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

“[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

Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and ‘Other Means’ —Joseph Felter, national security affairs fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former director, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC) & Brian Fishman, director of research, CTC
In Iraq’s Diyala Province, U.S. Forces Anticipate Exit —Scott Peterson (The Christian Science Monitor)
Oil for Soil: Toward a Grand Bargain on Iraq and the Kurds —International Crisis Group, Middle East Report N°80

West Bank Checkpoints and Roadblocks

July 9, 2007

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

Total Number of Roadblocks and Checkpoints - 560
Manned Checkpoints - 93
Permanent Roadblocks (Gates, cement blocks, earth mount) - 467

Total Number of Manned Checkpoints - 93
Checkpoints into Israel - 35
Internal Checkpoints - 43

Internal Checkpoints
More than half of manned checkpoints (and almost all roadblocks) in the West Bank are internal. No Palestinian can pass through these blockades without passing another checkpoint before entering into Israeli territory.

These checkpoints increase significantly travel time within the West Bank. Each checkpoint adds, on average, an additional 30 to 60 minutes in travel time. Thus traveling from Nablus to Ramallah, normally a one hour trip, can take up to three hours after passing through three checkpoints. The 25 minute trip from Nablus to Tulkarem may last up to two and a half hours due to two checkpoints.

Peace Now Report on Removal of Roadblocks and Checkpoints in the West Bank (June 2007)