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1741. The Best Defense?

Author:
Abraham D. Sofaer
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
After 9/11, U.S. President George W. Bush announced his determination to do whatever was necessary to prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States. Following the lead of several countries that had recently come to similar conclusions after their own bitter experiences -- including India, Israel, Japan, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom -- the United States tightened its immigration laws; increased the protection of its borders, ports, and infrastructure; criminalized providing "material support" for terrorist groups; and tore down the wall between the intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies, which had crippled counterterrorist efforts for decades. Washington did not authorize preventive detention, as other countries had, but it used other measures to hold persons against whom criminal charges could not be brought -- thereby preventing terrorist attacks. The U.S. government also led or joined various international efforts aimed at warding off new dangers, such as the Proliferation Security Initiative, through which over 70 states cooperate to interdict the movement of nuclear materials across international borders. But the Bush administration's call for preventive action went further: it endorsed using force against states that supported terrorism or failed to prevent it. This was a particularly controversial position, since using (or threatening to use) preventive force across international borders is generally considered to be a violation of international law: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and most international legal authorities currently construe the United Nations Charter as prohibiting any use of force not sanctioned by the UN Security Council, with the exception of actions taken in self-defense against an actual or imminent state-sponsored "armed attack."
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Washington, Israel, and Spain

1742. India's Israel Policy

Author:
P. R. Kumaraswamy
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
India's foreign policy toward Israel is a subject of deep dispute. Throughout the twentieth century arguments have raged over the Palestinian problem and the future of bilateral relations. Yet no text comprehensively looks at the attitudes and policies of India toward Israel, especially their development in conjunction with history. P. R. Kumaraswamy is the first to account for India's Israel policy, revealing surprising inconsistencies in positions taken by the country's leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and tracing the crackling tensions between its professed values and realpolitik. Kumaraswamy's findings debunk the belief that India possesses a homogeneous policy toward the Middle East. In fact, since the early days of independence, many within India have supported and pursued relations with Israel. Using material derived from archives in both India and Israel, Kumaraswamy investigates the factors that have hindered relations between these two countries despite their numerous commonalities. He also considers how India destabilized relations, the actions that were necessary for normalization to occur, and the directions bilateral relations may take in the future. In his most provocative argument, Kumaraswamy underscores the disproportionate affect of anti-colonial sentiments and the Muslim minority on shaping Indian policy.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
India and Israel
Publication Identifier:
9780231525480
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

1743. A World Free of Nuclear Weapons: Towards a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the Middle East

Author:
Amir H. Zamaninia
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
Abstract:
The idea of establishing a Weapons of Mass Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the Middle East is not new; it dates back to 1970's. today has compelled most analysts to look at the idea and the concept anew. Most regard the potential arms race in the Middle East to seriously jeopardize the prospects for long term stability and balance of power in the region. Israel, Iran and Egypt seem to have the main regional role in making or breaking this idea for another forty years. The absence of real Israeli conflict and the hesitant international expectation to make some movements in that front, as well as Iran's nuclear program being considered at the UN Security Council, where Iran is being practically considered guilty until pr window of opportunity to creative thinking and planning for advancing the idea of Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East.
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Egypt

1744. Safety of Navigation in the Straits of Malacca

Author:
Mansoureh Arshad and Mohd Arshad
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Maritime Institute of Malaysia
Abstract:
Well-recognized as a critical waterway in the world, the Straits of Malacca has seen a tremendous increase in traffic movements as ship operators seek the shortest route to destinations between Europe and the Far East. In 2009 alone there were over 76,000 ship movements in the Straits not including the 30,000 crisscrossing between the littoral states. These huge numbers require constant monitoring and management as any incident would have tremendous impact not only on international traffic and its economic implications to shipper states, but also to the lifelines of the communities straddling this key waterway.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Europe and Israel

