Why a Deal with Iran on Nukes Remains Elusive
It was a wild ride last week in Geneva, where the foreign ministers of six world powers assembled with Iranian negotiators for a second round of talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. A deal could come, a deal is…
Middling logic, middling newspaper: New York Times bows to government, again, on NSA
By withholding details of Edward Snowden documents, the paper of record shows it cares more about power than news Ever since Edward Snowden made his daring leap into the kingdom of his own conscience last spring, I have tried and…
The Dark Cloud over Europe’s Nascent Recovery
Europe seems to be right on time—for once. The comforting consensus a year ago was that the crisis gripping the European Union since 2009 would begin to fade in the third quarter of this year. And here we are: •…
I want American foreign policy to fail
Drones, wiretapping foreign leaders, NSA out of control: Change will only come when our foreign policy truly fails It is difficult, and it will never be any other, to be an American and write in an American publication that the…
Saudis in a Snit over Obama’s Mideast Policies
What is happening between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.—the very fastest of friends since American geologists first caught the whiff of petroleum in the early 1930s? And how much should anyone worry about a rift between Washington and Riyadh? The…
Are Things Actually Looking Up in the Middle East?
It is only a faint outline—call it a pencil sketch—but the lines of a significantly remade Middle East are suddenly falling into place. We have to wait for the region’s leaders and the diplomats asserting the influence of interested outsiders…
Here Comes Obama’s Big Moment with Iran
It is still a thrill an hour in Washington. Do we have a government? Do we pay our bills? Two days of talks in Geneva this week will prove just as big. They begin Tuesday, the topic is Iran, and…
Rethinking American exceptionalism
It’s time to revisit one of our founding myths This article originally appeared on The Globalist. Myths enclose those who believe in them. They are not subject to debate or rational consideration. One cannot hold them up to the light…
Washington’s Mess Damages U.S. Global Standing
Nobody will ever put up a neon sign or a billboard announcing that the U.S. has taken another step toward decline in its global position. Neither is American decline inevitable, as the so-called “declinists” habitually assert. It is not. Decline…
BIBI
This column was filed October 2nd, 2013, shortly after Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly on the subject of Iran. For one reason or another, it was never run.—P.L. We have heard the Israeli leader speak. We…
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