|
|
|
Periodicals
| Found 703 items |
Page 6 of 71 |
|
Ramifications of the North Korean Nuclear Test
INSS Insight No. 110, May 31, 2009 |
| Landau, Emily B. and Asculai, Ephraim |
| The May 25, 2009 North Korean explosion sent shockwaves around the world, much stronger and more diverse than the seismological data recorded. These were the mainly political but also military implications of the apparently successful nuclear test. "Apparently," because no outside, objective evidence was presented to confirm the characteristics and the magnitude of the explosion. If the underground test was fully contained and no radioactive particles were or will be vented to the atmosphere, no data will be available for the analysis of the test. |
| more info |
|
|
Obama-Netanyahu: The First Inning
INSS Insight No. 109, May 21, 2009 |
| Eran, Oded |
| After a long meeting that exceeded its scheduled time, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with the press together yet addressed completely different audiences. President Obama spoke to the international community and the Arab states. With the exception of some small audiences in the United States, it is hard to imagine that the American public was waiting for the outcome of the meeting with bated breath. By contrast, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to approximately fifty – or fewer – Members of Knesset who are in his coalition. The fact that the two leaders came to the meeting with different objectives and presented the meeting in different lights allowed each of them to emerge from the first meeting between them feeling satisfied: President Obama appeared as the responsible superpower leader possessing an international view, while Netanyahu did not get himself into hot water in this first test. There is a feeling that there are differences of opinion but no crisis in the bilateral relations, and none of the government ministers in Israel has any reason to resign. |
| more info |
|
|
The Obama Administration vs. Prime Minister Netanyahu: Confrontation in the Making?
INSS Insight No. 108, May 17, 2009 |
| Shalom, Zaki |
| A few months after coming into office, the strategic political approach of the new Obama administration towards Israel and the Palestinian issue is becoming clearer. Although it has not yet been fully solidified, this approach does not augur well for the Netanyahu government and the political positions it represents. While thus far the administration has not yet announced an official new peace plan, several recent utterances create a picture that might appear unfriendly, perhaps even threatening, from the perspective of the current Israeli government. |
| more info |
|
|
The US and the NPT: Israel on the Line?
INSS Insight No. 107, May 11, 2009 |
| Landau, Emily B. |
| In her opening statement at the 3rd session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller discussed the three pillars of the NPT: disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In the context of her comments on nonproliferation, she noted that "universal adherence to the NPT itself – including by India, Israel, Pakistan, and North Korea – also remains a fundamental objective of the United States." |
| more info |
|
|
Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Eye of the Storm
INSS Insight No, 106, May 10, 2009 |
| Schweitzer, Yoram and Asculai, Ephraim |
| Over the past weeks, the US has accelerated efforts to confront the danger to world peace and its own security arising from the security situation in Pakistan. In a statement to Congress, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was quoted as saying that the ongoing deterioration in the internal security situation of the nuclear Islamic country and the possibility that its government would fall into the hands of extreme Islamic elements constituted a danger to the US and world peace. Secretary Clinton's remarks implied criticism of the agreement signed by Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari with the Taliban, an agreement that in effect recognized the latter’s control of the Swat valley, which enables it to impose its control and extreme religious way of life on the residents of the region (including gross violations of women’s rights). |
| more info |
|
|
Swine Flu: Lessons for a Biological Terrorism Event
INSS Insight No. 105, May 10, 2009 |
| Friedman, David |
| In the late 20th century and the early 21st century, two seminal events occurred relating to the likelihood of a natural outbreak of a new deadly global pandemic with large numbers of victims on the one hand, and the possibility of a biological terrorist event with similar results on the other. The first event was an avian influenza virus that appeared in a many countries around the world and resulted in the death of much poultry. The second event was the wave of anthrax envelopes in the US shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. A few people were killed in this episode; most of all, it aroused panic and anxiety concerning the destructive potential in the hands of terrorists. |
| more info |
|
|
Lebanon in Advance of Elections
INSS Insight No. 104, May 6, 2009 |
| Kulick, Amir |
| From its inception, Lebanon has been a mosaic of diverse communities: Sunnis, Shiites, Christians (with all their sects), Druze, and Alawites. The ability of these groups to exist as a state in the area between Jebel Amal in the south and Tripoli in the north is based on an accepted division of power in the political system according to community. The president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the parliament a Shiite Muslim. A set division also exists in the parliament, in which a fixed number of representatives is allocated to each ethnic group. The parliament has 64 Christian representatives (34 Maronites, 14 Greek Orthodox, 8 Greek Catholics, 5 Armenian Orthodox, 1 Armenian Catholic, 1 Anglican, and 1 Protestant) and 64 Muslim representatives (27 Sunnis, 27 Shiites, 8 Druze, and 2 Alawites). The elections are by district, with a fixed number of representatives allocated to each community in each district. The representatives are chosen by all the voters in the election district. The forthcoming elections are the fifth since the Lebanese civil war ended in 1989. |
| more info |
|
|
The Time Game with Iran
INSS Insight No. 103, April 21, 2009
|
| Asculai, Ephraim |
| Things are heating up in the Middle-East nuclear/political arena. Iran is resisting any possibility of honestly negotiating the nuclear issue with the west/US alliance, the US is hinting at possible concessions to Iran, Israeli sources are talking possible offensive action against Iranian nuclear installations, and US officials are against such action. Egypt is confronting Iran and instability is in the air. Perhaps more than the recent US elections, the timetable is now dictated by the closing deadline of Iran's nuclear progress.
|
| more info |
|
|
Egypt’s View of the Threat: Iran – Hizbollah – Hamas
INSS Insight No. 101, April 20, 2009
|
| Kam, Ephraim |
| The direct target of the Egyptian regime’s attacks in the past two weeks is Hizbollah and its terror arm in Egypt. However, the Egyptians themselves do not conceal the fact that in their view Hizbollah is merely the tool, and that their main concern is the driving force behind the organization – Iran. |
| more info |
|
|
One Size Does Not Fit All: Confronting Iran and North Korea
INSS Insight No. 102, April 16, 2009 |
| Landau, Emily B. |
| North Korea's rocket launch in early April became the latest trigger of a by now well-established pattern of drawing quick comparisons between the two primary nuclear proliferators, Iran and North Korea. The fact that intensive international efforts to stem the nuclear ambitions of both states have unfolded in parallel since 2002 no doubt encourages this tendency. Admittedly, a certain amount of reciprocal learning likely occurs – both between the proliferating states and within the international community when it assesses the consequences of its actions in one case for dealing with the other. Nevertheless, there are important differences between the two cases, and while Iran and North Korea have a history of cooperation in the non-conventional realm, including the presence of Iranians at the latest North Korean launch, this does not mean that they are charting identical nuclear courses. |
| more info |
|
|