Here's one last resource related to President Bush's recent trip to the Middle East. Brookings Institution scholar Martin Indyk, a former Ambassador to Israel, speaks with ABC's Martha Raddatz about Bush's attempts at achieving peace in the Middle East. He also addresses, more broadly, the policy options at the next US President's disposal for dealing with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Here is a policy paper he co-authored with fellow Brookings scholar Tamara Cofman-Wittes. It offers “A New Strategy” for the next US President to engage with the Middle East. They reccomend that the next President support policies that include these specific elements:
- “a renewed effort at Arab-Israeli reconciliation that might also split the Syrian regime from Iran containment of the spillover effects of civil war in Iraq
- negotiations with Iran to attempt to head off its nuclear ambitions, including bilateral engagement to address broader concerns
- regional security arrangements to contain the Iranian threat and prevent a Middle East nuclear arms race, if necessary, sheltering our allies under a nuclear umbrella
- a political and economic reform agenda that helps create a new social contract between Arab governments and their citizens
- in less secure countries, an emphasis on building democratic institutions more than holding democratic elections”