THOUGHT LEADERS
War and Peace
Shlomo Ben-Ami
Is an Islamic civil war underway? Can democracy take root in the Middle East? Is the “war on terror” winnable? Can the UN’s ability to resolve conflicts and keep the peace be strengthened? What, if anything, will deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions?
When communism collapsed, some saw the “end of History” at hand. No longer. The quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan now jeopardizes America’s influence, as Russia returns to oil-funded global prominence and new superpowers rise in Asia. Peace in the Middle East appears more distant than ever. Failed states proliferate, as do nuclear weapons. History, it seems, has returned with a vengeance.
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The Unbearable Lightness of Change
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2010-01-27Barack Obama’s first year in office has been a sobering exercise in the limits of presidential power. It also carries lessons about how the resilient and impersonal forces of history can constrain any leader’s drive for change. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 2144
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Israel and NATO – Between Membership and Partnership
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2010-01-05
Israel's accession to NATO has frequently been proposed as a way to encourage it to make the necessary concessions for an Arab-Israeli peace settlement, and some Israeli leaders, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, believe that NATO accession would deter Iran. But, despite important steps toward closer cooperation, full Israeli membership can be ruled out for the foreseeable future.... read Comments: 3 Recommended: 0 Read: 3112
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Shifting the Afghan “Great Game”
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-12-01The obstinate battle cry of the Bush administration in Iraq has now won out in Barack Obama’s plan to "stay the course" in Afghanistan. But none of Afghanistan's regional neighbors, whose vital strategic interests are no less affected than the US by what happens there, is considering a military solution, opting instead for economic engagement and diplomatic alternatives.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 3297
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Israel after Goldstone
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-11-03
The Goldstone Report, accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, and the report’s subsequent endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council, exposes serious flaws in the system of international law. Even so, Israel's leaders must now take more resolute steps toward peace if their argument aimed at derailing the report – that it “hinders the peace process” – is to have any credibility.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 5835
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The Return of 1948
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-10-05The restitution of lands occupied in 1967 will obviously continue to be indispensable to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it is the legacy of the 1948 war that both parties to the conflict have now put at the center of the debate. Only an acceptable deal on the Palestinian refugees can definitely close the 1948 file – and only then can the conflict in Palestine end.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 1 Read: 4134
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Middle East Oil Realism
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-09-03No matter how important rising oil powers outside the Middle East are becoming, and regardless of Western efforts to reduce consumption, the region will continue to be the main global source of energy for years to come. As a result, energy security will remain highly dependent on Middle Eastern politics, and on the market control exercised by the region’s oil producers.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 5395
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Owning Up to Israel’s Bomb
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-08-03
Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity has remained practically unchallenged for almost 50 years, not least within Israel itself. But, by reversing that policy, Israel might be able to affirm its capacity for nuclear deterrence more convincingly, and, more importantly, underscore the urgency of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 6672
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The Obama Doctrine and Africa
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-07-03In contrast to George W. Bush's democratic boosterism, Barack Obama’s is guided by a relativist political realism that emphasizes order and stability over liberty and human rights. Paradoxically, Obama's stance, when applied to Africa, may offer a far better chance of laying the basis for democratic reforms.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 6347
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The End of the Special Relationship?
Shlomo Ben-Ami Series: War and Peace 2009-06-03
Every American president since Harry Truman, the first world leader to recognize Israel in 1948, has embodied in varying degrees either an emotional or a coldly realist commitment to the US-Israeli relationship. The suspicion among many Israelis today is that Barack Obama embodies neither. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 7447
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