1745. A Path Forward with Iran: Pressure through Engagement

Author:
Andy Johnson and Kyle Spector
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
If the Afghanistan-Pakistan region is the most dangerous place in the world at the moment, Afghanistan's neighbor to the West, Iran, is making a strong play for number two. It is alarming the world community, rattling its saber loudly at Israel and the West, and brutally suppressing internal dissent. Iran's regime, yet again, is showing why it remains a major threat to America n national security interests.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, America, Iran, Middle East, and Israel

1746. NATO: peacekeeping in the Holy Land? A feasibility study

Author:
Florence Gaub
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
In 2000, President Clinton suggested the presence of an international force to oversee security following an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. This could be a NATO force, according to Thomas Friedman. His idea was revived in 2008 by President Obama's National Security Advisor James Jones. The suggestion of a NATO presence in the Middle East sparked a debate that up to now has revolved around a multitude of aspects: the pros and cons, the timing, the actors of such a NATO involvement, the possible preconditions and consequences, and has also triggered a debate in Germany on whether the conduct of patrols in the civility of Israel would be reconcilable with Germany's past.
Topic:
NATO, International Cooperation, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Germany

1747. Filistin 2010

Author:
Ali Balcı
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This study attempts to analyze political developments in the context of the Palestinian Question during the year 2010. It mainly focuses on two. The first one is the peace talks between Palestinian Authority and Israeli government under the auspices of the United States and the second is the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. While the Israeli and Palestinian sides came together in the context of the aproximity talks during the first part of the year, and the USA forced the sides to start direct talks.
Political Geography:
United States, Israel, and Palestine

1748. Katar 2010

Author:
Ensar Muslu
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Qatar, with its economic power to enhance its diplomatic activities in various ways, aided many countries and communities, predominantly those in Africa in 2010, initiated various mediation activities and hosted cultural organizations. Qatar, which has hosted various sport activities, became entitled to host a significant sport organization. Al Jazeera satellite channel is the most significant tool of the soft power of Qatar. In 2010, its relations with Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, and the United Kingdom were intense. Among them, the two powerful states of the region, Iran and Turkey, occupied the agenda. While the main agenda item of its relations with Iran was the possible American intervention, developments in economic relations principally constituted the relations with Turkey. Qatar has become one of the important economic actors thanks to its oil and natural gas revenues. Its economic activities cover investments in oil and natural gas drilling and plants; and also utilization of revenues received from these fields in other areas. Qatar founded some petrochemical plants and got into financial partnerships by buying shares of international banks in 2010. Many infrastructure and construction projects were prepared and some of them began to be carried out.
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Qatar

1749. From the Editor

Author:
Rashid I. Khalidi
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
IN THIS ISSUE, JPS addresses many elements of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestine question that appeared to be immutable certainties but have recently come into question. One such element is the feasibility, and indeed the desirability, of a two-state resolution to the conflict. Many of those who feel that such an outcome is desirable have come to the conclusion that it has been rendered moot by Israel's ceaseless creation of facts on the ground in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. This growth of new thinking about Palestine and Israel is reflected in this issue's Open Forum section, which contains two pieces, one by a Swedish diplomat and another by an Israeli academic, that offer new alternatives and modifications to the well-known one- and two-state models for a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Political Geography:
Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

1750. Reflections on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in U.S. Public Discourse: Legitimizing Dissent

Author:
Sara Roy
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This essay argues that the climate of intimidation and fear surrounding a more critical discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States has begun to change. Despite the obstacles that still remain, a counterdiscourse challenging dominant conceptualizations and understandings of the conflict, particularly Israel's role, has not only emerged but also gained growing legitimacy and weight. These changes can be found in academia (at all levels of the educational hierarchy), civil society, and policy circles. Some of the most dramatic changes have occurred within the U.S. Jewish community in which an oppositional movement-in part, generational-has grown increasingly strong and well organized, ending any notion of a Jewish consensus on Israel.
Topic:
Civil Society and Climate Change
Political Geography:
United States, Israel, and Palestine