Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) is a community of scholars and practitioners who are interested in the formulation of U.S. strategic options for the Middle East.

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December 2007 :: On Facebook, August 2008

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The MESH blog brings together some of the most original strategic thinkers in academe, research centers, and government, in a web-based forum for exchanging and disseminating ideas.

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October 31, 1956.

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Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

 
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Has force worked for Israel?
Israel America Academic Exchange (IAAE) is a new organization that sponsors educational missions to Israel for American scholars in the fields of political science, international relations, international law, international economic development, modern history, and Middle East studies...
Yesterday at 10:31am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Israel should hand off Palestinians by Efraim Inbar
Michael Barnett is right in pointing out that the two-state paradigm cannot solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because the two sides cannot reach an acceptable compromise...
Yesterday at 10:31am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Israel should hand off Palestinians by Michael Barnett
Efraim Inbar’s comment nicely identifies the current dilemmas that Israel faces. It wants out but cannot get a deal to its liking from the Palestinians. It recognizes that the longer it stays, the more complex and volatile the situation becomes...
Yesterday at 10:31am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Israel should hand off Palestinians
Israel America Academic Exchange (IAAE) is a new organization that sponsors educational missions to Israel for American scholars in the fields of political science, international relations, international law, international economic development, modern history, and Middle East studies...
Wed at 3:52pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Obama and Netanyahu: speeches, constituencies, peace
From Robert O...
June 29 at 12:03am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Iran, technology, and revolution by Philip Carl Salzman
Michael Rubin is certainly right that technology can give an edge, either to the defenders of the status quo, or to the challengers. In some cases, it can be decisive. But, as I am sure Rubin understands, it is one factor of several major ones...
June 25 at 10:43pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Iran, technology, and revolution
From Michael Rubin The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and Washington Post have dubbed it a “Twitter Revolution,” speculating about whether new technology will enable Iranian protesters to overcome government forces...
June 24 at 9:41pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Netanyahu: shadow and substance by Efraim Inbar
After President Obama’s Cairo speech on June 4, Prime Minister Netanyahu not only felt the need to respond to the American leader, but also to address the Israeli people...
June 23 at 4:56pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Netanyahu: shadow and substance
From Alan Dowty Some sixty years ago my mentor Hans J...
June 22 at 1:26pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

The Arabic blogosphere
From MESH Admin The Internet and Democracy project at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society (which graciously provides hosting services for MESH) has produced a map of the Arabic blogosphere. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, and download the full report here...
June 20 at 10:22pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Warlike Americans by Mark T. Kimmitt
Having thoroughly enjoyed Stephen Rosen’s piece in this month’s American Interest (”Blood Brothers“), I was duly impressed with his ability to combine history, political philosophy and military culture into one compact article. As a 30-plus-year veteran of the U.S...
June 18 at 2:32pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Iran’s elections mapped
From MESH Admin These two maps depict official Iranian presidential election results by province with varying degrees of detail. The map on the left has been produced by Critical Threats, a project of the American Enterprise Institute.The map on the right has been prepared by the Guardian Datablog...
June 18 at 5:32am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Iranian turmoil, U.S. options
Iran’s June 12 presidential elections have precipitated Iran’s greatest domestic political crisis since the 1979 revolution. The following MESH members responded to an invitation to comment on ramifications of the turmoil, with special reference to U.S. policy options: Daniel Byman, J...
June 17 at 5:49am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

‘The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East’
MESH invites selected authors to offer original first-person statements on their new books—why and how they wrote them, and what impact they hope and expect to achieve...
June 15 at 2:45am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

