Middle East Task Force: Latest Publications

Democrats made huge gains this election, largely because voters rejected the administration’s policy in Iraq. But even before the electorate took its frustration over the war out on the president’s party, Congress recognized the need for a new direction. In March, House Republicans -- led by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and supported by such senior GOP figures as Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) -- asked James Baker and Lee Hamilton to form the Iraq Study Group. The group, which is expected… more

Now that the Democrats effectively control Congress, it’s no longer enough for them simply to attack the administration for its past incompetence and recklessness in Iraq.

They have to come up with some serious and convincing strategies of their own. So far, they have completely failed to do so.

With any real hopes for democratic or even effective central government in Iraq now dead, the Bush administration no longer even really knows what it is aiming at in that country. On the… more

The Middle East diplomatic Quartet (composed of the United States, the European Union, the Russian Federation, and the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nation) authored and put forward its Road Map to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on April 30, 2003. The Road Map outlined steps to be taken by the parties. It was an ambitious plan that dealt with internal Palestinian security, humanitarian assistance, democratic reform, freedom of movement for Palestinians, Israeli military redeployment, and settlement freeze… more

Rejection of hubris has become the defining characteristic of the post-Lebanon war mood and debate in Israel. That is understandable. Israel's civilians in the north faced a daily dosage of 200 missiles, while the military met a surprisingly well-equipped and trained guerrilla force. The mood has been best captured by the Israeli military's outgoing commander for infantry and paratroops, Brigadier General Yossi Hyman, who publicly bemoaned that "we were guilty of the sin of arrogance."

Although the circumstances in the United… more

Jordan has long been thought of as the quiet country of the Middle East. People called it the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom and went there for a rest. King Hussein and his son, King Abdullah II, who assumed the throne in February 1999, were friendly enough with the United States, respectful toward Israel and measured advocates of modernization. As for the Islamist stirrings that have roiled the region since the Iranian revolution of 1979, it was widely believed that the… more