The Changing Mideast Power Structure
Ironically, Israel and the Arab states have growing mutual interests in seeing that their region is not dominated by either Turkey or Iran, but whether they can draw together to block these two powers remains to be seen.
Iran and Nuclear Deception
What is significant is that any future arrangement between the West and Iran must be based on an ironclad system of inspections, if such understandings are ever reached, given the role that outright deception continues to play in Iran’s diplomatic relations with the West.
The Palestinians’ Dubious UN Move
It is a strategy that will ultimately backfire for it will remind key players in the international community that the Palestinian Authority does not want a negotiated peace with Israel, leading the U.S. and even the EU to question why they should continue to invest in it at all.
Dore Gold: How the Arab Spring exploded into a wave of violence
Last week’s latest wave of anti-American Muslim protests from the Middle East to Sydney, Australia was followed by dozens of articles in the international press which has been trying to explain its sources. Ostensibly, the rage emanated from an offensive anti-Islamic film clip that was produced in the U.S. and uploaded to YouTube last June. After the 9/11 attacks, there was a similar effort by commentators to understand what exactly motivated those who hijacked civilian aircraft to fly them into buildings in New York and Washington. It was repeatedly asked what was behind their rage. This time, was the reason for the outbreak of violence the film clip alone, as the Obama administration argued, or were there deeper causes?
Jerusalem and US Politics
While seeking bipartisan backing for its positions in the U.S., Israel should openly state its position on vital issues, like the future of Jerusalem, if they come up during the present U.S. political campaign
Lessons for Israel from Captured Iraqi Nuclear Documents
But if the purpose of nuclear weapons in the hands of Israel’s enemies is to make it safe for them to return to the era of conventional wars, then Israel must make sure that it guarantees that at the end of the day it must not be forced to concede its most vital territorial assets based on the unfounded notion that they no longer matter in the nuclear era.
The Dangers of Accepting Iran as a Nuclear Threshold State
If this situation continues, it will become far harder in the future for any state to stop Iran’s determination to acquire nuclear weapons.
Will America Act Against Iran?
Thus while the U.S. unquestionably has the military power to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the world’s most dangerous states, or organizations, repeatedly successive administrations have been reluctant to use their vast military capabilities for that purpose because of the international circumstances they have faced.
Meanwhile, in Jordan…
The U.S. and its allies must have a strategic interest in protecting Jordan’s economic stability and in assuring that it has the full support of the Gulf states, which together are ultimately facing the very same threat from the east.
Romney, Obama and the Future of Jerusalem
For Israel, which is facing great uncertainty about the shape of the Middle East in the future, the answers to these questions will be critical for it being able to determine the extent of the diplomatic support it can count on as it seeks to protect its most vital interests in the future.
Syrian chemical weapons and al-Qaida
During a nighttime raid in Amman on April 20, 2004, Jordanian security forces foiled a plot by al-Qaida to attack the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence, the Jordanian prime minister’s office and the U.S. Embassy with chemical weapons. Tons of chemical agents were seized that apparently had come from Syria. Jordanian officials estimated that the chemical attack could have killed 20,000 people.
The Levy Report and the ‘Occupation’ Narrative
Rather than creating a setting for diplomacy to succeed, it only makes a real Middle Eastern peace more remote than ever.
Shamir’s Diplomatic Legacy
His actions reflected the extent to which he understood the vulnerability of Israel and his responsibility to protect it.
Morsi and the future of the peace treaty
One of the questions that needs to be answered is whether the Muslim Brotherhood feels that it has wider latitude with Israel after Morsi’s victory. Last week, the Egyptian daily al-Ahram reported that some secular parties in Egypt expressed their anger at the Obama administration for what they perceived was its decision to give its blessing to the Muslim Brotherhood’s electoral victory. Commentators in the Jordanian and Palestinian press made the same observation.
The West’s Embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood
For if the West continues down this course and uncritically embraces the Muslim Brotherhood, then it will be extremely unlikely that it will temper its confrontational political program in the future and become a more moderate movement as many in the West presently hope.
