The Warsaw Summit Is No Madrid

commentary

Feb 13, 2019

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addresses the first meeting of the Madrid Peace Conference in Madrid, Spain, October 30, 1991, photo by Jim Hollander/Reuters

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addresses the first meeting of the Madrid Peace Conference in Madrid, Spain, October 30, 1991

Photo by Jim Hollander/Reuters

This commentary originally appeared on New Republic on February 13, 2019.

This week, the United States and Poland will be co-hosting a summit in Warsaw to “Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East.” More than 70 countries have been invited, a departure from the Trump administration's usual unilateralism.

Unfortunately, history suggests the conference won't amount to much.

Nearly 30 years ago, the United States launched its boldest regional effort toward peace and stability. The Madrid Conference of 1991 arguably failed on its core objectives—but not for lack of trying. And the Madrid example, today, shows just how unlikely the Trump administration's efforts are to bear fruit.…

The remainder of this commentary is available at newrepublic.com.


Dalia Dassa Kaye is director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy and a senior political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.