The Palestinian Authority is about to get a new government. The move could spell good news for the region, and might just strengthen Washington’s quest to build a coalition to contain Iranian designs.   

Excerpts from a speech made by the Israeli writer David Grossman in Tel Aviv on the 11th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

This USIP special report deals with the question of how to resolve the Pakistan-Afghanistan stalemate.

At the Weinberg Founders Conference 2006, Philip Zelikow, counselor to the State Department, discusses "Building Security in the Broader Middle East".

The president of the American Council on Germany sees a "definite improvement" in U.S.-German relations since Angela Merkel became chancellor five months ago. Ahead of Merkel's second visit to Washington this year, William Drozdiak says that a key issue for Merkel and President Bush is what to do about Iran's nuclear program.

Listen to Nobel Laureate Thomas C. Schelling discuss the role of deterrence in the non-use of nuclear weapons.

This briefing paper by Professor Paul Rogers of the Oxford Research Group (ORG) provides an analysis of the likely nature of US or Israeli military action that would be intended to disable Iran's nuclear capabilities. It outlines both the immediate consequences in terms of loss of human life, facilities and infrastructure, and also the likely Iranian responses, which the report says would be extensive. An attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure would signal the start of a protracted military confrontation that would probably grow to involve Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, as well as the USA and Iran, says ORG. The report concludes that a military response to the current crisis in relations with Iran is a particularly dangerous option and should not be considered further.

This Council-sponsored, independent Task Force points out that nation-building is not just a humanitarian concern, but a critical national security priority that should be on par with war-fighting and urges the United States to equalize the importance of the two. The report argues that the United States must acknowledge that “war-fighting has two important dimensions: winning the war and winning the peace.”

Winner of the Pulitzer Price for International Reporting in 2004, Anthony Shadid writes on Najaf's revival and its lessons for a new Iraq.

Barnett R. Rubin concludes that preventive action should be a much higher priority for the United States, other governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) than it currently is.