Keeping the ISIS Challenge in Perspective
via Lobelog by Wayne White Once again American observers are outbidding each other over how serious a threat the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) poses. Recent IS gains in Iraq heightened Washington’s...
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Seven Worst-Case Scenarios in the Battle with the Islamic State
by Peter Van Buren You know the joke? You describe something obviously heading for disaster — a friend crossing Death Valley with next to no gas in his car — and then add, “What could possibly go...
View ArticleFighting for Democracy While Supporting Autocracy
via Lobelog ISIS and Bahrain’s F-16 by Matar E. Matar For the second time in recent history, the United States is trading away support for democracy and fundamental human rights protections in Bahrain...
View ArticleTurkey’s Kurdish Fears Fuel Inaction Against ISIS
by Dorian Jones For weeks, idle Turkish tanks have been watching from the hills in southeastern Turkey as Islamic State forces pound the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, just a few hundred meters across...
View ArticleFighting for Democracy While Supporting Autocracy
via Lobelog ISIS and Bahrain’s F-16 by Matar E. Matar For the second time in recent history, the United States is trading away support for democracy and fundamental human rights protections in Bahrain...
View ArticleThe US Must Do Less To Resolve the Israel-Palestine Conflict
via Lobelog by Mitchell Plitnick Former American diplomat Aaron David Miller is a frequent and worthwhile contributor to US foreign policy discussions in both Washington and the news media. His long...
View ArticleHow Does Israel Assess the Threat Posed by ISIS?
via Lobelog by Derek Davison A former senior analyst for Mossad, Yossi Alpher, told an audience in Washington Thursday that Israel sees the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) as an “urgent” national security...
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Jerusalem of Tarnished Gold
via Lobelog by Mitchell Plitnick Take a particularly provocative and grandstanding Israeli government and shift its focus from Hamas and Gaza to Jerusalem and you have a most explosive recipe. That...
View ArticleFear and Loathing in America
by James A. Russell A variety of recent opinion polls indicate that a significant portion of the American public remains deeply fearful of international terrorism. Many Americans even feel less safe...
View ArticleWhy Is Netanyahu Targeting Abbas for the Har Nof Massacre?
via Lobelog by Mitchell Plitnick This past Tuesday saw the latest in a horrifyingly long line of atrocities in Jerusalem. Two armed Palestinians entered a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood, killed...
View ArticleThe Challenges of Realignment
by Charles Naas Within a few days we will know whether President Obama’s efforts to negotiate an agreement with Iran over the latter’s nuclear power ambitions have proven successful or not and, if...
View ArticleTop Foreign Policy Experts Endorse Iran Nuclear Deal
by Derek Davison As Iran and six world powers scramble to reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear program by the deadline of Nov. 24 in Vienna, Washington is seeing a flurry of last-minute events focused on...
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Tracking Libya’s Progressive Collapse
via Lobelog by Wayne White Libya’s chaos and violence may seem like a continuum of painful replays. However, as the situation festers, the risk of extremist elements gaining a more dangerous foothold...
View ArticleBahrain’s Sham Election Ignores Calls for Reform
via Lobelog by Emile Nakhleh Bahrain’s national election planned for this Saturday portends no change in the al-Khalifa regime’s anti-Shi’a stance and is yet another futile exercise in sham democracy....
View ArticleTales from the Vienna Woods
via Lobelog by Robert E. Hunter It’s too early to tell all there is to be told about the negotiations in Vienna between the so-called P5+1 and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program. The “telling” by...
View ArticleIran Talks Miss Deal Deadline: What’s Next?
via Lobelog by Ariane Tabatabai With the November 24 deadline for a comprehensive deal between world powers and Iran on the country’s nuclear program now behind us, the negotiating teams have returned...
View ArticleMubarak Acquitted as Egypt’s Counterrevolution Thrives
via Lobelog by Emile Nakhleh The acquittal of former Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak is not a legal or political surprise. Yet it carries serious ramifications for Arab autocrats who are...
View ArticleHow Does Israel Assess the Threat Posed by ISIS?
via Lobelog by Derek Davison A former senior analyst for Mossad, Yossi Alpher, told an audience in Washington Thursday that Israel sees the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) as an “urgent” national security...
View ArticleThe US Fight Against Islamic State: Avoiding “Mission Creep”
by Wayne White Hyping the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) threat risks generating flawed policies. The White House probably is a source of frustration, as its critics claim, but others seem too eager to...
View ArticleIraqi Kurds Seek Greater Balance Between Ankara and Baghdad
by Mohammed A. Salih Erbil—After a period of frostiness, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey seem intent on mending the ties, as each of the parties show signs of needing the other....
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