In The News

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Dialogue with Syria Could Serve Bigger Purpose

Matthew Lee December 14, 2006
The Iraq Study Group report recommends diplomatic initiative to resolve the war in Iraq. If the US administration heeds the advice of the Iraq Study Group, by seeking containment of the Iraqi conflict through dialogue with regional powers, one promising candidate would be Damascus. In the second of this two-part series, Matthew Lee explores how, for a brief moment, the interests of the US and the...

What I've Learned

Kofi A. Annan December 13, 2006
Global security does not rest in one nation seeking supremacy over all others, notes Kofi A. Annan, who ends his term as UN secretary general. Rhetoric alone cannot resolve global problems as immense and far-reaching as nuclear proliferation to global warming, and cohesive action from multiple nations is necessary. Likewise, poverty anywhere threatens the stability of nations around the globe. “...

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Why Engaging Iran Is a Good Idea

George Perkovich December 12, 2006
Many states throughout the Middle East have authoritarian leaders, disgruntled citizens, troubled economies – and governments as tenuous as houses made of cards. The report from the Iraq Study Group warns that the war in Iraq could widen into a regional conflict and encourages US policymakers to change tactics by initiating direct engagement with Iran and Syria to gain their cooperation in...

US Rout Is Iran's Condition to Talk to Washington

David Ignatius December 7, 2006

US Rout Is Iran's Condition to Talk to Washington

David Ignatius December 7, 2006
The Iraq Study Group Report, a unanimous and unflinching assessment of the war, offers 79 recommendations to the Bush administration for bringing the war to an end. Nations as diverse as Iran, Israel and the UK, which all have an interest in the conflict, do agree on one point: Few options exist for delivering stability to Iraq. So far, the US has refused to talk to Iraqi neighbors Syria or...

The Fears of a Regional War

Yakov Katz December 7, 2006
The Iraq Study Group Report, a unanimous and unflinching assessment of the war, offers 79 recommendations to the Bush administration for bringing the war to an end. Nations as diverse as Iran, Israel and the UK, which all have an interest in the conflict, do agree on one point: Few options exist for delivering stability to Iraq. So far, the US has refused to talk to Iraqi neighbors Syria or...

Iraq Panel Calls Conditions “Grave and Deteriorating”

William Branigin December 6, 2006
Iraq is in a “dire” state, and immediate diplomacy is essential for preventing the national conflict from expanding into a regional one, spreading chaos throughout the Middle East. The Iraq Study Group released a long-awaited report today with 79 recommendations and few surprises. The report, approved unanimously by the bipartisan committee, recommends a “diplomatic offensive” involving every...