Regional Policy

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. . . Bush's Mideast policy, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his willingness to stand tough against unfriendly Arab regimes and Islamists have left Israel in a strategically weaker position today than it was eight years ago, says Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank on global and domestic issues. . . .

"At a mass level, people can go doe-eyed when… more

The Latin America Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation seeks to respond to regional events with analysis and policy prescription that takes U.S. policy toward the region into the 21st Century.

Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has looked at… more

Without a sound footing in the real needs and interests of the nations and peoples around the world, no global strategy can hope to succeed. As Americans begin to realize that the bank of goodwill towards America built up from World War II… more

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has turned out to be a pretty tame lion. Swept into office in a wave of populist euphoria that he might deliver his people and nation from economic malaise and geopolitical obscurity, Koizumi was the hope for liberal nationalism in Japan. After nearly six decades of U.S. presence in Japan, some hoped that while supporting the basic tenets of the U.S.-Japan security alliance, he might at least shore up Japan's sovereignty and general weight in the… more

While the Bush Administration looks to the weapons inspection process in Iraq to turn up a material breach worthy of war, hawks in and out of government have been making a separate case for invasion, claiming that a US military strike against the country is necessary under the amorphous rubric of the "war on terrorism" and because of Saddam Hussein's alleged connections to Al Qaeda. In fact, it is Saudi Arabia rather than Iraq that has supplied much of the… more

In past weeks Al Qaeda has relaunched itself, a rebranding that presages a second phase in its war against the West. The clearest evidence for this shift is in three audiotapes that Al Qaeda has released since the beginning of October from its top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

Most analysts both inside and outside the government believe those tapes to be authentic. On them, the two Qaeda leaders call for a wider war against not only… more

Does the United States want to bring democracy to Iraq? Maybe, but maybe not bring it right away.

An early indicator that America is in no hurry to democratize Baghdad was found in a report in the Sept. 30 edition of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) was quoted as telling a visiting Israeli, "Don't worry, you won't have any problem with Saddam." Lantos reportedly added, "In his place we'll install a pro-Western dictator, who will be good for… more