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1912. Dangerous Ambitions: The Challenges of Iran and Hamas
- Author:
- Amjad Atallah, David Makovsky, Graham T. Allison, Richard Haass, R. Nicholas Burns, Moshe Yaalon, and Dan Meridor
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- I want to present some thoughts about the way we should look at modern Iran, the threat it poses to the United States, what we can do as Americans to confront that threat, and what your government is doing and should be doing along those lines.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Government, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Middle East
1913. A Constitutional Basis for Effective External Action?
- Author:
- Marise Cremona
- Publication Date:
- 01-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Research Papers Archive
- Abstract:
- This paper will appear in Genèse et Destinée de la Constitution Européenne Commentaire du traité établissant une Constitution pour l'Europe à la lumière des travaux préparatoires et perspectives d' avenir edited by Giuliano Amato, Hervé Bribosia and Bruno De Witte. It seeks to assess, on a selective basis, the provisions in the Constitutional Treaty which relate to the Union's external action. In doing so it considers issues of consistency, competence, the partial integration of the pillars and remaining questions concerning the legal nature of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Common Security and Defence Policy, the procedures for concluding international agreements and the common commercial policy. Institutional aspects of external action, and in particular the creation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, are considered elsewhere in the volume and are therefore not covered here. Consideration is also given to the extent to which it would be possible, and/or desirable, to incorporate the changes made by the Constitutional Treaty into a revised text or an alternative Treaty.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1914. China: What's the Big Mystery?
- Author:
- John Feffer
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The latest recruitment brochure from the Central Intelligence Agency, which beckons the uninitiated to be a part of a mission that's larger than all of us, opens to reveal an image of the red-roofed entrance to Beijing's Forbidden City. From an oversized portrait on the ancient wall, Chairman Mao and his Mona Lisa smile behold the vast granite expanse of Tiananmen Square. The Cold War is over, and the Soviet Union is gone. The cloak-and-dagger games of Berlin and Prague have been replaced by business and tourism. But Chinaland of ancient secrets, autocratic leaders, and memories of suppressed uprisingsstill holds out the promise of world-historical struggle that can help the CIA meet its recruitment goals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Asia, and Soviet Union
1915. Wrangling Over Arms Sales to China
- Author:
- Rachel Stohl
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- On June 4, 1989, the world watched in horror as the Chinese government's crackdown on student protestors took a deadly turn. As Chinese soldiers fired their weapons indiscriminately and Chinese tanks rolled through Tiananmen Square, an unknown number of students and soldiers were killed. The Chinese military continued its campaign of terror throughout the summer of 1989, drawing strong international condemnation.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Foreign Exchange
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Asia
1916. North Korea Returns to the Negotiating Table
- Author:
- John Feffer
- Publication Date:
- 10-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- North Korea's decision to return to the negotiating table is a win-win-win situation, at least temporarily. The United States, China, and even North Korea gain from the announcement. However, the boost given to each country—a modest “October surprise” for the Bush administration, a diplomatic achievement for China, and a stronger negotiating position for North Korea—will not carry over into the negotiations themselves. A decision to talk, after all, does not translate automatically into a decision to compromise.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Asia
1917. Beware Empires in Decline
- Author:
- Michael T. Klare
- Publication Date:
- 10-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The common wisdom circulating in Washington these days is that the United States is too bogged down in Iraq to consider risky military action against Iran or—God forbid—North Korea. Policy analysts describe the U.S. military as “over-burdened” or “stretched to the limit.” The presumption is that the Pentagon is telling President Bush that it can't really undertake another major military contingency.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Asia
1918. Bush at the UN: Annotated
- Author:
- Stephen Zunes
- Publication Date:
- 09-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- President George W. Bush's address before the United Nations General Assembly on September 19 appeared to be designed for the domestic U.S. audience. Indeed, few of the foreign delegations or international journalists present could take seriously his rhetoric regarding the promotion of democracy in the Middle East, given the reality of U.S. policy in the region.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Democratization, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States
1919. We Can See Clearly Now: The limits of foresight in the pre-World War II Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)
- Author:
- Carl Conetta
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- RMA narratives tend to depict today's policy struggle as pitting clear vision and foresight on one side against parochial interests and bureaucratic inertia on the other. For each of today's RMA schools the general contours of a prospective revolution seem clear. From within these perspectives, risk seems mostly associated with the prospect of failing to enact change in a timely fashion. But this view depreciates the very substantial uncertainty surrounding RMA prescriptions – not to mention the significant disagreements and discontinuities among the different transformation schools and service visions.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Education, and Government
1920. A View from the Inside: Congressional Decisionmaking and Arab-Israeli Policy
- Author:
- David Dumke
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- In the post-Vietnam era, the nature of American politics and the congressional role in foreign policy have been greatly altered. The role of media, money, lobbyists, political parties, the White House, and Congress—as an institution and as individual members—have collectively established a system that allows special interests to shape the narratives of key foreign policy issues and, in turn, manipulate the manner in which Congress asserts itself. The reaction of the 107th Congress to the second Palestinian intifada, which began in September 2000, is a case in point: Congress selectively viewed the conflict through the lens offered by others. The reaction of Congress has little to do with deep-seated bias toward Israel or instinctive hostility toward Palestinians. Rather, for its own reasons—including self-serving political calculations—Congress sided with Israel. As a congressional staff member during this period, I was privy to inside information—letters to and from members of Congress, “Dear Colleague” internal memos, letters from the administration and foreign governments, letters from interest groups pertaining to Middle East policy—and witnessed or participated in numerous conversations and debates about the Middle East. My first-hand source material and experience gave me a unique perspective on the often misunderstood process of congressional decisionmaking.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Middle East, Israel, Vietnam, Palestine, and Arabia