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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

    Understanding the Quartet

    October 3, 2007

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

    The Quartet developed in April, 2002, at a meeting in Madrid between diplomatic representatives of the United States, Russia, Spain, the United Nations, and the European Union. It promotes a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieved through bilateral discussions between the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel, a rejection of violence, and the building of Palestinian economic and political institutions. The Quartet is responsible for supporting and implementing President Bush’s 2003 “Performance Based Roadmap."

    Principals
    The European Union represented by:
    The High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy: Javier Solana
    European Commissioner for External Relations: Benita Ferrero-Waldner
    Foreign Minister of the country holding the presidency of the EU: Luis Amado of Portugal

    The Russian Federation represented by:
    Foreign Minister: Sergei Lavrov

    The United Nations represented by:
    Secretary General: Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea

    The United States
    represented by:
    Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice

    Special Envoy Tony Blair (June 2006- Present): Appointed in June, 2007, following the end of his British premiership. Special Envoy Blair is charged with securing international support for political institution building and promoting economic development in the Palestinian territories.
    Special Envoy James Wolfensohn (April 2005- May 2006):     Former president of the World Bank, appointed Quartet special envoy in 2005 by Secretary Rice. His mandate was to coordinate non-military aspects of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, and to promote Palestinian development. Special Envoy Wolfensohn resigned his post 11 months later, citing the rhetoric of the new Hamas government as making diplomatic situation too difficult for further negotiations. In 2007 however, he told Haaretz his mission failed because his mandate did not include the authority to negotiate a peace settlement.

    Other Envoys of Quartet Members
    Russian Federation: Alexander Saltanov, appointed in December 2006, formerly Deputy Prime Minister. Served as the Russian president’s envoy to Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
    European Union: Marc Otte, whose mission statement sets the EU’s objectives in the Middle East as seeking solutions to the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli- Lebanese conflicts, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
    United Nations: Since May, 2007, the UN Special Envoy to the Middle East has been Michael C. Williams, a senior UN diplomat and former adviser to two UK foreign secretaries. In September, 2007, Williams left his post at the UN to become Britain’s special envoy to the Middle East.