The Foreign Service Journal, February 2005

10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5 New Studies Focus on Middle East In the waning months of 2004, leading U.S. think-tanks put the fin- ishing touches on a variety of new for- eign policy studies and reports aimed at influencing the second Bush administration’s agenda. Not surpris- ingly, the majority of them focus on Iraq and the Middle East. Happily, they are all available on the Web. From the International Crisis Group ( www.icg.org ) c ome two reports that have the advantage of being based on field analysis by the organization’s staff members. “What Can the U.S. Do in Iraq?” presents the ICG’s conclusion that “despite valiant and ongoing corrective efforts, the transition process no longer can succeed as currently fashioned — that is, as the linear culmination of the process underway since the fall of the Ba’thist regime.” The U.S. and Iraq must together make a fundamental break from this discredited process along lines spelled out in a series of concrete recommendations. In “After Arafat? Challenges and Prospects,” the ICG warns that the onus is on all parties, especially those who have proclaimed the new reality in the Middle East a fresh opportunity, to make sure the Palestinian transition is part of “a clear and defined political horizon” characterized by active pur- suit of concrete changes on the ground. At the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( www.csis.org/ features/iraq.cfm ), An thony Cordes- man’s “Playing the Course: A Strategy for Reshaping U.S. Policy in Iraq and the Middle East” makes a detailed case for the U.S. to announce a firm statement of intentions in Iraq and focuses in on steps to improve the odds of success. Cordesman argues that the U.S. strategy for Iraq must be part of a broader, pragmatic strategy for the Middle East, and discusses specific steps to be taken in this regard — starting with elevating a set- tlement of the Arab-Israel conflict “to the highest priority in the most visible form.” The CSIS policy proposal is com- plemented by numerous status reports, research reports and news analysis pieces in the “Iraq Briefing Book” section of the site. A December report from the Carnegie Endowment for Inter- national Peace titled “Political Reform in the Middle East: Can the United States and Europe Work Together?” calls for a re-thinking of transatlantic cooperation ( www.carnegieendow ment.org/files/MarinaOutlookFina lDeco4.pdf ) T he Brookings Institu- tion discusses the same issue in “Promoting Democracy in the Arab World: The Challenge of Joint Action” ( www.brookings.edu/views/articles/ fellow/wittes20041231.htm ). American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research expert Reuel Marc Gerecht argues that it is essen- tial that the U.S. “get it right” in Iraq C YBERNOTES The Council on Foreign Relations’ special “Transition 2005: Foreign Policy in the Second Bush Administration” Web site ( www.cfr.org/transition2005 /) is a boon to foreign policy watchers and practitioners as the second Bush administration begins and the State Department transitions from Colin Powell to Condoleezza Rice. Simple and very user-friendly, the site features thoughtful briefs on 19 central issues of policy, from Darfur to North Korea, Arab reform to global health and terrorism, and from Russia to China. Council President Richard Haas leads with a brief on “America’s Role in the World.” Each brief is a status report on the topic, with a year-end summary of develop- ments and a highlighting of extant challenges. There are profiles of all members of the Bush II foreign policy team, and links to such documents as the thank-you mes- sage to Colin Powell and the nomination of Condoleezza Rice, as well as links to the Bush-Cheney campaigns’ foreign pol- icy statements. One section, “T2005 at the Council,” features interviews, op-eds, etc. by CFR experts on relevant foreign policy issues. Finally, the site provides links to the Department of State transition pages, and to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the White House Nominations List to monitor nominations and confirmations. Site of the Month: Transition 2005