President Obama today delivered a lengthy speech on U.S. policy in the Middle East that promised continued American support for democratic transitions in the countries influenced by the “Arab Spring.” He outlined an overly optimistic vision of what an Israeli–Palestinian peace settlement would look like. But he missed an opportunity to express strong U.S. support for democratic opposition movements brutally repressed by two dictatorships that stand as the chief barriers to realizing American goals in the Middle East: Iran and Syria. The President reviewed the “extraordinary change” that has recently …
The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). According the Congressional Research Service, “Since UNRWA’s inception in 1950, the United States has provided the agency with nearly $4 billion in contributions. U.S. contributions to UNRWA have steadily increased over the past decade, with nearly $228 million thus far for [fiscal year] 2010.” This support is intended to help provide food, shelter, medical care, and education for the Palestinian refugees (and their decedents) fleeing the 1948 …
The Middle East was meant to be the crowning achievement of the Obama Doctrine. Once in the White House, President Obama focused laser-like on a “charm offensive” with Iran. When voices rose against the regime in Tehran in the wake of a disputed national election, Obama offered virtually no support for the cries for freedom. Nevertheless, the “playing nice initiative” with Tehran fell flat. Today, the regime is more aggressive than ever—backing a terrorist take-over of the government in Lebanon, snubbing Western nuclear negotiators, and promoting an Islamist agenda across …
The Obama administration has stumbled into a nasty spat with Israel that is based on incompatible views of how best to advance prospects for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. For President Barack Obama, peace is best achieved through patiently engaging adversaries, assuring them that their dignity will be respected, educating them on how best to recognize and advance mutual interests, and promoting negotiations to encourage compromise on every issue. For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has seen several peace negotiations collapse with disastrous consequences, peace must be …
Earlier today, President Barack Obama addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. You can read the full transcript here. Experts in foreign policy and international affairs at The Heritage Foundation watched the speech and had plenty of reaction. Here are some highlights: On Reaction at U.N.: “The other U.N. member states have to be beside themselves with glee. President Obama gave them virtually everything they could ask for without demanding anything in return that was not already on the agenda – and which they are prepared to twist to their …
President Barack Obama’s speech in Egypt on Thursday received mixed reviews both among the crowd at Cairo University and across the Middle East. Indeed, there were some praiseworthy passages in the address including his call for greater religious tolerance, his emphasis on women’s rights, and his recitation of America’s founding principles. But the speech was also highly problematic in many ways that will end up backfiring on the President and the United States: Iraq – Obama attacked the decision to go to war in Iraq as “a war of choice” without …
President Obama’s speech was an attempt to create deeper understanding between America and Muslims throughout the world, but the feel-good impact of the speech is unlikely to last long or change opinions about America among those who object to U.S. policies in the Middle East and South Asia. His pledge to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam was welcomed by Muslim observers. He also emphasized the need for more tolerance and the safeguarding of diversity in Muslim-majority countries, a point that needs to be made more often and more loudly. …
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has called for meetings between the Israeli leaders and “Palestinian factions” as well as a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. According to the CNN article, the Egyptian President “said the discussions would focus on avoiding an escalation of the violence, securing borders between Israel and Gaza”. The U.S. has supported Israel’s right to defend itself and respond to the terrorist threat of Hamas. It is important to remember that a cease-fire without being lasting and stable is catering to Hamas’ pledge to destroy Israel. Heritage Foundation’s …
Heritage Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs James Phillips on what principles should guide U.S. policy regarding the Gaza crisis: A cease-fire agreement must include and immediate and permanent end of rocket attacks by Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups. A return to the status quo ante, in which Hamas felt free to launch rockets at Israeli civilians while hiding among Palestinian civilians, is unacceptable. Legitimizing the false moral equivalence between terrorist attacks aimed at murdering civilians and counter-terrorist actions taken by a democratic government to protect its citizens …
Hamas once again has provoked a crisis with Israel to advance its revolutionary agenda by exploiting the misery that its own policies have forced upon the Palestinian people and blaming Israel for everything that has happened. Hamas ended the six-month ceasefire (that it never fully enforced anyway) and resumed its indiscriminate bombardment of Israeli civilians, while its terrorists hid among Palestinian civilians. The sad truth is that Hamas and other Palestinian extremist organizations are more interested in killing Israelis than in protecting the interests of their own people. As long …
