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62. Half Full or Half Empty: Assessing Prospects for Peace in Lebanon
- Author:
- Alistair Harris
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- On the surface, peace has broken out in Lebanon, bringing to an end the 18-month political impasse between the governing March 14th coalition and opposition March 8th parties. Following a week of sectarian violence in Beirut, Tripoli and the Chouf mountains—the worst since the end of Lebanon's 15-year civil war in 1990—the opposing sides agreed to undertake talks in Qatar to resolve their longstanding political stalemate. The Qatari-sponsored Doha Accord that broke the logjam paved the way for the May 25 election of former Army Commander Michel Suleiman as a consensus president, to be closely followed by the formation of a national unity government and the adoption of a revised election law. The re-invigoration of Lebanon's political institutions, the opening of parliament and ending of the presidential vacuum are welcome signs of a return to what passes for normalcy among Lebanon's confessional elites; they are not however a return to the status quo ante. For many months Arab League Chairman Amr Moussa, like French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, had tried to cajole the Lebanese belligerents into a compromise deal based on the much-vaunted concept of "no victor, no vanquished". These efforts failed. The fact that Doha succeeded where others did not is a clear indicator that there were indeed winners and losers. Therein lies the potential for future conflict.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria
63. Killing Friends, Making Enemies: The Impact and Avoidance of Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan
- Author:
- J Alexander Thier and Azita Ranjbar
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- This USIPeace Briefing discusses the enormous problem of civilian casualties in Afghanistan; the “troops-in-contact” dilemma regarding air power; challenges in intelligence gathering; losses in the information war with Taliban forces; and policy recommendations to mitigate this trend.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Asia
64. Iraq: Positive Change in the Detention System
- Author:
- Elizabeth Detwiler
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- This USIPeace Briefing, summarizing remarks from a former commander for detainee operations in Iraq, discusses recent successes in improving the conditions of insurgent detainees in the country.
- Topic:
- Government and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East
65. The Crisis in Interfaith Relations in the Middle East
- Author:
- Paul Wee
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- The interfaith peace movement in the Middle East has foundered recently, a casualty of major geo-political events, among them the war in Iraq, the increase in hostility between Iran and the West, the Israel-Hezbollah war, and the failure of efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In addition, fallout continues from the Danish cartoon controversy and the remarks of Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. These and related factors have contributed to undermine interfaith efforts and limit opportunities for meaningful dialogue and common action.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Islam, and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, and Israel
66. Kosovo: What Can Go Wrong?
- Author:
- Daniel Serwer and Yll Bajraktari
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- At the end of the NATO/Yugoslavia war almost eight years ago, the Albanian-majority Serbian province of Kosovo was removed from Serbia's governance and placed temporarily under a United Nations protectorate, administered by the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Last summer, UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari was tasked by the Security Council with resolving the question of Kosovo's future status, with support from U.S. and European Union envoys (Frank Wisner and Stefan Lehne respectively). Ahtisaari's effort is now drawing to a close. He has delivered to both Pristina and Belgrade a plan that explicitly allows a great deal of protection for Serbs and their religious monuments in Kosovo but implicitly ends Belgrade's sovereignty. His plan opens the prospect of a sovereign and independent Kosovo under continuing international supervision. It is anticipated that Ahtisaari will take his plan, with some revisions, to the UN Security Council this month. This USIPeace Briefing discusses potential drivers of conflict in Kosovo during the status decision and in the period thereafter. These drivers of conflict arise from the international community, the Kosovo Albanians, Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs. They have the potential not only to make Kosovo dysfunctional but also to destabilize the region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, NATO, Ethnic Conflict, United Nations, and War
- Political Geography:
- Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Balkans
67. Options for Police in a U.S. Civilian Reserve Corps
- Author:
- Robert Perito and Beth Cole
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- In the State of the Union address this year, President Bush joined calls for a U.S. civilian reserve corps that could rapidly deploy to restore public order and begin reconstituting the institutions of governance so desperately needed in states emerging from conflict. The Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) at the U.S. Department of State was created in part for this purpose, but it has never received adequate resources. The current challenge of locating qualified and willing civilians to join Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan has given renewed impetus to initiatives aimed at overcoming this chronic shortcoming.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Political Economy, War, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
68. Armed Conflict as a Public Health Problem: Current Realities and Future Directions
- Author:
- Sarah Dye and Linda Bishai
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- On April 20, 2007, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) Task Force on Public Health and Conflict wrapped up its 2006-2007 activities with a public event featuring Dr. Christopher Murray of Harvard University School of Public Health. This USIPeace Briefing summarizes Dr. Murray's presentation and the discussion that followed on armed conflict as a public health problem.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Health, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States
69. The Role of the Media in Conflict
- Author:
- Christina Parajon
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- While a considerable amount of analysis has focused on the media's potential to support democracy efforts and build sustainable peace, no similar effort has been given to analyze the role media can play in conflict prevention. Nor has the media's capacity to incite conflict been sufficiently analyzed and the lessons learned.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, International Relations, and War
70. No Silver Bullets for Afghanistan's Drug Crisis
- Author:
- Beth Cole and Catherine Morris
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan supplies more than 90 percent of the world's opium. Despite concerted efforts to tackle the drug problem in Afghanistan, the industry continues to grow at an alarming rate, particularly in the south, where reconstruction efforts lag amidst poor security. Afghanistan's opium crop grew 59 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to UN reports, and officials expect a crop equal to if not greater than the 2006 crop in 2007. Overall, the industry accounts for nearly one-third of the country's economy and remains one of the chief threats to Afghanistan's security and development, as it becomes increasingly linked to corrupt Afghan officials and the Taliban.
- Topic:
- International Relations and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Asia, and Taliban