Submitted by Brodsky on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 07:24
The following is an article I wrote for the American Foreign Policy Council. It was originally published here at the Jerusalem Post.
As the new president-elect begins to weigh the carrots and sticks he can employ when dealing with the Middle East, he will run into the question of how to handle Syria. Bashar al-Asad was the first to reach out with a telegram to Mr. Obama on November 7 that “expressed hope for constructive dialogue so that the difficulties can be overcome which have hampered the advance of peace, stability and progress in the Middle East.”
The list of these “difficulties” is indeed long. The regime in Damascus supports terrorist groups such as Hizballah and Hamas, continues to destabilize Lebanon, strives to become a nuclear power, and is politically and tactically wedded to Iran – and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
As the new president-elect begins to weigh the carrots and sticks he can employ when dealing with the Middle East, he will run into the question of how to handle Syria. Bashar al-Asad was the first to reach out with a telegram to Mr. Obama on November 7 that “expressed hope for constructive dialogue so that the difficulties can be overcome which have hampered the advance of peace, stability and progress in the Middle East.” The list of these “difficulties” is indeed long. The regime in Damascus supports terrorist groups such as Hizballah and Hamas, continues to destabilize Lebanon, strives to become a nuclear power, and is politically and tactically wedded to Iran – and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Submitted by Brodsky on Tue, 11/25/2008 - 20:55
The following is a blog I wrote for the American Foreign Policy Council. The original is available here on their website.
“Terrorist aggression” is what Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mu’allim termed the U.S. raid into Syria that either captured or killed Abu Ghadiya. The daylight attack took place five miles inside Syria in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal. Syrian television claimed nine people were killed and 14 were wounded in the operation. A native of Mosul, Iraq, the 32-year old Ghadiya has been in charge of al-Qaeda’s extensive Syria network since 2005, when the organization declared an Islamic Emirate in Al Qaim along the Iraqi border. In February, U.S. intelligence sources named Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidih (a.k.a. Abu Ghadiya) as al-Qaeda in Iraq’s top operative in Syria, tasked with funneling foreign fighters, weapons, and cash into Iraq.
Submitted by Brodsky on Fri, 08/08/2008 - 18:35
Israel faces several challenges today including a stalled peace process with an increasing worldwide call for a bi-national state solution; Iran’s nuclear program; and the growing social divide in Israeli society between religious and secular Jews. A two-state solution should remain the only acceptable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the calls for one state for Jews and Palestinians alike will continue to gather steam in the future. Given the current demographic situation and problems in Israeli society, maintaining the status quo does not benefit Israel.
Israel faces several challenges today including a stalled peace process with an increasing worldwide call for a bi-national state solution; Iran’s nuclear program; and the growing social divide in Israeli society between religious and secular Jews. A two-state solution should remain the only acceptable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the calls for one state for Jews and Palestinians alike will continue to gather steam in the future. Given the current demographic situation and problems in Israeli society, maintaining the status quo does not benefit Israel.
Submitted by Brodsky on Sun, 06/29/2008 - 11:18
By listening to the presidential campaign rhetoric or watching the nightly news, one would not guess that the reality on the ground in Iraq is changing.
Security has improved significantly. Last month, for the first time, fewer U.S. troops were killed in Iraq than in Afghanistan. The numbers of Iraqi citizens killed has also dropped markedly, though it remains unacceptably high. This change is clearly reversible but the people in Iraq and in the region are starting to believe in it.
By listening to the presidential campaign rhetoric or watching the nightly news, one would not guess that the reality on the ground in Iraq is changing.Security has improved significantly. Last month, for the first time, fewer U.S. troops were killed in Iraq than in Afghanistan. The numbers of Iraqi citizens killed has also dropped markedly, though it remains unacceptably high. This change is clearly reversible but the people in Iraq and in the region are starting to believe in it.
Submitted by Brodsky on Sun, 06/22/2008 - 13:39
The war on terror may never be the same.
On June 12, the court rewrote the rules for the Guantanamo detainees in the landmark case known as Boumediene v. Bush. The 5-4 majority opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy concluded that the foreigners held at the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay facility were protected by the U.S. Constitution's habeas corpus protections.
Submitted by Brodsky on Tue, 06/17/2008 - 09:01
What links together the conflicts in the Middle East? Isn't it, afterall, possible to feel especially fascinated by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, feel obligated to resolve it, believe that it should not be difficult to solve given the public parameters, and not believe it is linked to all other conflicts in the Middle East?
