Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he directs the Iran Security Initiative, and Senior Editor of Middle East Quarterly; co-author of Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos
Iran, Egypt and the UN General Assembly On Day Two of the UN General Assembly’s annual session, an unwelcome reminder of the major issue on the minds of 120 world leaders: Syrian rebels staged another deadly attack on President Assad’s military headquarters in Damascus today. In New York, the focus was on other developments in the Middle East: the new government of Egypt, Iran’s nuclear progress and relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Iran, Egypt and the UN General Assembly On Day Two of the UN General Assembly’s annual session, an unwelcome reminder of the major issue on the minds of 120 world leaders: Syrian rebels staged another deadly attack on President Assad’s military headquarters in Damascus today. In New York, the focus was on other developments in the Middle East: the new government of Egypt, Iran’s nuclear progress and relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Iran Comes Back to the Bargaining Table on Nuclear Program During massive protest over alleged fraud in President Ahmadinejad's re-election, Iran ended international nuclear talks in 2009. Now, Iran's nuclear development program is back on the bargaining table -- or is it? Talks are scheduled to start on Saturday, but there's real doubt they'll last much longer than that. With new elections looming in both Iran and the United States, what are the prospects for anything more?
Iran Comes Back to the Bargaining Table After more than a year since cancelling negotiations about its nuclear program, Iran will sit down on Saturday with the US and other powerful countries. But nobody is predicting what to expect. Iran insists it is not developing nuclear weapons, but it's facing crippling sanctions and a possible Israeli attack. With elections scheduled in both the US and Iran, domestic politics could prevent major concessions by either side. We hear a variety of opinions on what might go right and what might go wrong.
US and Israel Discuss Iran's Nuclear Ambitions At the White House today, President Obama began a day of meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who's been publicly impatient about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As they began, the President told reporters they both "prefer to solve this diplomatically." The Prime Minister said, "Israel and America stand together." Yesterday, at the annual meeting of AIPAC, anticipating criticism from Republicans and hard-line Israelis, the President addressed the issue head on. "Already, there is too much loose talk of war. Over the last few weeks, such talk has only benefited the Iranian government… I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
President Bush's Middle East Trip The President's trip to the Middle East was billed as fairly routine, a speech celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary and talks with Arab leaders on oil and peace talks with the Palestinians. His "appeasement" speech has focused more attention than expected. One Washington rumor explains yesterday's "appeasement" denunciation as preparation for attacks on military encampments inside Iran. Barack Obama today called the President's insinuation "appalling," adding that he has not advocated talks with Hamas in Gaza, but that John McCain has. Meantime, the President has left Israel for Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where he'll meet with several Middle East allies. We hear what Obama had to say and get several views of what the President has in mind.
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?
Violence and Diplomacy in the Middle East With sectarian violence in Iraq reaching a new scale of brutality, there are multiple warnings that the entire Middle East region may be coming apart. President Bush and Vice President Cheney are engaged in a week of crisis diplomacy aimed at saving Iraq's civilian government. While Cheney has returned from Saudi Arabia , President Bush has left Washington on a trip that will end in meetings with Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki. Meantime, Iraqi President Talabani is meeting with Iranian leaders, and Israel's Prime Minister Olmert is making peace offerings to the Palestinians. Both parties in Congress want pressure on the regime with the goal of promoting withdrawal of American troops. Will America's allies try to influence Sunni insurgents? Will the US talk with Iran about controlling Shiite militias? We'll ask a variety of experts, are there any good options left?
Iraq, Iran and Patterns in Foreign Policy It sounds as if every subject is fair game in this year's elections, but one issue that's not being debated is America's posture toward Iran. Before leaving Washington to campaign, Republicans and Democrats passed the Iran Freedom Support Act , which the President signed with little fanfare. But critics say it's strikingly similar to the Iraq Liberation Act . Voted for by most of the Congress and every Senator, it called for "regime change," and it was later used as evidence that Congress favored war with Saddam Hussein. With both parties trying to sound tough before the mid-term elections, have they created a roadblock to possible diplomacy? Will the Iran Freedom Support Act discourage other countries from helping the US to avoid a confrontation over Iran's nuclear program?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?