How the United States and Europe Can (And Do) Cooperate in the Middle East
Despite the continuing tensions between the United States and some of its European allies over Iraq, some signs point to a greater convergence of views on important security and political issues between the two sides of the Atlantic. While some observers argue that Europe’s Middle East priorities conflict significantly with America’s agenda, Europe is slowly […]
The Paradox of Anti-Americanism in Iran
The Southwest Asia program at the Stimson Center will periodically invite guest scholars to contribute opinion pieces to our analysis. This piece was written by Nicholas Schmidle, a graduate student at American University in Washington DC, who spent the summer of 2004 in Tehran. Of all the governments in the Middle East, the Iranian regime […]
A Showdown on Iran’s Nuclear Program
This commentary appeared in the Daily Star on October 1, 2004. After a week of intense negotiations at the IAEA, the Iranian nuclear challenge remains very much unresolved. Delegates in Vienna have struggled to come up with a unified stance on the issue. But even apparent unity was insufficient to get the Iranians to agree to […]
America’s Missed Opportunity in the Middle East
This commentary appeared in the September 1, 2004 edition of the London Financial Times. Both sides in the US political contest are focusing anew on Iran. This is long overdue, as Iran could well be the biggest national security headache for whoever wins the November US presidential election. So far, George W. Bush has […]
US Stakes between Iraq, Iran
Commentary published in the Christian Science Monitor on August 30, 2004. WASHINGTON – During the Athens Olympics, world-class Iranian judo champion Arash Miresmaeili forfeited his place when he refused to compete against Israeli athlete Ehud Vaks. This small vignette pales in comparison with the 1972 Munich Olympics, when Middle Eastern politics intruded on the Games […]
The New Iraq and its Neighbors
The transition to a sovereign Iraq is a mixed blessing for the immediate neighbors. While each bordering state may have worried about the potential spillover of violence in Iraq, the end of most aspects of occupation also contains dangers for them. Is a weak government in Iraq, with inadequate capacity to maintain security, an improvement […]
The Absence of a US Policy towards Iran and its Consequences
This analysis is based on a presentation given to the American Academy of Diplomacy on May 27, 2004 Iran remains in the very-hard-to-do box when it comes to developing a coherent and sustainable American foreign policy. US-Iranian relations over the past 25 years have gone from volatile, intense in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, […]
Testimony On Intelligence and Language Capabilities
Testimony of Ellen Laipson before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy and National Security Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you to today on an issue that deserves more attention, and I commend your subcommittee for identifying foreign language learning and capabilities as one of the […]