What links together the conflicts in the Middle East? Isn't it, afterall, possible to feel especially fascinated by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, feel obligated to resolve it, believe that it should not be difficult to solve given the public parameters, and not believe it is linked to all other conflicts in the Middle East?
Submitted by Brodsky on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 11:42
For some reason when the West discusses the Middle East all conflicts are seen as linked together so that the resolution of one will ease the prospects for reconciliation for another. Conversely, one conflict that remains unresolved inhibits the solution of another. This thinking gave birth to the 1990s idea of "Comprehensive Peace." That is an all-encompassing peace that satisfies all parties.
Of course, each Middle Eastern state or actor has a different set of interests so the theory of a comprehensive peace means that specific people or governments will be representing the "greater interest." This is problematic because what is good for the Syrians is not necessarily good for the Palestinians, and the Iranians share a different worldview from Iraq, and so on.
For some reason when the West discusses the Middle East all conflicts are seen as linked together so that the resolution of one will ease the prospects for reconciliation for another. Conversely, one conflict that remains unresolved inhibits the solution of another. This thinking gave birth to the 1990s idea of "Comprehensive Peace." That is an all-encompassing peace that satisfies all parties. Of course, each Middle Eastern state or actor has a different set of interests so the theory of a comprehensive peace means that specific people or governments will be representing the "greater interest." This is problematic because what is good for the Syrians is not necessarily good for the Palestinians, and the Iranians share a different worldview from Iraq, and so on.
Submitted by Brodsky on Sat, 06/14/2008 - 09:26
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) wrote an op-ed piece in the June 5, 2008 edition of The Wall Street Journal entitled, "It's Time to Talk to Syria." They demonstrate how reading the facts incorrectly, concluding the impossible is possible, and prescribing poor policy, can indeed be a bipartisan effort.
More disturbing is that Kerry - the former 2004 presidential hopeful - and Hagel both serve on the Senate's committee on Foreign Relations, and Hagel is also on the committee on Select Intelligence. Their conclusions are neither intelligent nor practical.
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) wrote an op-ed piece in the June 5, 2008 edition of The Wall Street Journal entitled, "It's Time to Talk to Syria." They demonstrate how reading the facts incorrectly, concluding the impossible is possible, and prescribing poor policy, can indeed be a bipartisan effort.More disturbing is that Kerry - the former 2004 presidential hopeful - and Hagel both serve on the Senate's committee on Foreign Relations, and Hagel is also on the committee on Select Intelligence. Their conclusions are neither intelligent nor practical.
Submitted by Brodsky on Sun, 06/08/2008 - 15:21
The Carnegie Endowment has come out with their new recommendations for U.S. Policy in the Middle East. The full PDF of The New Middle East is available HERE.
For those looking for a Neo-Con's guide to Middle East policy, this is not it.
The following is the summary provided by the publisher:
The Carnegie Endowment has come out with their new recommendations for U.S. Policy in the Middle East. The full PDF of The New Middle East is available HERE.For those looking for a Neo-Con's guide to Middle East policy, this is not it.
The following is the summary provided by the publisher:
Submitted by Brodsky on Sat, 06/07/2008 - 14:13
I thought this column in The Wall Street Journal by Jay Solomon was worth a read. It is also available on the WSJ website HERE.
May 23, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Dramatic shifts in Middle East diplomacy during the past week, including a political deal in Lebanon and Israeli-Syrian peace talks, are exposing significant strategic divisions between the U.S. and its closest regional ally, Israel.
The tensions, described in interviews with U.S. and Israeli officials in recent months, counter the widespread assumption that the Bush and Israeli governments march in lockstep on foreign policy. They also provide insight into why these new diplomatic initiatives may unravel ultimately, regional analysts said.
Jerusalem's Talks With Damascus Highlight Tensions:
Divisions Surface Between US & Israel on 'Strategy'
By JAY SOLOMONDivisions Surface Between US & Israel on 'Strategy'
May 23, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Dramatic shifts in Middle East diplomacy during the past week, including a political deal in Lebanon and Israeli-Syrian peace talks, are exposing significant strategic divisions between the U.S. and its closest regional ally, Israel.The tensions, described in interviews with U.S. and Israeli officials in recent months, counter the widespread assumption that the Bush and Israeli governments march in lockstep on foreign policy. They also provide insight into why these new diplomatic initiatives may unravel ultimately, regional analysts said.
