מבצע עופרת יצוקה בראי אתרי החמאס

מבצע "עופרת יצוקה" מאפשר לבחון את יחסו של החמאס לישראל ולזירות השונות ומעניק לחמאס הזדמנות תעמולתית להציג עצמו בעמדת המיעוט המתגונן לא רק למול ישראל, אלא גם מול הזירה הפלסטינית והערבית, ובמקביל לפעול למען ערעור הלגיטימיות השלטונית של הרשות הפלסטינית ושל העומד בראשה על-ידי הצגתם כמשתפי פעולה עם ישראל, וכבעלי אינטרס בקיומו של המבצע על מנת שיוכלו לרשת את שלטון החמאס לכשייפול. מנגד משתמש החמאס באירוע להדגשת היותו חלופה אותנטית לשלטון הרשות שהזניח את הפלסטינים, תוך קריאה לתושבי הגדה לפתוח באינתיפאדה שלישית כנקמה על מבצע צה"ל ברצועה.

The Need for a Decisive Israeli Victory Over Hamas

A decisive, concretely visible Israeli victory over Hamas – which means pursuing the enemy into its hideouts in Gaza urban areas and refugee camps and bringing about its surrender – is critical to rolling back the march of Islamic fundamentalist political power in the Middle East.

Why Israel Must Have Victory in Gaza

Israel cannot achieve total military victory against Hamas, but there are many kinds of victories it can achieve before the Palestinians change enough to make peace possible.

Hamas: A Case of Strategic Suicide

Hamas miscalculated its strength and support; erred in ending the six-month ceasefire with Israel; unwisely offended and threatened Egypt; and misread Israeli politics.

Has the IDF Earned the Support of the Israeli Public? An Interim Assessment of the IDF’s Performance in Operation Cast Lead

The IDF gets an interim, mixed assessment for its early performance in the war against Hamas, in three spheres: (a) public communications; (b) treatment of reservists; and (c) performance of the Rear Command.

Israel’s Operation Against Hamas in Gaza: The Need for Realistic Goals

Israel’s Operation Cast Lead goals should be modest: minimizing the damage that Hamas rockets can inflict on Israel. While a Hamastan in Gaza is not the ideal neighbor for Israel, there are several advantages to continuous Hamas rule, including the fact that it makes the "two-state solution" paradigm irrelevant.

US Foreign Policy after the Elections: Pragmatism, But in What Direction?

Obama's foreign policy appointments suggest pragmatism and caution, not dogmatism and adventure. But will the pragmatists lead him astray? Had it been up to so-called pragmatists, Saddam would still be in Kuwait, Germany might still be divided, and the Iraq surge would not have occurred.

Rabin and the Oslo Process Revisited

While venerated by the Left as a hero of peace, the cautious Yitzhak Rabin was first and foremost a military man, for whom peace agreements were primarily a means to buttress security. He believed that transition to real peace would take decades, and would have ditched the Oslo process by now.

President Obama and the Middle East Challenge

Barack Obama has enunciated a clear program for Middle East policy based on multilateralism and negotiations to deal with Iran, Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In reality he will have to make tough choices when other countries reject the US approach, especially with regard to Iran.

Invading Georgia: The Opening Shot in a Grand Russian Strategy to Challenge the West Through the Domination of the Energy Market

Moscow seeks to intimidate energy producing countries once part of the Soviet Union, and to develop a grand anti-American energy coalition that spans from Iran to Venezuela. This explains Moscow's military intervention in Georgia, and may require muscular Western counter-action.

Perspectives Papers