With elections to the Iraqi Parliament looming on the horizon (set for March 7, 2010), my next few posts will focus on aspects of political parties, security, terrorism and government responsibility for peacekeeping. The more we as Americans know about the parties running, what they stand for and the chances that security can ensure a […]
Ok. It is official. There are more urgent matters than mediating between Israel and its neighbors. For ten years now, the U.S. has exercised little to no pressure on Israel to go back to the negotiations table. During the Bush years, we witnessed absolute disengagement of the U.S. from the so-called peace process. During the […]
The Obama administration responded twice on the Middle East peace process, a day after the State of the Union that omitted any reference to Israel, the Palestinians or the peace negotiations, an issue the administration has spent considerable effort and time on over the last year. A state department spokesperson was asked about the omission […]
Human Rights Watch has long criticized Israel for violations, including actions related to Operation Cast Lead and the imprisonment of certain Palestinians. And this criticism has led some to criticized the group for one-sidedness. However, the group just refuted an assertion from Hamas that the terror organization’s rocket targeted soldiers only and inadvertently struck civilians. […]
What was missing in President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address? Any mention of Israel, the Palestinians or the peace process. Even though the administration expended significant energy and political capital on Middle East peace, the administration and Special Envoy George Mitchell have had minimal success. Shocked about the omission? Not entirely. but […]
As tensions between Hizballah and Israel continue to put Lebanon on edge, the rhetoric coming from Israel is decidedly mixed. Recently, a senior Israeli minister commented that another war with Hizballah is “inevitable” but that he didn’t know when it would happen. On the surface, this may sound unnecessarily inflammatory given the situation, but then […]
Perhaps there is no greater event in history that perpetuated -and some claim grant legitimacy to- the creation of the State of Israel than the Holocaust. While Jews began trickling back into the Holy Land a the end of the 19th century, the slaughter of Jews in Europe propelled thousands of more Jews into the […]
It is no secret that Arab governments have long worried about Iran’s growing influence in the region and they are trying to limit Iranian influence among its population. Here are some of the current news stories that highlight this tense relationship between Arab countries and Iran: Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported that Arabsat, leading […]
An Israeli-American company, Project Better Place, has plans to create the first electric-car grid, which would allow electric cars to be introduced in large numbers on the road. Project Better Place is a sillicon valley start-up that will operate the recharging grid to support the electric cars.The electric car will dramatically reduce carbon emmissions and […]
The Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack announced that The government of Lebanon would be a “target” in case the situation on the ground deteriorated. Few hours later former Prime Minister of Israel Tsivi Livni announced “Iran is as much of a threat to Arabs as it is to Israel”. I wonder what scientific poll did […]
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Amb. George Mitchell recently completed his latest round of shuttle diplomacy. As of right now, the trips seem to have accomplished virtually nothing, with Israeli and Palestinian officials still not negotiating. However, a recent State Department statement emphasizes that Palestinian institution building is prioritized by the administration. This […]
On March 7, 2010 Iraq will hold parliamentary elections. One of the main issues on the campaign trail is just how close Iraq’s ties to Iran should be. The candidates are divided along nationalist and pro-Iranian lines, with nationalists raising concerns about becoming a puppet state of Iran. The situation was highlighted by the standoff […]
Two of Iran’s opposition leaders, Mohammed Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi, have apparently dropped their demand for a new presidential election, saying that while they still believe the vote in June was fraudulent, they accept Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the head of state. Mehdi Karroubi is a former presidential candidate, who has been very vocal in his […]
Disappointment over the Islamic Republic’s intransigence in its nuclear policy has given further credence to Western suspicions that Iran may be buying time to develop a nuclear military capability to blackmail regional states of the Persian Gulf and/or Israel. But at present, Iran’s deeply paranoid and insecure leadership is contemplating its other nuclear option: this […]
If you’re in D.C. in the next few weeks, there are a couple of Israel-related events you could find interesting. On Feb. 1, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is sponsoring a human rights film festival at the Georgetown University Law Center. Of note is: “Jerusalem: War in My Land” by Arturo Perez, Jr., winner […]