A Cold Peace in Peril?
Israel-Egypt peace was carefully constructed in the 1979 treaty and has weathered numerous regional storms: the 1982 Lebanon War, two Palestinian intifadas, the upheaval of the 2011 Arab Spring, and even sixteen months of conflict in Gaza. Throughout, Israel and Egypt have sustained generally productive military and economic cooperation (despite persistent anti-Israeli sentiment in the […]
A New World Order
The war in Ukraine is leading to a seismic geopolitical shift, reshaping the global order. At its fulcrum stands Donald Trump, the champion of “America First” who is asserting Washington’s dominance on his own terms. Opposing him, Europe remains trapped in the inertia of its post-Cold War illusions, struggling to adjust to a world where […]
Trump’s Gaza Plan: Change of Narrative
Washington’s Middle East experts were gathered for dinner in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton Georgetown, hosted by a prominent think tank. It was May 19, 2019, and they had come to hear Jared Kushner talk about the forthcoming Trump peace plan. Mr. Kushner described both an economic vision for the Middle East and a […]
President Trump Faces Two Major Issues in the Middle East <br><i>The future of Gaza is not one of them</i>
President Donald Trump has enhanced his reputation for unpredictability in foreign policy with his novel suggestion, at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the people currently living in the Gaza Strip be evacuated and that the United States assume control of that territory and rebuild it. The president is surely […]
Look to Middle Eastern Diasporas for Figures to Inspire Change
The Middle East presents a formidable array of challenges and opportunities for President-elect Trump, with the Iran nuclear issue emerging as the most perilous and complex threat to both regional stability and US interests. Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its potential to destabilize the balance of power overshadow other crises, including the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, which […]
A Middle East Strategy for the Trump Administration Should Lead with Business Opportunities
The Middle East that awaits a second Trump administration offers unusual opportunity. The US can double down on two major successes – Israel’s war against Iran’s proxy armies and the Abraham Accords peace deal – to expand its regional alliance. At the end of the first Trump administration, the Abraham Accords expanded the alliance at […]
Trump Administration Faces a Suddenly Promising Middle East
BACKGROUND The second Trump administration will face immediate foreign policy dilemmas in all three Eurasian fronts. This paper concentrates on the Middle East, but the competing demands of Europe and East Asia, and the links among all of them, influence decisions everywhere. The dramatic events of the past year open the door to a regional […]
What to Expect from a Harris Administration on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East
Should she beat Donald Trump in this November’s election, Kamala Harris would come into office with more foreign policy experience than most presidents. As vice president, she made 17 foreign trips, giving a high-profile speech at the Munich Security Conference and leading the US delegation to the 2023 climate summit in Dubai. She has met […]
Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Will Be About More Than Bashing Biden
Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address a joint session of the United States Congress on June 13. But that day, while an ordinary day in Israel, was the second day of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in the United States and the rest of the Diaspora. Jews in the Diaspora traditionally celebrate the beginning and […]
The Only Path to Peace is Prosperity, Not Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on July 24 at what promises to be an historic and controversial moment. Netanyahu’s speech allows him to “share the Israeli government’s vision to defend its democracy, combat terrorism and establish a just and lasting peace in the region,” said House Speaker Mike […]
