Palestine Membership: More Trick Than Treat for UNESCO
As expected, “Palestine” succeeded in gaining membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 31 with a vote of 107… Read More
PODCAST: The Futures of Libya and Iraq
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, foreign policy expert James Carafano fills us in on the latest news throughout the Middle East. Click here to… Read More
Tunisian Elections Dominated by the Islamist Al-Nahda Party
The Al-Nahda (“Renaissance”) Party, a long-banned Islamist movement that was legalized after the ouster of Tunisia’s autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January, is… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama’s Iraq Failure
To hear President Barack Obama describe the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, you’d think it was a long-anticipated political victory, the fruition of a… Read More
Politics Trumps Security in Obama’s Bungled Troop Negotiations with Iraq
After denying last week that the negotiations to extend the U.S. troop presence in Iraq were failing, the Obama Administration pivoted on Friday as President… Read More
Obama’s Middle East: Withdrawal from Iraq
The word is out that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year. While every American shares the conviction… Read More
Lessons of Libya
That indigenous forces backed by Western military power could overthrow an odious unpopular regime backed by a second-rate military ought to come as no surprise…. Read More
Iraqi Government Balks in Negotiations over Extending U.S. Troop Presence
The Obama Administration’s Iraq policy is in disarray amid reports that negotiations have broken down with the Iraqi government over extending the U.S. military presence… Read More
Iran’s Foiled Assassination Plot Raises Important Questions
Iran’s foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington underscores the thuggish nature of Iran’s predatory regime, its willingness to accept high risks to… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama’s Failure to Confront the Iranian Threat
Yesterday, America learned that Iran conspired to launch a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C., with a planned assassination of the Saudi ambassador and bomb attacks on the… Read More
New Technology and the Arab Revolt
Political and technological changes have a history of going hand in hand. Technology empowers individuals to overcome their isolation and connect to share ideas, information,… Read More
Obama Administration Puts Itself in Tough Spot over Palestinian Statehood
“Peace is hard”—this was the theme of President Obama’s speech September 21 at the U.N. General Assembly. The Obama Doctrine emphasizes the use of international… Read More
The Consequences of America’s Confusing Middle East Policies
The United States is scrambling to avoid a diplomatic crisis at the U.N. over a Palestinian statehood vote and a promised U.S. veto. As other… Read More
News
Top 10 Reads: September 22, 2011
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe The Great $16 Muffin Myth… Read More
Obama’s Risky Iraq Drawdown Plans Prompt Open Letter from Foreign Policy Experts
A flurry of newspaper articles reporting that the Obama Administration may decide to disregard the advice of its military commanders and reduce the U.S. military… Read More
Tunisia’s Hizb Al-Nahda: A Nightmare for Some and a Blessing for Others
Next month, Tunisians will go to the polls for the first time since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country last January…. Read More
Obama Administration Gambles on U.S. Troop Strength in Iraq
The Obama Administration may unwisely decide to ignore the advice of its own military advisers and cut the number of U.S. troops in Iraq down… Read More
Obama’s Top Ten Errors on Libya
When in November 1942 the British Army broke and routed Rommel, and sent him fleeing through Libya, Winston Churchill recognized that it was not the… Read More
Where’s Qadhafi?
The search for Muammar Qadhafi has intensified after Libyan rebels seized most of Tripoli. The initial focus was on Qadhafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound and nearby… Read More
Arab Media (New and Old) Under Attack
As governments in the Middle East struggle to come to grips with the surging demands for freedom of expression among their populations, media across the… Read More
U.S. Agenda for Libya Must Include Securing of WMD, Arms Stockpiles
Rebel forces reportedly took control of Muammar Qadhafi’s fortified Bab al-Aziziya command base in Tripoli today as they further consolidated control of the capital. Confusion… Read More
Morning Bell: What’s Next in Libya
All across the world, leaders are hailing the news that Libyan rebels have advanced into the capital city of Tripoli, poised to bring to an… Read More
Libyan Rebels Advance on Tripoli: The Approaching Endgame
Libyan rebels converged on the capital city of Tripoli early on Monday with reports that the forces arrested two of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s sons, that the… Read More
Egypt Must Take Stronger Action After Sinai Terrorist Attacks
A string of coordinated cross-border terrorist attacks against Israelis launched from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and Gaza yesterday underscored one of the ominous side effects of… Read More
Obama Administration Takes Long-Overdue Action on Syria
The Obama Administration, which has been tragically slow to condemn President Bashar al-Assad’s violent repression of peaceful demonstrators and call for his resignation, finally took… Read More
Turkey’s ‘Zero Problems with Neighbors’ Policy Meets the Reality of Syria
Turkey finds its “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy severely compromised by upheaval in the Arab world. Relations with its closest friends, such as Syria,… Read More
U.S. Intel Community Unintelligent About Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Effort
The Wall Street Journal yesterday published an important op-ed by a distinguished intelligence specialist, Fred Fleitz, that alleges that the U.S. intelligence community remains in… Read More
U.S. Embassy Attack Exposes Obama Administration’s Failed Syria Policy
Monday’s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus—by a mob orchestrated by the Syrian government—underscores the abject failure of the Obama Administration’s strategy of engaging… Read More
‘Arab Spring’ Turns to Long, Hot Summer in Syria and Lebanon
Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Syrian cities on Friday to call for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in one… Read More
Iran’s Missile Tests Amplify Nuclear Alarm Bells
Iran secretly has tested ballistic missiles that are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, British Foreign Secretary William… Read More
