Egypt’s New Constitution Laying Foundation for Sharia State

Posted on: December 3rd, 2012

Egypt's draft constitution enshrines Sharia rule without rubbing people’s faces in it.

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Reality Check: Palestine Will Remain a Non-Existent State

Posted on: December 2nd, 2012

The non-member 'state' status will sink the Palestinian leadership even deeper into an obsession with intransigence in practice and paper victories that mean nothing in the real world.

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Digging Up Arafat

Posted on: November 28th, 2012

For many months before he was rushed to Paris for medical attention, everyone who followed him closely knew Arafat was sick.

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The Islamist Regime’s Game Plan for Egypt

Posted on: November 27th, 2012

Originally published at Rubin Reports. What’s been happening in Egypt this week is as important as the revolution that overthrew the old regime almost two years ago. A new dictator has arrived and while the Muslim Brotherhood’s overturning of democracy was totally predictable, Western policymakers walked right into the trap. They even helped build it. [...]

Who Won the Latest Israel-Hamas War? (You’ll Be Surprised)

Posted on: November 25th, 2012

I’m amused by those who think that Hamas won the recent conflict.

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This Ceasefire Won’t Last

Posted on: November 22nd, 2012

Of course, everyone knows that this ceasefire won't last. The key to anything more durable is if the Egyptian government decides that it wants to avoid another war because of its own interests.

Middle East Crises of 2013 Already in Dress Rehearsal

Posted on: November 21st, 2012

If 2011 was the year of the Arab Spring, 2013 looks to be the year of the Arab Fall.

The Hamas Suicide Strategy

Posted on: November 20th, 2012

This strategy has often worked against a Western adversary or Israel.

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How to End the Israel-Hamas War

Posted on: November 19th, 2012

Originally published at Rubin Reports. A lot of people have asked the purpose of Israel’s defensive war against Hamas. Some, including those supposedly expert on the region, have been mystified. They cannot seem to figure out what is going on or what the goal of this Israeli operation could be. The answer is simple. Given [...]

Western Media Elites Just Don’t Get the Middle East

Posted on: November 18th, 2012

There will be no “permanent end” to this rocket war madness or all of the other varieties of madness that are getting worse in the region.

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Lessons for the World from a New Gaza War

Posted on: November 15th, 2012

Can Israel sustain this situation? Of course, that is basically the framework in which it has been living and prospering for 64 years. Is it preferable? Of course not. What is the world going to do to make it better? Nothing.

Morsi Source of Hamas’ Renewed Confidence

Posted on: November 15th, 2012

Neither side takes U.S. policy very seriously.

Next Stop: Obama Puts his Trust in Negotiations with Iran

Posted on: November 13th, 2012

The most important foreign policy effort President Barack Obama will be making over the next year is negotiating with Iran. The terms of the U.S. offer are clear: if Iran agrees not to build nuclear weapons, it will be allowed to enrich a certain amount of uranium, supposedly for purposes of generating nuclear energy (which Iran doesn’t need) and other benefits, supposedly under strict safeguards.

Israel Facing Weak US Economy, Foreign Policy, Following Elections

Posted on: November 12th, 2012

With President Barack Obama reelected there is every reason to believe that he will continue the tax, regulatory, and economic policies of his first term. That means the U.S. economy is unlikely to improve quickly, steadily, or even at all during the next four years. The problem is not just Obama’s own strategy on these issues but also the lack of business confidence in his plans.

The Broader Implications of the Petraeus Resignation: Personal Behavior and Public Office

Posted on: November 11th, 2012

Originally published at Rubin Reports. General David Petraeus was the hero of the victorious surge strategy in Iraq. But he also has the distinction of becoming America’s first Politically Correct field commander. His strategy in Afghanistan was in line with that of the Obama Administration by putting the emphasis on winning Muslim hearts and minds [...]

What Obama Should Have Done in the Last Four Years and Won’t Do in the Next Four Years

Posted on: November 8th, 2012

Over and over again I’ve written about what President Barack Obama should do. Now the voters have given him a whole new chance. He could take it and change his policy. I don't believe he will do that but let me lay out both what he's been wrong and what he should do, just in case Obama is seeking a different approach.

Obama Administration Secret Talks with Iran Confirmed

Posted on: November 6th, 2012

The story was broken by Alex Fishman, defense correspondent of Yediot Aharnot, Israel’s largest newspaper. Fishman is considered to be a reliable reporter with good sources in the Israeli government.

The Sunni-Shia Conflict Will Be The Major Feature of Middle East Politics for Decades

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

Once upon a time, Arab nationalism ruled the Middle East. Its doctrine saw Arab identity as the key to political success. Some regarded Islam as important; others were secular. Yet there was no doubt that national identity was in charge. All Arabs should unite, said the radical nationalists who ruled in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, to destroy Israel, expel Western influence, and create a utopian single state in the region. Instead, of course, the period was characterized by battles among the radical Arab states for leadership. The less extreme ones sought survival through a combination of giving lip service to radical slogans, paying off the stronger regimes, and getting Western help.

A Short Guide to the Benghazi Issue: What is it Really All About?

Posted on: October 30th, 2012

There is a debate over the causes of terrorism and anti-Americanism in the world. One possible view is that the principal problem is that of genuine conflict. The adversaries hold certain ideological ideas—say, revolutionary Islamism—to which American society and policies are antithetical. The collision (as with Communism, Nazism, and aggressive Japanese militarism in earlier decades) is inevitable. The United States is inconveniencing the totalitarians both because of what it does (policies) and because of what it represents (freedom, democracy, capitalism).

The West’s Deaf Ears for the Real Moderate Arabs

Posted on: October 29th, 2012

One of my most fun professional memories was when I walked endlessly, circling round and round and round that hall in Algeria in November 1988 with a burly, no-nonsense, and brilliant newspaper correspondent named Youssef Ibrahim, who was then working for the New York Times. Friendly, funny, sarcastic, and with absolutely no illusions or romanticism about the absurdities of Arab politics and the idiocies of Arab political ideology, Ibrahim’s only shortcoming is that there are not one thousand more exactly like him. If he was the kind of person leading Arab countries and people they would be far more prosperous, peaceful, happier and democratic.