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31. B2. Mahmud al-Zahar, Hamas Foreign Minister, "No Peace without Hamas," Washington Post, 17 April 2008 (excerpts)

Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Mahmud al-Zahar, based in Gaza, is a cofounder of Hamas and served as Palestinian Authority foreign minister in PM Ismail Haniyeh's government, elected in January 2006, until that government was ousted in June 2007. This essay appeared as an op-ed in the Washington Post during a regional tour by former president Jimmy Carter, who met informally with Hamas leaders in Damascus, Cairo, and Ramallah (see Carter's trip report in Doc. D4, below). The same day the Washington Post ran Zahar's piece, its lead editorial criticized Zahar for his "hatred of Israel" and Carter for "embrac[ing] Hamas terrorists," denouncing Hamas as "a group that advocates terrorism, mass murder or the extinction of another state [Israel]." Both pieces can be found online at www.washingtonpost.com.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Washington, Palestine, and Cairo

32. Pakistan—Conflicted Ally in the War on Terror

Author:
Ashley Tellis
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Many Americans have blamed the resurgence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban on Pakistan's lackluster performance in the war on terror. Islamabad has indeed been ambivalent, but the convulsive political deterioration in the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan, Islamabad's military ineptitude in counterterrorism operations, and the political failures of the Karzai government in Afghanistan have all exacerbated the problem. Making U.S. aid conditional on Pakistan's performance in the war or undertaking unilateral strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan would inflate suspicion of Washington's motives, and risk casting Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, as an American adversary. U.S. policy must instead convince Pakistani elites that defeating terrorist groups serves their own interest, while emphasizing that a terrorist attack emanating from Pakistan would push Washington to adopt more painful tactics.
Topic:
Security, Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, America, Washington, Asia, and Taliban

33. PolicyWatch #1273: Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, Inc.

Author:
Mehdi Khalaji
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Understanding the impact of Washington's expected designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization requires knowing what role the Revolutionary Guards play in Iranian society. Apart from being a military force with naval, air, and ground components organized in parallel to the conventional Iranian military, the Revolutionary Guards are the spine of the current political structure and a major player in the Iranian economy.
Topic:
Islam and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Iran, Washington, and Middle East

34. Turkey's War on Terror

Author:
Bülent Aras
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
In an age of war on terror, Turkey pursues its own war against the escalating PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terror. The dynamics that led to a parliamentary motion for a cross border operation into Northern Iraq will have implications for Turkey's relations with Washington, Baghdad and other capitals in the region. The Expanded Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Iraq held in Istanbul on 2-3 November 2007 coincided with Turkey's intensive regional diplomacy. There are serious challenges to ending PKK terrorism and finding a lasting solution to the Kurdish problem. The Erdogan Government must fight terrorism in a way that will not jeopardize the process of democratization and political reforms in Turkey.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Democratization, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Iraq, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, and Baghdad

35. Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: The Moscow - Washington Alliance

Author:
Ken Berry
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The United States and Russia have the biggest responsibility for countering nuclear terrorism because together they account for the overwhelming share of global nuclear materials, expertise and weapons. The two countries also have between them the most substantial capacities in counter-terrorism intelligence and response. There is little to separate the two in their policies against nuclear terrorism. Where there are differences in approach on some aspects of nuclear proliferation, the two countries have accepted an obligation as the pre-eminent nuclear powers to try to narrow their differences. The international community cannot defeat nuclear terrorism or limit it without an active and vigorous alliance between Washington and Moscow.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Development, International Cooperation, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Washington, and Moscow

36. Hamas and Israel: From Isolation to Confrontation

Author:
David Makovsky, Dennis Ross, and Moshe Yaalon
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On July 10, 2006, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, David Makovsky and Dennis Ross addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. General Yaalon, a distinguished military fellow at the Institute, is the former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff. Mr. Makovsky, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process, is author of the Institute monograph Engagement through Disengagement: Gaza and the Potential for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow, is a former U.S. Middle East peace envoy and author of The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

37. Culture and Collective Action - Japan, Germany and the United States after September 11, 2001

Author:
Dirk Nabers
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In order to provide a lens to the issue of international security cooperation after 11 September 2001, this paper will examine the question of how collective action in international relations becomes possible. The author maintains that it is possible to understand, if not explain, a fair amount of inter-state collective action by analyzing the culture of the international system. Using discourse analysis as a tool, the analysis addresses the underlying ideas, norms and identities that constitute the relationship between the United States and Japan on the one hand and Germany and the United States on the other hand as it evolved since September 2001. As a result, the paper argues that even if the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have led to strong pressure on states like the United States, Germany and Japan to form a collective identity, rivalling identities have yet not given way.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, New York, Washington, Asia, and Germany

38. A New Beginning: Strategies for a More Fruitful Dialogue with the Muslim World

Author:
Craig Charney and Nicole Yakatan
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Focus group research in Morocco, Egypt, and Indonesia has shown that it is possible to improve the image of the United States in the Muslim world. Although many Muslims are angry at what they perceive America does, the right efforts to communicate can produce significant shifts in attitudes. Such efforts would involve listening more, speaking in a humbler tone, and focusing on bilateral aid and partnership, while tolerating disagreement on controversial policy issues. Fortunately, a window of opportunity has opened with the Iraqi elections, renewed hope for Israeli-Palestinian peace, tsunami relief, and developments in Lebanon and Egypt, as well as the start of a new administration in Washington. This moment, marked by an easing of tensions and the arrival of new actors on both sides, offers the possibility of a new beginning in America's dialogue with the Muslim world.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Indonesia, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco

39. Can Disasters Be Good for Growth?

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The U.S. economy was in recession when the 9/11 terrorist attacks struck New York and Washington, D.C. Yet within a few months, despite fears of a collapse in confidence, consumption growth surged to a fourth-quarter annualized rate of nearly 5 percent, up sharply from a 1 percent rate during the third quarter. That consumption surge was enough to drag the economy out of what turned out to be a mild recession. By the first quarter of 2002, overall growth reached a booming 5 percent rate.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, New York, and Washington

40. Energy Conservation: An Economic Perspective

Author:
Robert W. Hahn
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
With oil and gas prices at record levels, Persian Gulf producers threatened by terrorists, and exploding demand from China likely to strain supplies for years to come, surely it is time for Washington to get serious about energy conservation. Well, yes . . . and no. While most economists (including me) are deeply skeptical about the value of government mandates for energy efficiency, in principle there is a case to be made for using taxes to “internalize” the costs of consumption that are not otherwise reflected in prices. But those costs are lower than you might expect—lower, perhaps, than the taxes currently charged at the pump. Moreover, while oil-security worries are now driving the calls for conservation, a careful look suggests that the neglected costs are actually related to traffic congestion and the threat of global warming. Taxing oil consumption (as opposed to taxing road use or carbon emissions) would hardly get to the roots of these problems.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Energy Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
China and Washington