RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Vicki Huddleston, May 09, 2008, The Washington Times
Following the recent U.S. air strike targeting a Somali militant, Vicki Huddleston warns that in order for the U.S. not to lose support of the African and international community "we must consider the costs and the benefits of our actions." Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, May 06, 2008, Opportunity 08
Pakistan, as the most dangerous country in the world, poses a major challenge for the next U.S. president. Bruce Riedel argues in this new Opportunity 08 paper that the current administration’s policy toward Pakistan has not paid off. The next president, he says, must persuade the Pakistani people that "America supports democracy in their country and can be a long-term and reliable ally." Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bilal Y. Saab and Magnus Ranstorp, May 05, 2008, Al Hayat & The Daily Star
Bilal Saab and Magnus Ranstorp dissect a recent message from Ayman al-Zawahri urging Muslims worldwide to join insurgencies. Regarding Al-Qaeda's view of Lebanon's role, Saab and Ranstorp state that even though societal structure plays against attempts to establish a solid presence, "the reality is that Lebanon has turned into a place where jihadist travelers can quietly meet, train, and plan operations against Israel and the West." Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Daniel L. Byman, May 02, 2008, The National Interest Online
Daniel Byman believes the U.S. Department of State’s list of state sponsors of terrorism needs to be overhauled and updated. He notes that many of the most threatening states are those that are passive or nonaggressive, and that the costs of inaction often harm the sponsor as well as other states. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Thomas Lynch, May/June 2008, The American Interest
U..S. Army colonel and Brookings federal executive fellow Thomas Lynch addresses the issue of uncertainty regarding U.S. military policy towards the continuing conflict in Afghanistan. Lynch argues that the U.S. can address the issue by "strengthening and institutionalizing the U.S. security commitment to the region." Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Justin Vaisse, April 25, 2008, Rue89.com
Justin Vaisse discusses initiatives taken by the American Embassy in Paris towards the banlieues (or poor neighborhoods) and the Muslim community. (French) Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin S. Indyk, April 24, 2008, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
In congressional testimony, Martin Indyk argued that the current policy of isolating Syria has had mixed results. He believes that the next U.S. president should consider a different approach that could foster a more productive relationship allowing mutual goals to be realized in the troubled region. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Peter W. Rodman, April 24, 2008, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Testifying before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Peter Rodman argued "the conditions do not exist for an improvement of relations with Syria as long as Syrian policies remain hostile to important interest of ours in the Middle East." He concluded that Syria must change course in relation to Iraq, Lebanon, and Arab-Israeli peace before the U.S. reaches out to the country. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Justin Vaisse, April 21, 2008, Le Parisien
Justin Vaisse discusses initiatives taken by the American Embassy in Paris towards the banlieues (or poor neighborhoods) and the Muslim community in an interview with Le Parisien. (French) Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Cheng Li, April 10, 2008, The Diane Rehm Show
China recently announced thwarted terrorism plots as protests against the country's hosting of the Olympics continue across the world. China expert Cheng Li joined Diane Rehm to discuss these issues and others facing the August games in Beijing. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Daniel L. Byman, April 2008, The Brookings Institution
Daniel Byman traveled to Israel and Jordan in March—a time of crisis in the Middle East. During Byman’s trip, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets against the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, an attack occurred in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and Israel took retaliatory measures in the Gaza Strip. In both Israel and Jordan, Byman found that the predominant mood was one of frustration and gloom. Israelis felt trapped between their sense that inaction would encourage more violence and their recognition that the military and political options looked unpromising. Jordanians fretted that the Israeli reaction to the violence would strengthen the radicals politically. Read More
VIDEO
Peter W. Singer and Martha Raddatz, April 09, 2008
The U. S. mission in Iraq has reached the mid-decade mark, while U.S. troops continue to battle Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Senior Fellow Peter W. Singer says our next president will need a thoughtful plan for improving America’s relationship with the Islamic world.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, April 05, 2008, The New Republic
The Justice Department recently released John Yoo's 2003 "torture" memo to Congress. Questions remain on what to do with the people the military and the CIA interrogated brutally in 2002 and 2003, writes Ben Wittes, and how the CIA should handle such people in the future. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jeremy Shapiro, March 25, 2008, NPR's The Bryant Park Project
In just under two decades, France has gone from being a hub of terrorist activity to the most effective counter-terrorism practitioner in Europe, according to analyst Jeremy Shapiro. Read More
PAST EVENT
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Washington, DC
On March 20, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) hosted a panel discussion to assess Turkey’s Kurdish conundrum, specifically Turkish-Iraqi-American relations and options for confronting the PKK. Speakers included Hasan Cemal, senior columnist for the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet; O. Faruk Logoglu, President of the Eurasian Strategic Studies Center; and Aliza Marcus, Bloomberg News reporter and author of Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. Brookings Nonresident Fellow and Director of the Turkey Project Omer Taspinar provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. Read More