All Articles
A Response to A Kidnapped Debate
"Of course using any one event as the basis for a grand narrative is shoddy intellectual work. But denying the way in which any one event illuminates and contributes to the larger narrative is equally faulty."
A Response to “A Modest Proposal”
Israel’s existence should not be put at risk because the Palestinian people, understandably, are frustrated and have come to find jingoistic pride in their militant landlord.
Both Right and Wrong
" The other notion suggests not shying away from the inconsistency, but embracing it. One can see Morsi as both a responsible pragmatic arbiter, and a dictatorial Islamist leader, for he is both, and one can see Israel as responsible in its attempts to limit the casualties of a complicated war but also strategically shortsighted in building in E1, for both are true."
Sanctioning Progress
The short-term goal of halting Iran’s nuclear program can and should be coupled with the long term goal of fostering a more democratic, open Iran, if only because the sanctions that target those worth targeting and a diplomacy that offers Iran a path to legitimacy are ultimately the solutions to both these issues.
Rockets of Hate, For the World to See
Palestinians know and expect Israel to act better; it is high time that Israelis can expect Palestinians to act better too. Civil resistance is justified for people harmed by their own government and still left with no state since 1948, but targeting civilians on either side, as Hamas does, is inhumane and indicative of why Israelis are not willing to trust in a lasting peace.
Obama and the Middle East: Round Two
Reworking the Strategy towards Iran. Netanyahu is becoming infamously impatient, and the reactors keep spinning (despite false claims to the contrary last week; I doubt we’ll ever really know what is actually going on in those nuclear plants). The current strategy cannot continue.
Do Obama and Romney Even Know What Foreign Policy Is?
For those dying daily in Syria, all of our talk of bringing freedom to the world is illusory. The rhetoric only works if we act exceptionally, and right now America has a long way to climb.
Putting Evil in Context
Within the story of the MEK lies the greater story of the ways in which the ideology and activity of a given entity can change, sometimes for worse and sometimes for better.
Truths and Untruths About Obama and Israel
This aloofness is not reserved for Israel alone; the cold, piercing analysis with which Obama approaches every issue is evidence that this aloofness and sternness is very much the Obama style.
Political Minutes: Libyan Chief Justice, Tunisian State Secretary for Reform
After the Arab Spring, Middle Eastern countries that have undergone tumultuous revolutions are now under the scrutiny of the rest of the world ... But the many newly minted leaders are trying daily to make things better.
Seizing the Day and Fixing the Sinai
With Israelis and Egyptians still not trusting each other, the treaty needs to be made relevant for the 21st century. This month’s security problems prove that Israeli-Egyptian cooperation is a strategic necessity; the Sinai should therefore become a model of collaboration, not of confrontation
Why I Write About Syria
Impotent or not, Orwell teaches me, it is writing about the hard topics, speaking out on Syria, that automatically breathes life into my words. Political purpose, it turns out, is nothing less than a writer’s very oxygen.
Iran Needs Feminist Sanctions
These “smart” sanctions have, in fact, done much to starve the very people they were supposed to protect.
Endless War: West Bank Occupation Hazards
This report seems to think—or wish—that legalizing the settlements makes them morally correct, too. But while land can be politicized and subjected to legal dispute, the Palestinian people should not be politicized and subjected to hardship because of legal minutia. And the hardships that Palestinians have to live through daily in the West Bank outweigh any legal conclusions. The law becomes less interesting when people are suffering.
Of Egyptians, For Egyptians
We may be collectively worried about the stability of Egypt’s fledgling democracy, but this is a normal and expected concern. It is part of the process of democratization. But it is a mistake to confuse our anxiety with a suggestion that the Egyptian revolution has failed.
Starting to Listen
Iran’s reaction to these talks has, time and again, proven that it is not what we are proposing that bothers them. What bothers them is that we are proposing anything at all.
Why Drone Warfare is So Controversial
They must recognize that while the President may be able to ponder who to kill miles away, the rest of the world does not believe that America legitimately has this power. And they must recognize that while drones continue to kill almost daily—a senior al Qaeda leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi was just killed yesterday—and have killed up to 3,000 people since their inception, many in the Middle East may just decide that it is time to fight back.
Syria's YouTube Revolution
Today we are able to sit with our laptops and tablets and watch the horrors of a regime slaughtering its own people. But despicable as this inaction is, posting filmed clips on YouTube has become one of the only viable means for the Syrian people to call out for help.