Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abramsis a former American diplomat, lawyer and political scientist who served in foreign policy positions for U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Abrams was convicted for withholding information from Congress about the Iran-Contra affair while serving for Reagan, but pardoned by President George H. W. Bush...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLawyer
Date of Birth24 January 1948
CountryUnited States of America
kings couple past
It’s unlikely to change – there’s nothing in King Salman’s past as governor of Riyadh for about forty years that suggests that he was particularly a reformer, not on the role of women, not on democratic development. There’s been a rumor in the last couple of days that he said to someone in an e-mail that he’s in favor of a constitutional monarchy, but I would be surprised if the level of repression started to go down … I think the kind of thing that we would view as significant reforms is unlikely.
country kings moving
Reformist kings can save their dynasties now by helping their countries move smoothly into democracy, or they will end their years in exile like the Russian aristocrats of a century earlier.
strong kings thinking
Oil policy, policy toward the United States, policy toward Iran, Bahrain, Yemen, very unlikely, I think, to see significant change. These policies were the policies that had a wide family consensus. The question I think would be if the king becomes sick, whether you have weak Saudi leadership in the Arab world and the Middle East rather than strong Saudi leadership, but I think the fundamental policies will continue, the ones we’re familiar with under King Abdullah.
across cables enemies foreign keeping marked requires speaking table
In most cases, cables are marked secret not because the U.S. requires it but because those speaking to us - the foreign leaders across the table - do. They are not keeping secrets from us, but from two other groups: their enemies and their subjects.
elected family genuine kuwait member minister parliament power prime ruling
In Kuwait there is already a real, elected parliament with genuine power, but the prime minister is always a member of the ruling al-Sabah family. That must end.
good millions
It's not good for Israel to govern millions of Palestinians.
area base becoming industry jordan needs prevent save target terrorists tourist
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.
army divisions syrian
The best-armed and best-trained divisions of the Syrian army are Alawite.
came embassy expel iranian official tehran therefore voted
The attack on the British embassy in Tehran came just days after the Iranian 'parliament' voted to expel the British ambassador, and therefore reeks of official complicity.
chance conclusion east fighting middle monarchies officials visit
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.
cause conduct failure hurts peace
The failure to set standards for Palestinian conduct hurts the cause of peace.
best cabinet good whatever
The Fayyad cabinet may well be the best the Palestinians ever get. But whatever its good qualities, there is no democracy.
agreeing block damaging moves power
The U.S. has the power to block all anti-Israel moves in the Security Council, not just some of them, and to do so without agreeing to unfair, damaging compromises.
interested money mythical sons
Enlightened despots are mythical creatures; real despots seem more interested in stealing money or installing their sons after them.