Middle East & North Africa

David H. Petraeus, retired four star general and former CIA director, testified before the House Armed Services Committee on "The State of the World," Feb. 1, 2017 

The United States' extended system of security commitments creates a set of institutional relationships that foster political communication. Alliance institutions are first about security protection, but they also bind states together and create institutional channels of communication. For example, NATO has facilitated ties and associated institutions that increase the ability of the United States and Europe to talk to each other and to do business. Likewise, the bilateral alliances in East Asia also play a communication role beyond narrow security issues. Consultations and exchanges spill over into other policy areas. This gives the United States the capacity to work across issue areas, using assets and bargaining chips in one area to make progress in another.

"Husbanding resources is simply sensible. In the competitive game of power politics, states must unsentimentally realign means with ends or be punished for their profligacy. Attempts to maintain policies advanced when U.S. relative power was greater are outdated, unfounded, and imprudent. Retrenchment policies—greater burden sharing with allies, less military spending, and less involvement in militarized disputes—hold the most promise for arresting and reversing decline."

"...[F]oreign fighter mobilizations empower transnational terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, because war volunteering is the principal stepping-stone for individual involvement in more extreme forms of militancy. For example, when Muslims in the West radicalize, they usually do not plot attacks in their home countries right away, but travel to a war zone such as Iraq or Afghanistan first. A majority of al-Qaida operatives began their militant careers as war volunteers, and most transnational jihadi groups today are by-products of foreign fighter mobilizations."

Dr. William J. Perry's testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on the situation in Iraq and the administration's strategy.

The intended impact of e-government is simply better government. However, a majority of e-government initiatives around the world, including many in the Arab states, have been unsuccessful in securing positive outcomes.

During the recent oil boom the MENA region has seen job creation accelerate' given favorable economic prospects going forward, the region could see unemployment decline to nearly 7 percent by 2010

"...Israel must face up to reality, draw the appropriate conclusions, make the best of a bad situation, and now seek to turn adversity into long-term advantage. This analysis looks at how the current situation evolved, and possible future steps."

A policy brief by MEI Research Fellow Jamal Haidar and MEI Visiting Scholar Hedi Larbi on the reforms needed in the Arab world to contribute to improve the business environment and create productive jobs.