Posted in Iran, Mark N. Katz, Nuclear, Russia, Sanctions on Dec 14th, 2009 Comments Off on ‘Obama’s Approach to Russia and Iran’
From MESH Admin A journalist has described President Obama’s approach to foreign policy as “applying the same tools to international diplomacy that he once used as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side.” In a new number of Middle East Papers, Mark N. Katz explains why these tools are likely to be ineffective in influencing […]
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Posted in Academe, Intelligence, Walter Laqueur on Dec 10th, 2009 Comments Off on From Sovietology to Jihadology?
From Walter Laqueur David Engerman is the author of a new study of American Sovietology during the Cold War and its impact on U.S. policy. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs he expresses his belief that the model of Sovietology should guide the study of today’s threats, specifically Jihadism. It is true that the […]
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Posted in Diplomacy, Martin Kramer on Dec 7th, 2009 Comments Off on ‘How Not to Fix the Middle East’
From MESH Admin The Middle East policies of the Obama administration in its first year are the subject of a new number of Middle East Papers by Martin Kramer. The paper (delivered last month as a public lecture at Columbia University) argues that President Obama’s ambitious agenda has been thwarted by an internal contradiction: The […]
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Posted in Books, Counterinsurgency, Iraq on Dec 1st, 2009 Comments Off on ‘A Question of Command’
MESH invites selected authors to offer original first-person statements on their new books—why and how they wrote them, and what impact they hope and expect to achieve. Mark Moyar is professor of national security affairs at the Marine Corps University, where he holds the Kim T. Adamson Chair of Insurgency and Terrorism. His new book […]
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Posted in Iran, Oil and Gas, Raymond Tanter, Sanctions on Nov 29th, 2009 Comments Off on Will more sanctions against Iran work?
From Raymond Tanter On November 27, 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted a strong resolution that expressed “serious concern that Iran has constructed an enrichment facility at Qom [Iran] in breach of its obligation to suspend all enrichment related activities.” This censure of Tehran was preceded by a November 16 report that the […]
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Posted in David Schenker, Lebanon, United Nations on Nov 23rd, 2009 Comments Off on Lebanon on UN Security Council
From David Schenker In October, Lebanon was elected to one of ten non-permanent member seats on the United Nations Security Council. Come January 2010, Lebanon will assume Asia’s “Arab League” seat, replacing Libya for a two-year term on the critical international body. The UNSC seat was the brainchild of Lebanon’s president Michel Suleiman, who used […]
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Posted in Gal Luft, Islam in West, Saudi Arabia on Nov 10th, 2009 Comments Off on How the Saudis radicalized U.S. troops
From Gal Luft The tragic killing of the 13 U.S. soldiers in Fort Hood by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is one is a string of events involving Muslim soldiers and veterans who have gone astray, raising delicate questions about the role and trustworthiness of the 3,000 Muslim soldiers in the U.S. military. The major […]
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