Given the largely conflicting political identity of the two governments which in most contexts has defined conflicting foreign policy interests for the two countries , the United States views its relations with Iran as a zero-sum game and will thus struggle to contain Iran’s growing power and influence in the region, even if this would mean swimming against the tide and creating unnecessary costs for its foreign policy in the region.
On Heels of Anti-BDS Bill, Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Seek to Further Limit Dissent
One the bills that Israel’s right-wing parties seeks to pass proposes the creation of a “commission of inquiry” to investigate outspoken human rights groups like B’Tselem.
Will Iraqi Commandos Trained by U.S. Be Turned Into Another Republican Guard?
Iraq may use the U.S.-trained Iraqi commando corps as a security apparatus as Saddam Hussein did with the Republican Guard
Saudi Women Get Behind the Wheel
Women in Saudi Arabia have long withstood extraordinary oppression – including male guardianship laws, prohibition of driving, and the lack of educational, economic, and political access – which they are working to dismantle. Earlier this year, social networking platforms served as a launch pad for the Saudi Women Revolution, which laid out a number of requests for increased freedom and rights – the right to drive among them.
Foreign Policy Goes Gaga
Lady Gaga and Alice Walker don’t have much in common. One dresses in red meat; the other doesn’t even eat the stuff. One writes lyrics like “I want your ugly, I want your disease, I want your everything as long as it’s free.” The other writes The Color Purple. But they are both cultural celebrities, and the media gravitates to them for comments. And they both have used this celebrity status to weigh in on global issues.
Breaking the Israel-Palestine Impasse
President Obama sketched a peace plan in May. The entire international community supports it, as well as the Israeli opposition parties and the Palestinian governing party. But peace remains elusive because the international community clings to the myth that there is no alternative to a bilateral negotiated solution.
With Surgical Implantation, Jihadists Take Suicide Bombing to New Heights
Perhaps it’s time we sympathized with what drives suicide bombers.
Review: The Roots of Muslim Anger at America
In his new book, Feeling Betrayed: The Roots of Muslim Anger at America, political psychologist and public opinion expert Steven Kull suggests that the reservoir of Muslim discontent with U.S. foreign policy remains as deep as it ever was. He argues that al-Qaeda, like any terrorist group, is able to operate in part because it can draw on a culture of support from within its broader community. Although they may have sharp qualms about al-Qaeda’s methods and its extreme form of Islam, many Muslims in Muslim-majority countries are drawn to defend the group’s resistance to the United States.
Two Poems on Gaza
Was it pomegranates we used to eat?
I cant quite remember
it was before all the bombs
fell everywhere even on that church
in the backyard of grandma’s house,
when grandma did not believe in Jesus
and pushed her little sister
off of the window sill,
then her mother got pregnant again.
Syria Just Might Be More Cooperative if Its Reactor Hadn’t Been Blown to Bits
Syria, however repressive, can’t realistically be expected to cooperate with inquiries into its nuclear program after its reactor was bombed.
