Let’s all pity Netanyahu and the GOP: Israel, Iran, irrational thinking — and Thomas Friedman’s usual muddled nonsense
A reactionary leader addressing a reactionary legislature will expose the creeping irrelevance of them both Many readers will have seen Benjamin Netanyahu’s sentimentally charged but otherwise empty speech to Congress on Tuesday. If you missed it, you can watch it…
Five Reasons to Listen to Hassan Rouhani
Why should the watching world, and especially we wary Americans, trust Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s charismatic new reformist, now that he has completed what the more suspicious among us call his “charm attack” at the United Nations? There are answers, even…
After the genocide: What’s next for Gaza and the hope for Middle East peace?
Nearly 2,000 are dead and a cease-fire brings little peace of mind. But there may be glimmers of hope after tragedy Now that Israel has finally let up on what looks like a genocidal campaign in Gaza, I cannot think…
For Israel, a Victory That Will Prove Short-Lived
The Mideast peace talks Secretary of State Kerry staked his tenure upon have crashed; and to state the instantly obvious: Israel emerges from this debacle in a position of strength. Does a near-term tactical advantage assure strategic success in the…
How the White House Is Blowing Off Europe
The Obama administration needs to declare a “pivot to Europe” policy, and quickly. Not that the famous pivot to Asia has amounted to much: It drifts somewhere in the Pacific like a dead fish. But relations between the U.S. and…
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…
Stand up and fight, Mr. President!
The moment requires courage, conviction — and presidential leadership. How will President Obama respond? Remarkable doings at the U.N. this week. Remember these days. They are going to change the way we understand the dynamic in the Middle East —…
How Iran and Israel Put Obama in the Hot Seat
We begin a big, consequential week in world politics. This year’s UN General Assembly will put President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, in the same room, addressing the same heads of state, walking the…
How Obama Got It Wrong in Egypt
President Obama has just made a fateful choice in Egypt. He has chosen a side in the violent confrontation between supporters of the nation’s first elected president and the army generals who deposed him in a coup six weeks ago….
Why the U.S. Is Crashing in the Middle East
Is it too soon to suggest that the Obama administration’s Middle East policy is collapsing? An unusual spurt of news from across the region points to failed US policies: (1) The U.S. has been outpaced in the region since the Arab…
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