Culture War Ruining Journalism, Academia, and Charity
This was the mainstream of democracy and democratic opinion: The "vital center."
The Meaning of the Egypt-Israel Cross-Border Attack
You will be reading a lot of accounts of this event mostly saying the same things. But what’s really important?
The Obama Visit: A Parable
Obama has not abandoned the pro-Islamist policy that has created a far more dangerous security situation for Israel.
Egypt: Demonstrators Denounce US-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance
"We have to prove to the world that we are capable of democracy..."
Rubin Reports: Russia Meddles in the Mid East
What is most notable about Russia's Middle East policy is that it tends to side with the extremist forces. These friends include primarily Iran, Syria, Hizbollah, and Hamas.
Sympathy for Both Devils in Syria
Let me make it plain. There will be mass murder, even genocide in Syria.
Rubin Reports: An Islamist President for Egypt?
It is now conceivable that the two leading presidential candidates will be Islamists and thus Egypt will have an Islamist president. That would mean the timetable for turning the country into an Islamist Sharia state could be vastly accelerated.
Explaining Everything in Washington in 600 Words (Really)
If you have never understood U.S. Middle East policy here it is: The (wrong) response to September 11.
Preventing More Muslim Teenagers from Becoming Terrorists
The works and the moderate individuals exist but they are not given support, even in Western countries, nor do they have the resources to wage the battle.
Erdogan Praised at White House as He Subverts US Interests
With a 'friend' like Erdogan, Obama’s policy toward Syria, Iran, the advance of revolutionary Islamism, and the Israel-Palestinian “peace process,” is in serious trouble.
As Slander and Hatred Mount: Where Is the Rallying for Israel?
No Jew need ever starve, because they always make a good living as a critic of Israel.
Libya: Not Just a Tragedy, but Another Endless War for America
Libya tells the story with a terrible irony but we should understand precisely what is going on and how the situation in Libya differs from that in Egypt. For it is proof of the bankruptcy of Obama policy but perhaps in a different way from what many people think.
New Moderates: Syrian Rebels, Iranian President, and the Taliban
American policymakers are likely to be carried away and to see rebel victory as the equivalent of a good and heroic victory for freedom.
It’s Time to Tell the Truth about the ‘Peace Process’
"He who tells the truth is driven from nine villages" -- Turkish proverb.
American Farce: Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
Does anyone notice that the Palestinians keep demanding more preconditions, Israeli concessions but never come to the table?
Revolutionary Islamism Is Not America’s Friend
Middle East expert, Barry Rubin discussed the region, prospects for peace and revolutionary Islamism.
Rubin Report: The True Lesson of a Tragedy in Colorado Film Theater
There is no political ideology, government program, or redistribution of wealth that is going to cure humanity’s ills. In today’s secular, even anti-religious, Western society, religious people are seen as aggressive, intolerant, and foolish. But there are two things a decent religious person possesses that others don’t: A belief that there is a divine judge, which may make them curb their behavior; and a desire for self-improvement, to reduce their sins and strive for something higher.
Noxious Nominations: The Four Horsemen of the American Foreign Policy Apocalypse
Smart people can make bad judgments; regular people with common sense often make bad judgments less often. But stupid, arrogant people with terrible ideas are a disaster.
The Motive Cover Up of the Boston Bombings Begins
Why are government officials, politicians, army officers, academics and journalists afraid to point out the truth?
Rubin Reports: New York Times Coverage of Israel: What Comes After Ridiculously Biased?
At times we seem to be living in the updated version of Ignazio Silone’s remark, “The final conflict will be between the Communists and the ex-Communists.” All too often, we cannot depend on Western-trained intellectuals in positions of power who either buy into leftist ideology or tremble in fear of being called racists or Islamophobes.
Why the ‘Arab Peace Initiative’ is a Scam
In other words, to speak in English in Washington to make the Americans happy is one thing; to do things in practice is something else entirely.
Rubin Reports: The New Middle East – Arab Versus Non-Arab Muslims, Sunni Versus Shia
The new Middle East strategic battle is heating up and this is only the start. It has nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with two more serious lines of battle: Arabs versus Persians and Sunni versus Shia Muslims.
Obama Doctrine: Backing Muslim Radicals Despite 10 Western Failures
Is there no one who remembers this recent history?
Western Media Elites Just Don’t Get the Middle East
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.
Rubin Reports: The Government is Not a Magic Box
To view government as a form of deity or an inevitable friend of the poor and downtrodden is an illusion. Government is not a magic box, but a can of worms. To see it as a player, with its own interests, that should be as distrusted as any bank or corporation is the purest form of common sense, the very triumph of common sense over ideology and dogma that made America great, its people free, and real democracy possible.
Why Economic Development as a Panacea for Middle East Problems is a Myth
A reader asks: “I agree that democracy and economic development are not panaceas for the Middle East, just as they are not for any other location on the planet. But aren't they a start? And since it is possible to chew gum and walk at the same time, does it hurt to at least pay lip service to doing things to bring the rest of the Middle East into the 21st century? And what would those things be in your opinion?” As you noted, both candidates in the presidential election spoke of economic development as a top priority in their Middle East policy. This sounds good to voters but is pretty meaningless.
The War Among the Jews
A large number of pro-Obama and radical or even anti-Israel cadre are Jews.
The ‘Imperialist Tool’ of the Middle East
Historically, inasmuch as there was any European or American “imperialism” in the Middle East it made use of Arab political factors over Israel.
Arab World War Two: Sunni versus Shia
A mob of up to 3000 regular people, the neighbors, marched on the house where the Shia were gathered.
Who Won the Latest Israel-Hamas War? (You’ll Be Surprised)
I’m amused by those who think that Hamas won the recent conflict.