- Prof. Shlomo Shpiro
- Paper No. 134
Covert action by the West, clandestinely providing Libyan rebels with funds, arms, communication equipment and intelligence information, will be crucial for the defeat of Gaddafi.
Perspectives Papers
Perspectives Papers provide analysis from BESA Center research associates and other outside experts on the most important issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East.
- Dr. Max Singer
- Paper No. 133
Three forces are competing for control of Egypt: the army, the Muslim Brotherhood, and various civilian opposition groups. The military and civilian opposition must understand that the Brotherhood is their common and most dangerous enemy.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 132
Turkey's foreign policy reorientation – away from the West and toward Islamist countries like Iran and Syria – changes the balance of power in the Middle East, negatively affects the pro-Western orientation of the Central Asian republics, weakens NATO, and threatens the East-West energy corridor.
- Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar
- Paper No. 131
It seems likely that in the near term Egypt will be a society plagued by political intrigue and instability. The governments of the world must be vigilant for developments that could threaten the Suez Canal, the peace with Israel, and regional stability.
- David M. Weinberg
- Paper No. 130
An insidious new mythology is being advanced that replaces the Iranian threat with the "Israeli threat" to Middle East stability. This has the scent of incitement against, and demonization of, Israel. Political
attention must be redirected where it most urgently belongs: to the Iranian threat.
- Prof. Avi Kober
- Paper No. 129
Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi's greatest achievement is the restoration of Israeli public faith in the IDF as an effective fighting force after the failures of the Second Lebanon War. An overall assessment of his tenure, however, also points to shortcomings in areas such as IDF battle doctrine and commanders' education.
- Prof. Jonathan Rynhold
- Paper No. 128
The dream of turning Cairo 2011 into "Berlin 1989" is a chimera; the challenge is to prevent "Tehran 1979." Obama Administration policy, however, threatens to widen the crack in the strategic foundations of regional stability that has served as the indispensable basis of peacemaking since the mid 1970s.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 127
The current unrest in Egypt is unlikely to result in a newly democratized nation. Rather, the ongoing political turmoil will likely strengthen the radical forces in the region, such as Iran and its proxies, the Turkish AKP and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
- Prof. Hillel Frisch
- Paper No. 126
Supporting Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman in the current crisis will prevent a Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt and avoid a bloody and protracted Egyptian civil war marked by foreign intervention.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 125
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman takes a blunt approach to politics, one that is often met with resistance at home and abroad. But Lieberman's views on the peace process and the Israel-Turkey relationship are representative of a large majority of the Israeli public.