The fake republics are goners; the monarchies have a fighting chance. That’s my conclusion after a short visit to the Middle East and discussions with officials and analysts there. – Elliott Abrams
Olmert made a proposal on the governing of Jerusalem that I do not believe his cabinet or the Knesset would have accepted. – Elliott Abrams
Libya as a country is a relatively new concept. The period of Libya as a modern nation really starts after World War II. – Elliott Abrams
A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy. – Elliott Abrams
Obviously, every dictator pays a great deal of attention to who is running the army. There’s always a base right outside the capitol to protect the head of government. – Elliott Abrams
The United States and its Gulf allies, some of who are actively funding rebel groups in Syria, should undertake a serious joint review of Jordan’s needs and then act together to meet them. – Elliott Abrams
Tunisian liberals say that the U.S. Embassy in Tunis is unengaged with their efforts to make sure the Tunisian model remains one of expanding freedom. – Elliott Abrams
As the Palestinian leadership never seems to pay any penalty for its words, America’s seriousness about the peace process is in doubt. – Elliott Abrams
While foreign competitors, French or Japanese or German, merrily bid for contracts abroad, American companies find themselves tangled in a web of legislation designed to express disapproval, block trade in certain commodities, or perhaps deny resources to disfavored or hostile regimes. – Elliott Abrams
Immanuel Kant famously claimed that ‘he who wills the ends wills the means,’ but he never spent much time in Washington. – Elliott Abrams
Rahm Emanuel seems to think he knows Israel very well, and that the way to treat that country and its democratically-elected government is the way he treats all opponents in politics: by attacking and attacking. – Elliott Abrams
I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders – leaders not compromised by terror. – Elliott Abrams
During most of the Bush administration, human rights and democracy in Egypt were on the front burner. – Elliott Abrams
Israel bombed the Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007. What the Syrians did in response, nothing. Israel has killed a number of terrorist leaders in Syria. Response? Nothing. – Elliott Abrams
Persecution of Christians is growing around the world, and Congress needs to pay more attention to it. – Elliott Abrams
There is no way around the contradictions and dangers inherent in Israel’s decision to free over 1,000 prisoners in order to liberate Gilad Shalit. – Elliott Abrams
In Jordan, where the prime minister is always a commoner, the king has announced some new reforms that would tend to move the country toward a more democratic system: Notably, the prime minister would emerge from the victorious political party, not from back room conversations in the royal palace. – Elliott Abrams
The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that just as repeatedly merit and receive punishment. – Elliott Abrams
The Assad regime has lost the consent of the governed, and it is difficult to see how a replacement Alawite regime would be able to regain this consent. – Elliott Abrams
Egypt needs law and order in Sinai to save the tourist industry in Sharm el-Sheik and prevent the area from becoming a base for terrorists that will target Egypt itself, as well as Jordan and Israel. – Elliott Abrams
The anchors of the Arab consensus have long been Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and both are now weakened forces in Arab politics and diplomacy. – Elliott Abrams
The real crime of Hosni Mubarak is that he ruled for 30 years and left behind an Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood is the single strongest player. – Elliott Abrams
If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, its influence and that of Hamas and Hezbollah are strengthened. – Elliott Abrams
At Guantanamo Bay, we could create a West Berlin, a free small city within the Communist nation that could trade freely with the U.S. and elect its own officials. – Elliott Abrams
The Fayyad cabinet may well be the best the Palestinians ever get. But whatever its good qualities, there is no democracy. – Elliott Abrams
Henry M. Jackson, congressman and senator from 1941 until his death in 1983, achieved far greater renown than most legislators, ran for president in 1972 and 1976, and was for much of the 1970s and 1980s one of the most powerful men in America. – Elliott Abrams