Was Gilad Shalit’s father’s offer disingenuous?
Readers’ Challenge: Was Gaza Flotilla Right to Refuse Gilad Schalit’s Father?
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Middle East & North Africa
Iran, Brazil, Turkey and the Ghost of Lord Palmerston
The U.S. State Department’s claim that the “international community” is behind the U.S. is increasingly sounding like whistling past the graveyard.
Don’t Reward Violence in Iraq by Extending U.S. Troop Withdrawal Deadline
Washington pundits are still pushing Obama to delay or cancel the U.S. disengagement, calling on him to be “flexible” and take into consideration the recent spike of violence in Iraq. Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed and injured during the last few months in what seems to be an organized campaign to challenge U.S. plans.
Worst Fears May be Realized In Iraq
Can you imagine that candidate Obama would have campaigned on the promise of having 125,000 personnel in Iraq by the end of summer 2010?
Congress Sends Wrong Message to Iraq
After more than 19 years of war, including seven years of occupation, the U.S. Congress still does not grasp domestic politics in Iraq. This week, the House passed a resolution asking the State Department to establish U.S. consulates in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as well as in “other regions” in the country. This resolution isn’t binding, but it still sends the wrong message to Iraqis.
When Leaders Sleep Do They Dream of Peace?
So I’m walking to work today and I suddenly start thinking about Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli PM. Sharon went into a coma back on January 4, 2006. To my knowledge, the man is still alive. Correct?
What an interesting story here. What if Sharon came back to us and wanted to work on a Middle East solution?
Reader Challenge: Is the Middle-East Peace Process an Artifact of Another Age?
Does the quest for Israel-Palestine pece still accord with U.S. interests? Is it still the key to Middle-East stability?
Reader Challenge: Is Jerusalem ‘crumbling under the weight of its own idealization’?
In a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal last week, Eli Wiesel described Jerusalem as “the world’s Jewish spiritual capital” and “the heart of our heart, the soul of our soul.” The Sheikh Jarrah [Just Jerusalem] activists who, unlike Wiesel, actually live in Jerusalem, say: “We cannot recognize our city in the sentimental abstraction you call by its name.” They describe the city they call home as “crumbling under the weight of its own idealization.” . . . writes Paul Woodward at War in Context…Jerusalem is crumbling under the weight of its own idealization.
China and America Jostle in Middle East
This century has witnessed China’s emergence as the main challenger to the superpower status of the United States. In a dramatic fashion, China is beginning to establish its foothold in the highly strategic, energy-rich region of the Middle East by forging strong ties with regional powers and gradually challenging the U.S.-Israeli regional dominance. Thanks to decades of double-digit economic growth and accelerating military modernization, China now has both the need for and the capability of engaging the Middle East.
Sanctions Debate Heats Up
With mid-term elections only six months away, many lawmakers are eager to demonstrate their strong support for Israel, which has argued for the adoption of “crippling” sanctions against the Islamic Republic as the only way to halt its alleged effort to acquire nuclear weapons short of a military attack.