks who lost their lives. We get updates from the Middle East, the UN and Washington, where the Obama Administration faces another awkward reality.
Israel under Siege after Deadly Raid on Gaza Protest Flotilla Yesterday's deadly Israeli attack on a flotilla of ships bearing aid to the Gaza Strip has produced street demonstrations worldwide and a diplomatic firestorm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip that included a meeting with President Obama. Although Turkey is Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world, its Prime Minister called yesterday's attack "a bloody massacre." In Washington, the Turkish Foreign Minister, on his way to meet Secretary of State Hillary Cilnton, told CNN that Turkey wants an independent investigation…an apology from Israel…and compensation for Turks who lost their lives."
America's Tangled Diplomacy in the Middle East In Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, diplomats from some 50 countries are meeting this week on the future of Iraq . Prime Minister al-Maliki is under intense pressure, asking forgiveness of $50 billion in debt rolled up by Saddam Hussein while trying to show he can hold on to his own job. Today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Syria's foreign minister--the countries' most senior diplomatic contact since 2005, when the US pulled its ambassador from Damascus after the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister. Rice may also meet her Iranian counterpart, but there are new problems with Saudi Arabia. Will King Abdullah help Iraq rebuild by forgiving debts racked up by Saddam Hussein? Is America's most important Arab ally trying to distance itself from US interests in the Middle East?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.