… according to a recent interview with economist Edward Sayre by Brookings scholar Navtej Dhillon. His overview of the Palestinian economy, with a focus on Gaza and its future, sheds some light on just how intractable a problem the “peace process” has become. Really fascinating reading.
The original promoter of soft power, Joseph Nye, comments on the term “smart power” in the Los Angeles Times today. Foreign Affairs hosted two important “soft power” and “smart power” articles; the first,”What New World Order”, was written by Nye in 1992 and the second, “Smart Power“, was written by Suzanne Nossel in 2004. The […]
Evidently change and hope don't have quite the same resonance in a war zone. Arab Americans and Mona Eltahawy demonstrate a bit more optimism. Amir Taheri advocates taking a strong – but diplomatic – line immediately, as apparently showing weakness will mean squandering the brief window the now-President has to implement his agenda. Presumably, since […]
The United States and the UAE now have an agreement wherein the UAE can utilize nuclear power reactors as a civilian energy source, but will import and export nuclear material and waste. Hmm. This means that the UAE is the first Arab state to develop nuclear capabilities. The NY editorial board points out the obvious: […]
… and its potential to change the world at Goodreads.com (if you join, then we can be friends and you can see all the books I am reading). Dr.Nafisi is the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and now her memoir, Things I’ve Been Silent About.
We usually don't link to articles easily found on the web (unless written by FPA contributor Nate Field) but this Haaretz piece about Egyptian Intel Chief Omar Suleiman is tooooo much. Here's my favorite line: “We met some years ago with CIA representatives in the lobby of a hotel,” recalled an Israeli intelligence man, “and […]
With all this attention being paid to Gaza Tunnels recently I’m printing here a June 2008 posting I wrote for a personal blog. It details how Washington approached the Gaza Tunnel issue in the past few years. It is my personal belief that Gaza Tunnels are a red herring, and that neither Israel, the US, […]
Dion Nissenbaum, Jerusalem bureau chief for McClatchy, reviews potential scenarios for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the short-term future. Basically, argues Nissenbaum, he can't win, but the international community hasn't got a better alternative, so we can't let him lose, either. His analysis focuses on the international community – e.g. the United States and Israel […]
Tala al Ramahi offers an optimistic perspective on women's advancement and men's role to play therein in the Emirates.
This is not a tradition, so don't expect any funny jokes next Tuesday. Quote Peter Feaver, on my new favorite FP blog (or second fave, after Madam Secretary, especially the post about Hillary and knee-high boots): Walt may be guilty of a common academic fallacy of inference: if I did not read about it in […]
… the LA Times profiles a teenage girl in Tyre, Lebanon, named Hiba Qassir, who is studying at a high school backed by Hezbollah. She comments on her various ambitions, including becoming a film director, and calls martyrdom “the shortest way to heaven”. The summary bit below the headline (I am not sure what the […]
… the former speaker of the Knesset reflects on the meaning of the conflict of Gaza for him and his children.