I suspect that I’m like many of you. I want to believe Israeli-Palestinian peace is coming, that the two sides will soon agree to borders, Palestinian terrorists will stop launching rockets from Gaza, and ultra-right Israelis will abandon dreams of absorbing the West Bank into a “Greater […]
Read more →President Obama’s counter-terrorism strategy, which he unveiled last week in a high-profile speech at the National Defense University, is less off-base than incomplete, reflecting his effort to limit the scope of the problem and the requirements of the response in ways that will prove inadequate to the […]
Read more →The decision by Iran’s Guardian Council to bar the long-time Iranian leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from participating in its June 14th presidential election prompts two thoughts about the Islamic Republic. First, despite fanciful notions by some top U.S. officials, Iran is no democracy. Second, despite equally fanciful […]
Read more →In his 2010 book, The Strong Horse, Lee Smith counseled that, in the Middle East, what matters in shaping the loyalty of the masses is which “strong horse” – whether a person or a country – can impose its will on others. The title refers to the […]
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Turkey, communications, and autocracy’s future
Turkey’s tumult reminds us that no one can predict the event that will spark massive public protest, the incident that will bring longstanding grievances to the surface, the dispute that will ignite the courage of thousands to risk life and limb for freedom and democracy, dignity and […]
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