At least a dozen CIA sources were reportedly compromised through shocking operational deficiencies that made them easy pickings for Hezbollah’s counterespionage agents.
Bad Pizza . . . and Even Worse Intelligence
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Hezbollah
How Lebanon Got So Complicated
In many ways, Lebanon resembled Ireland, where religion was used to drive a wedge between landless Catholics and privileged Protestants.
The Case for Syria
Lebanon’s unraveling and the undiminished influence of the Syrian state clearly demonstrate that U.S. attempts to isolate Damascus have failed.
The Power of Political Islam
When western governments focus on political Islam, the debate gravitates toward the national security domain. Western governments and policy analysts routinely portray the role of Islam within Arab political life as a danger to western interests. In reality, Islam is an integral component of contemporary Muslim politics. With some innovative thinking, the United States and its western allies can use the power of Islam to their advantage as well as the advantage of people in the region.
The Lebanon Border: “Uniquely” Dangerous
After Hezbollah fought it to a standstill in the 2006 war, the Israeli Defense Forces have been training for a rematch.
On the Brink of Peace in the Middle East?
Over the past half decade a broad consensus has emerged among informed observers in the Middle East that recent U.S. policies in the region – from Iraq and Iran to our approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah – have been ill-conceived and executed, and have damaged both America’s standing in the region and prospects for peace and stability in the area. Yet a series of local initiatives this year suggests that an important restructuring of relationships across the region might lead to some resolution to a number of the region’s thorniest problems.
Lebanon Intrusion
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. military intervention in Lebanon, and 25 years after a second U.S. military intervention which left hundreds of Americans and thousands of Lebanese dead, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a resolution by a huge bipartisan majority which may lay the groundwork for a third one. At a minimum, this move has crudely and unnecessarily inserted the United States into Lebanon’s complex political infighting.
U.S. Role in Lebanon Debacle
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continues to resist pressure that he resign following the publication late last month of the interim report by a special Israeli commission on Israel’s war on Lebanon last summer. Military chief Dan Halutz has already been forced to step down and Defense Minister Amir Peretz has announced he will also be resigning shortly.
Shiite vs. Sunni?
In 1609, a terrible thing happened: not terrible in the manner that great wars are terrible but in the way that opening Pandora’s Box was terrible. King James I of England discovered that dividing people on the basis of religion worked like a charm, thus sentencing the Irish to almost four centuries of blood and pain.
Bush’s SOTU: Annotated
President George Bush gave his 2007 State of the Union address on January 23. While the speech covered many domestic issues, Bush also laid out his foreign policy approach to Iraq, Iran, terrorism, and democracy promotion. Excerpts from the president’s speech are in italics; my comments follow.