Elliott Abrams examines Israel's decision to free over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israeli settlements—and the military occupation needed to defend them—present a central obstacle to peace and to the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

The alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC requires a strong response from the Obama administration and makes Iran a national security priority, says CFR's Elliott Abrams.

Elliott Abrams discusses what a new president in 2012 must do in his first hundred days to change American foreign policy.

Elliott Abrams says the UN speech delivered by PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas made waves and drew cheers but will ultimately hurt his cause.

Elliott Abrams says that President Clinton's laying of blame on Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians ignores extraordinary change among the Israeli right over the last ten years.

Elliott Abrams, Eliot Cohen, Eric Edelman, and John Hannah, argue that former Vice President Dick Cheney advocation's for a U.S. strike to destroy the al-Kibar nuclear reactor built by Syria and North Korea was based on sound judgment.

With the upcoming vote at the United Nations on Palestinian statehood, Elliott Abrams urges Congress to reexamine the U.S. aid program to the Palestinian Authority in his testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Elliott Abrams discusses the effect of 9/11 on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Elliott Abrams comments on the UN report on the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident.

Elliott Abrams discusses the legacy of former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney.

Elliott Abrams says that especially in light of the Arab Spring, demands for free elections for Palestinians should be greater.

Elliott Abrams argues that while the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi is a victory, President Obama's failure to act sooner and more resolutely in the Libyan conflict has caused NATO to suffer greater damage than necessary.

Elliott Abrams says that civil war in Syria can be avoided if the "Assad mafia" can be separated from much of its own sectarian support.

Elliott Abrams poses ten questions that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should be asking Robert Ford before confirming him as ambassador to Syria.

This video is part of a special Council on Foreign Relations series that explores how 9/11 changed international relations and U.S. foreign policy. In this video, Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses how the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011 transformed the Bush administration. Abrams says 9/11 led then-president Bush to conclude that "bringing democracy and good governance to the Middle East was going to be critical in terms of fighting the sources of Islamic terrorism."

Elliott Abrams says the Obama Administration has a propensity to make foreign policy decisions so slowly that even when they are correct much of the benefit is lost.

Elliott Abrams argues that after thirty months of Obama Middle East policy, the popularity and prestige of the United States have declined and negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians appear to be dead in the water.

Elliott Abrams criticizes the Obama administration's policy toward the uprising in Syria and calls on Secretary Clinton and the administration to step up their pressure on the Assad regime.

Two recent books on the Israeli settlements explore their corrosive effect on Zionism and Israeli society.