Rethinking a Middle East in Transition
Edited by Kenneth H. Williams
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rethinking a Middle East in Transition presents the opinions of an array of experts on the region, drawn from their presentations at the Middle East Institute’s 64th Annual Conference in November 2010, on the eve of the Jasmine Revolution. Participants came from across the spectrum—diplomats, policy specialists, academic scholars, military planners, and journalists.
Topics addressed include the Arab–Israeli peace process; Iran and its role in the region; the challenges of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the difficulties of confronting and negotiating with nonstate actors such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban; public opinion in the Arab world; Turkey’s growing influence; Israel’s perspectives on recent developments; conditions in Iraq as the United States withdraws its forces; and the Obama ad- ministration’s policies in response to all of these issues.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Kenneth H. Williams, Marine Corps University Press
Part I: America’s Middle East Policy in the Second Half of the Obama Term
1. Efforts in Israeli–Palestinian Mediation
David Makovsky, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
2. Iraq: The Jury is Still Out
Joost R. Hiltermann, International Crisis Group
3. Taking Stock of U.S. Policy Toward Iran
Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution
4. Connecting the Dots: A Comprehensive Strategy for a Broader Middle East
Edward P. Djerejian, Baker Institute, Rice University
5. Discussion of America’s Middle East Policy
Moderated by Barbara K. Bodine, Princeton University
Part II: New Approaches to Nonstate Armed Actors
6. Negotiating with Terrorists
Mitchell B. Reiss, Washington College
7. State versus Nonstate Interventions in Fragile States
David Kilcullen, Center for a New American Security
8. What Are Our Objectives with Nonstate Actors?
Robert Malley, International Crisis Group
9. De-radicalization and Disengagement Programs
Peter R. Neumann, King’s College London
10. Discussion of New Approaches to Nonstate Armed Actors
Moderated by Roger Hardy, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Part III: Shifting Regional Dynamics: Turkey, Israel, Iran, and the Arab States
11. Turkey’s Middle East Policy
Ömer Taşpınar, Brookings Institution
12. The Rising Iran?
Alex Vatanka, Middle East Institute
13. Israel’s Perspective on the Broader Middle East
Itamar Rabinovich, Tel Aviv University
14. The Arab Dimension of the Regional System
Shibley Telhami, University of Maryland/Brookings Institution
15. Discussion of Shifting Regional Dynamics
Moderated by Geneive Abdo, The Century Foundation
Part IV: Reevaluating U.S. Policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan
16. Afghanistan and Pakistan—Where are We?
Brian Katulis, Center for American Progress
17. Military Strategy in the South Asian Theater
Stephen D. Biddle, Council on Foreign Relations
18. Reevaluating U.S. Policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Paul R. Pillar, Georgetown University
19. Pakistan-U.S. Relations
Hassan Abbas, Columbia University
20. Discussion of U.S. Policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Moderated by Caroline Wadhams, Center for American Progress