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September 6, 2008
Op-Ed
The Boston Globe
Ray Takeyh and Nikolas Gvosdev argue that "Russia’s assault on Georgia may produce no measurable change of its Iran policy."
See more in Russian Fed., Iran
September-October 2008
Article
American Interest
Steven A. Cook looks at how the next U.S. president can be successful in the Middle East.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
September/October 2008
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
The situation in Iraq is improving. With the right strategy, the United States will eventually be able to draw down troops without sacrificing stability.
See more in Iraq, Civil Reconstruction
September/October 2008
Podcast
From the September/October 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs: The next U.S. president will face problems that will require strength and a renewed sense of national purpose to solve.
See more in Iraq, Civil Reconstruction
September/October 2008
Podcast
This audio includes readings of selected articles from the July/August 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs.
See more in United States
August 5, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times
“Having recently returned from a research trip to Iraq, we are convinced that a total withdrawal of combat troops any time soon would be unwise,” write Stephen Biddle, Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack. Although recent success in Iraq has prompted more calls for withdrawal, a continued American presence is needed to preserve the fragile peace in that country.
See more in Iraq, Conflict Assessment
July 17, 2008
Op-Ed
Bitterlemons-International.org
After almost six years of political stability and democratic progress, the rivalry between President Abdullah Gul and the military establishment has thrown Turkey into turmoil, writes Steven Cook.
See more in Turkey
July 15, 2008
Op-Ed
International Herald Tribune
The events of the past eight years have brought the Middle East to a precipice, write Richard Clarke, Steve Simon, and Ray Takeyh. To deal with this situation, America will need a president of intellectual independence, strategic flexibility and considerable political imagination.
See more in Middle East, International Peace and Security
June 17, 2008
Op-Ed
Foreign Policy
“Not only is it impossible to agree on a working definition of the word ‘moderate,’ but there is scant evidence that extremists really do moderate once they assume power,” says Steven Cook, dispelling “The Myth of Moderate Islam.”
See more in Religion
May 21, 2008
Op-Ed
International Herald Tribune
President Bush’s recent denunciation of Barack Obama’s foreign policy was wrong, argue Charles Kupchan and Ray Takeyh. Instead, they defend the Senator’s policies as being “hard-headed realism,” pointing to the historical record as evidence that engaging international rivals is a proven method of resolving conflicts.
See more in Diplomacy, Presidency
May 21, 2008
Op-Ed
The Hill
Every year, 536,000 women die during childbirth, and an additional 8 million become severely disabled. The death toll doesn’t end with the mothers: 5 percent of all newborns die after their mother’s death, and millions of other children are left orphaned. Isobel Coleman and Laurie Garrett argue that the way to reduce this staggering level of maternal mortality is to “pass legislation that shows real resolve, with money and legislated programs behind it.”
See more in Health, Science, and Technology, Women
May 18, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Ray Takeyh discusses the Bush administration’s “hopelessly defective” strategies to mitigate the Iranian nuclear program and offers an alternative.
See more in Iran, Arms Control and Disarmament
April 23, 2008
Transcript
See more in United States, Europe/Russia, Middle East
May/June 2008
Podcast
This audio includes readings of selected articles from the May/June 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs.
See more in United States
April 17, 2008
Other Report
In February, Martin Indyk and Richard Haass engaged leading Gulf policymakers in detailed conversations about what they are looking for from a new American president. While all those with whom they spoke were fascinated by the American presidential primary elections and seem to be following the results closely, few have yet focused on the possibility that a significant change in U.S. foreign policy might result from a new administration in Washington. There was also a significant disconnect between leaders and publics: The leaders are focused on how the next administration will deal with complex regional security challenge posed by Iran, whereas the publics are hoping that a new president will resolve the Palestinian issue and press authoritarian governments to be more open, transparent and accountable.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
April 17, 2008
Other Report
Bruce Riedel traveled to India in February to meet with business leaders, government officials, and members of the media. Riedel notes that much of the conversations revolved around Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities and the Iran-India relationship. Some in the United States have strongly criticized India for maintaining strong economic relations with Iran and for having exchanges of low-level military delegations. Riedel notes that although India opposes a nuclear Iran, its ties with Iran will lead it to oppose use of a military option against Iran.
See more in Middle East, Proliferation, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency, U.S. Election 2008
April 17, 2008
Other Report
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.
See more in Middle East, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
April 17, 2008
Other Report
In February, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Isobel Coleman met with business leaders, academics, journalists, and civic activists in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Among Wittes and Coleman's key findings are that many Saudis welcomed the emergence of a more open atmosphere, pointing to King Abdullah's ascension to the throne, dynamism in neighboring Gulf states, and a new "post-post-9/11" environment as key catalysts for the change. Yet, there was frustration at the unpredictability and arbitrariness of the newly expanded social and political space. The next U.S. administration may have a new, but narrow, window of opportunity to reintroduce itself to Saudi Arabia. Many Saudis argued for the creation of a deeper, multi-dimensional relationship between both countries that engages civil society, not just the government and business sectors.
See more in Middle East, Economic Development, Society and Culture, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 17, 2008
Op-Ed
Bitterlemons-International.org
Steven A. Cook states that “not since the Ottoman Empire have the Turks played as prominent and potentially problematic a role in the Middle East.”
See more in Turkey, Iraq, International Peace and Security
April 16, 2008
Op-Ed
International Herald Tribune
Washington must return to the kind of diplomacy that Bush has largely neglected, argues Steven Simon.
See more in United States, Iraq
The David Rockefeller Studies Program is CFR’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving CFR’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
The diplomatic storm over Iran's nuclear program continues to build. While experts say an Iranian bomb is years off, the program itself raises concern over the prospect of nuclear terrorism.
CFR.org tracks foreign policy, national and homeland security, immigration, and international economics in the presidential race on its Campaign 2008 site.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah may have ended, but the Middle Eastern conflict continues to fester.
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