An analysis of the different characteristics of global and regional conflicts indicates the following five mega-trends. First is the transition from a unipolar to a multi-polar world due to dramatic economic, military, and political changes. The second is related to globalization and the potential inherent in globalization to exercise violence and terrorism by rogue countries and radical elements. The third trend is the rise of radical Islam concomitant with the weakening of the Arab Sunni state. The fourth is signified by the...
The United States presence, purpose, and engagement in the Middle East are in keeping with American national aspirations. One unique phenomenon in that US Central Command has responsibility for the entire region except Israel, which is still under European Command. Nonetheless, the goal for both major commands is to work with other national agencies and with US partners, allies, and colleagues in the region to try to promote stability and security. The bottom line is that this has not changed in years.
I want to deal with a subordinate facet of the Iranian threat – Iran’s reported ability to set the Middle East ablaze in the event of a confrontation with the United States.
The focus of this piece is the range of diplomatic options available to President-elect Barack Obama once he enters office in January in terms of the Iranian nuclear threat. That is, how Obama will prevent Iran from acquiring further nuclear weapons capabilities that would allow Iran to produce large quantities of weapons-grade nuclear materials. In addition, in order to be realistic about the possibility that the US will not be able to stop Iran through diplomatic means, the US strategy if those diplomatic efforts fail will be...
The Middle East of today is in a state of constant flux. In many ways it is a very different place than what it was just a decade or two ago due to the fundamental changes that have taken place on the ground in many spheres. Thus an understanding of the new challenges the US and its strategic ally – Israel – are facing in the region requires an analysis of the different dynamics currently underway and an effort to comprehend their ramifications.
I will begin by defining the term “alliance.” We actually do not have a formal American-Israeli alliance. I think that the right term to use would be “special relationship.” There have been discussions in the past about formalizing this relationship in the form of a pact or an alliance, or by having Israel join a group like NATO, which would create a formal defense relationship between the United States and Israel. Actually, at the time of the Clinton administration, when in early 1996 it seemed that an Israeli peace settlement...
Every new president brings change to US foreign policy, but what is more remarkable is the essential continuity of US goals and interests across administrations, especially with regard to the Middle East. So it may not surprise you that I believe that we will see considerable continuity of US Middle East policies under the Obama administration, foremost among these, the unshakable US support for Israel and its security.
Much has happened in this region since I chaired the Sharm el-Sheikh fact finding committee in 2001. Seven years, or even sixty years, is a long time But consider Northern Ireland, where long time enemies came together to form a power-sharing government. This was almost eight hundred years after Britain began its domination of Ireland, eighty-six years after the partition of Ireland, thirty-eight years after the British army formally began its most recent mission in Ireland, eleven years after the peace talks began, and nine years...
This volume compiles edited versions of presentations delivered in December 2008 at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) second annual international conference, “Security Challenges of the 21st Century.” The conference was held in Tel Aviv, shortly after Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, and a few weeks before the February 2009 government elections in Israel. This transition period for both countries provided the focus of the conference: “The US and Israeli Roles in the Middle East under...
The memorandum, which focuses on the prospects for Israel and the US under their new administrations, compiles the presentations given by the speakers at the INSS second annual international conference.
On Friday, September 25, 2009 Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it had a second uranium enrichment plant under construction. Suspicions concerning a parallel, concealed enrichment program were in fact circulating for some time before the announcement. Iran reportedly disclosed the information to the IAEA because it discovered that Western intelligence agencies became aware of this parallel program and wanted to avoid further embarrassment.
As part of the attempt to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian discussions, the American administration has in recent months expended significant effort on persuading different Arab nations, headed by the Gulf states, to make certain gestures towards Israel. While in geopolitical terms the Arab-Israeli arena and the Persian Gulf arena are separate, the Persian Gulf states are nonetheless directly or indirectly involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and are influenced by Israeli-Palestinian relations.
