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Pressure Points

Elliott Abrams discusses U.S. foreign policy, focusing on the Middle East and democracy and human rights.

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The United States Was Just Called a "Plague" by Mahmoud Abbas. Now what?

by Elliott Abrams August 16, 2024

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas just told the Turkish parliament that "America is the plague, and the plague is America." Will the United States tolerate such attacks? Read More

Venezuela
Biden’s Tragic Mistake on Venezuela, Calling for a New Election Instead of Respect for the Election the Opposition Won
President Biden’s statement today that he supports a new election in Venezuela is a tragic, unforced error that compounds the previous weaknesses in supporting democracy there.
Blog Post by Elliott Abrams August 15, 2024 Pressure Points
Venezuela
Carrots Need Sticks: The Biden Administration and the Case of Venezuela 
The Biden administration appears to be offering Venezuelan dictator Maduro amnesty if he will leave power, but sticks as well as carrots will be needed to persuade him.
Blog Post by Elliott Abrams August 13, 2024 Pressure Points
Norway
Norway: From Mediator to Persecutor of Israel
Norway has abandoned its longstanding neutrality and mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, and instead joined Israel's harshest critics.
Blog Post by Elliott Abrams August 12, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
    Is the “Two-State Solution” Still Viable?
    Is the longstanding proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the “two-state solution,” still viable? A recent debate took on all the issues, and I argued for “no.”
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams August 6, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
    Palestine and Jordan
    A Palestinian-Jordanian confederation may be a more realistic outcome for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, as a former top Jordanian official proposed this week.
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 27, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Israel
    Injustice, Israel, and the "International Court of Justice"
    The ICJ's "advisory opinion" on Israeli "settlements" in Jerusalem and the West Bank is an injustice that gives evidence of considerable bias against the Jewish State.
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 20, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Venezuela
    Can Maduro Be Negotiated Out of Venezuela?
    The United States should try to find out if an offer of amnesty will persuade Venezuela's dictator to permit and respect the results of a free election on July 28.
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 19, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
    That Old Time Religion: The G-7 Foreign Ministers' Statement on the West Bank
    The G-7 foreign ministers' statement on the West Bank follows some old lines about the legitimacy of settlements, but ignores the issue of payments to reward terror.
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 12, 2024 Pressure Points
  • U.S. Foreign Policy
    U.S. Diplomacy in the Middle East: "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"
    U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East seems unaware of how U.S. power should be deployed to decrease the chances of war and to support U.S. allies.
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 9, 2024 Pressure Points
  • Venezuela
    The United States and the Venezuelan Election
    Every sign suggests that Venezuela's presidential election on July 28 will be stolen. Will the Biden administration then acknowledge that its policy toward Venezuela has failed--and change it?
    Blog Post by Elliott Abrams July 6, 2024 Pressure Points