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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

11/20/08
Pakistan: Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq  —Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
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.

Setting the Record Straight

Keeping Focus on Long-Term Objectives

“[W]hile we do need to have a cooperative approach that involves many of our friends and allies in meeting with the Pakistanis, … as we work out with them a rough division of labor, the U.S., I believe, ought to be taking the lead in addressing the issues in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And given the difficulty of doing so, I suspect that we will not have a great deal of difficulty in convincing them to allow us to take the lead there. But as we all know, there is a real tension between our short-term tactical aims in trying to capture or kill terrorists across the border and militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and our longer- term counterinsurgency pacification goals. We very much need to be focusing on the end state. What is it that we want this area to look like? ... In that context we need to have a common agenda with the Pakistani government and very much to include the military on counterinsurgency in that area. There needs to be, therefore, a focus on combining military efforts with economic, development and political development in those areas.”
—Robert L. Grenier, managing director and chairman for Global Security Consulting, Kroll, event, “Partnership for Progress: Advancing a New Strategy for Prosperity and Stability in Pakistan and the Region,” Center for American Progress, November 17, 2008

Middle East Analysis

Arab World Rich in Opportunities

November 9, 2007

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

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, & ruler of Dubai, World Economic Forum, May 19, 2007:

“There is a wide knowledge gap between us and the developed world the west, our only option is to bridge this gap as quickly as possible because our age is defined by knowledge and it determines our country’s position in terms of weakness and strength, progress and backwardness, effectiveness and stagnation, wealth and poverty and the ability to seize opportunities or waste such opportunities. We have to prove that the misconception that the Arabs always waste opportunities, we have to seize opportunities, we must turn this into mammoth achievements.

"As for knowledge, the challenge that the region faces is not just confined to lack of knowledge but exceeds this to shortage or deficiency in the provision of an environment conducive to knowledge or preparing human capital in this respect.

"…nations always stand up to their challenges… we have never given in to despair. There is always a way out with hope…

"Our world, our Arab world, is rich in opportunities and potentialities… our heritage promotes creativity and innovation. And we have adequate vision, management and achievements that helps us move ahead. And we have the young Arab world, most of which is under 20 years old. It is up to us to motivate them to explore the unknown. They could turn into an asset, or they could turn into a burden, but our duty is to make them an asset to themselves, their nation and the region. This is the duty of our governments, we have to empower the individual to help themselves and we have to encourage people to be productive and innovative."