A sense of proportion
June 14 at 10:47am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Warlike Americans
From Stephen Peter Rosen Understanding the reasons why Americans are more willing to wage wars than Europeans is of historical interest, but not only...
June 12 at 5:05pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Obama and the Muslims by Chuck Freilich
President Obama’s speech to the Moslem world was well-thought out and eloquent. Gratuitous tensions are to no one’s benefit. To the extent that atmospherics matter, it was an important starting point...
June 10 at 2:14pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Biden’s hardball pays off in Lebanon by J. Scott Carpenter
I just returned last night from observing Sunday’s elections in Lebanon and have to say that from what I heard and experienced, Andrew Exum and Rob Satloff are both right. But Rob is more so—and not just because he’s my boss...
June 10 at 2:14pm
Louis
Louis at 2:35pm June 12
America lost a period of power and efficency in home and foreign matters under G. W. Bush. Do hope B. Obama will rally the Amercian spirit again.
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Biden’s hardball pays off in Lebanon by Lee Smith
Andrew Exum and Rex Bynen are right to emphasize the various internal mechanisms that compelled the Lebanese majority to vote for March 14. However, as Rob Satloff argues, the Biden visit did play a significant role...
June 8 at 2:56pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Biden’s hardball pays off in Lebanon by Rex Brynen
I also have to disagree with Rob Satloff here—I don’t think the Biden visit had any significant impact at all...
June 8 at 2:56pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Biden’s hardball pays off in Lebanon by Andrew Exum
I have nothing but respect for my old boss Rob Satloff (who has forgotten more about the politics of the Middle East than I will ever learn), but there is simply no evidence to suggest the visit of Vice President Biden had a significant effect on the Lebanese elections...
June 8 at 2:56pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Biden’s hardball pays off in Lebanon
From Robert Satloff If early returns hold up and the March 14 coalition emerges victorious in Lebanese parliamentary elections, sending a resounding defeat to Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, then one of the most important “unsung heroes” in the vote will have been… Vice President Joe Biden...
June 7 at 11:17pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Obama and the Muslims
June 5 at 12:20pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Obama and the Muslims by More MESH members
Alan Dowty :: Let’s put it in perspective. President Obama’s Cairo speech is part of an ambitious effort to totally recast the prevailing mood between the West and the Islamic world...
June 5 at 12:20pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Obama and the Muslims by Robert J. Lieber
Obama’s use of language and rhetoric was skillful in approaching his audience and set out some important themes...
June 5 at 12:20pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) By Charles Hill.

» Obama’s grand strategy Middle East Strategy at Harvard
Source: blogs.law.harvard.edu
If you put yourself in the position of, say, the political counsellor of the British Embassy in Washington and you were required to send in a pre-Obama-in-Cairo speech analysis, you could draw upon a close ...
June 4 at 6:38pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) Last series of comments on the "Ditching Democracy in Egypt?" thread.

» Ditching democracy in Egypt? Middle East Strategy at Harvard
Source: blogs.law.harvard.edu
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting yesterday with a group of young Egyptian activists at the State Department was a welcome and long-overdue development. These young people somehow managed ...
June 4 at 6:37pm
RECENT ACTIVITY
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussed Ditching democracy in Egypt? on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussion board.
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussed Ditching democracy in Egypt? on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussion board.
2 more similar stories
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussed Ditching democracy in Egypt? on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussion board.
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussed Ditching democracy in Egypt? on the Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) discussion board.
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by J. Scott Carpenter
Last Friday I was on Al-Hurra with Ayman Nour. During the interview he was asked if reports that he had petitioned Egypt’s prosecutor to put him back in jail were true. He was at first surprised that anyone knew of the request, but then admitted that he had done so...
June 3 at 1:36pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by Jennifer Windsor
I want to add my two cents to this discussion. I too was surprised—and frankly disappointed—by the arguments presented by Steven Cook in his Newsweek piece...
June 3 at 1:36pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by Amy Hawthorne
This has been a very rich exchange among people whom I respect greatly, but I noticed that some deeper issues relating to the challenges of democracy aid in Egypt haven’t gotten enough attention in the discussion so far...
June 3 at 1:36pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by Steven A. Cook
Scott Carpenter found me out: I hate freedom. Seriously, I do not understand why Scott is disappointed...
June 1 at 1:07pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by Tamara Cofman Wittes
I couldn’t disagree more with Steven Cook’s argument that there is a tradeoff between promoting democracy and promoting development, and I disagree also with Scott Carpenter that the Obama administration is headed in Steven’s direction. Both are contradicted by the available evidence...
June 1 at 8:03am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Comment on Ditching democracy in Egypt? by Michele Dunne
I could not agree more with Scott Carpenter. So far the Obama administration has had a tin ear on the issue of democracy and human rights in the Middle East...
June 1 at 8:03am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Iran-Pakistan pipeline: Iran’s new lifeline
From Gal Luft While the world’s eyes are focused on Iran and Pakistan, little attention has been paid to the two countries’ decision from last week to move ahead with their plans to connect their economies via a natural gas pipeline...
May 29 at 10:41pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Ditching democracy in Egypt?
From J. Scott Carpenter Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting yesterday with a group of young Egyptian activists at the State Department was a welcome and long-over due development...
May 29 at 10:41pm
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Who will command Lebanon’s arms?
From David Schenker On June 7, Lebanon goes to the polls to elect a new government. Less than a week out, the race is too close to call. The stakes couldn’t be higher...
May 27 at 4:38am
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH)

Israeli leverage over Russia vis-à-vis Iran
From Mark N. Katz There has been an ongoing debate here on MESH and elsewhere about whether Israel can, will, or should launch an attack against Iran to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons...
May 26 at 4:47am
RECENT ACTIVITY
Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH) changed their Mission.