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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

11/13/08
The View from Gaza  —Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times journalist in Gaza and Harvard University Nieman Fellow (2005-2006). Interviewed by Middle East Bulletin.
11/04/08
Getting on the Right Track  —Dalia Rabin, chairperson, Rabin Center, and daughter of the late Yitzhak Rabin. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
10/23/08
Bottom-Up Meets Top-Down for Progress  —Robert Danin, Head of Mission, Office of Quartet Representative Tony Blair and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

U.S. Policy Strengthens Iran

"Simply put, without permanent bases in Iraq, a nuclear capable Islamic Republic cannot be contained."
—Michael Rubin, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute, "Can a Nuclear Iran Be Contained or Deterred?" Middle Eastern Outlook, November 5, 2008 versus
  • “[B]y attacking Iraq, we automatically made Iran a regional power. We took out their major adversary in Iraq, and we neutralized, if only temporarily, the Taliban, on the other side. And so now we see not only that they are regional powers, but clearly indications of aspirations to be perhaps a hegemon in the area, their role in Iraq, their role in Syria, in Lebanon as well. And I can tell you, and I think you’ve heard it already, that there is real fear among the GCC countries about where all of this is going. All of them have minorities, in one case it’s not a minority, it’s a majority of Shias, and as the Sheika correctly pointed out, they can’t exchange Iran for some place else.”
    —General Joseph P. Hoar (USMC, Ret.), former commander of U.S. Central Command (1991-94), National Council On U.S.-Arab Relations, 17th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference, October 30, 2008

    • Middle East Analysis

    Facts on the Ground

    July 23, 2007

    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

    92 settlements, 78 percent of the total, have been built since Israel declared the end of settlement expansion in 1993.

    Available land vs. Built upon land

    91 percent of all land within settlement boundaries has not been built up, yet 11.3 percent of total built up areas lie outside the settlement boundaries

    Percentage of settlement land within boundaries

    Only 69.6 percent of the land controlled by settlements lies within their official boundaries, while 30.4 percent of the land controlled by settlements lies outside their official boundaries

    Population size : Designated land

    Tel Aviv = 51,449 square kilometers of land : 385,000 residents
    Ma’ale Adumim = 48,000 square kilometers of land : 32,000 residents

    According to Peace Now report, July 2007