In its most hard-worded statement to date, the Libyan government on Mar. 20 vowed to eliminate terrorism and mobilize “the national military force” to confront the threat. According to the release, “the cities of Benghazi, Derna, Sirte and others face a terrorist war led by Libyan and foreign elements that have hostile and sinister […]
In an article entitled “In Defense of Empire” published on March 19, chief geopolitical analyst at Stratfor and national correspondent for the Atlantic Robert Kaplan argues we ought to bring back a form of American “imperialism.” Imperialism, he argues, is both misunderstood and an effective governing tool. While I don’t intend to focus on the […]
From the outset, let me make one thing clear: Al-Shabaab, and its extremist world view is neither constructive nor sustainable. This extremist neo-Islamist group represents one of a two nihilistic worldviews that dominated the twenty first century political discourse—global (dysfunctional) jihadism and global war on terrorism. Both, due to their applied mantra—with hammer, all problems […]
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, the director for the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Islam (under formation) and a lecturer in the Arabic department at Bar Ilan University, believes that the two-state for two-people solution is out of touch with the Middle East reality. He believes that an eight-state solution better reflects the […]
For the second time in two months, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has had to apologize for publicly criticizing the United States. Lecturing at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Ya’alon delivered a speech saying that the U.S. “shows weakness” on the world stage and that Israel should not rely on U.S. efforts to deal […]
Merely a day after the Syrian civil war entered its fourth year the Assad regime scored a major victory against rebels in the town of Yabroud. Located in the Qalamoun region, a mountainous area near the Lebanese border, Yabroud had served as a crucial gateway for the transit of rebel supplies and fighters into the […]
In a recent post on this site, Samantha Quint intelligently analyzed the recent poll on peace issues (among other topics) carried out by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI). There was one finding in the survey in particular that I would like to expand upon here, because I believe it bears significant weight and could have […]
There has been a recent escalation in the level of violence between Gaza and Israel. The IDF attacked Gaza and Southern Israeli cities have been bombarded with qassam rockets. The root of this recent escalation is the level of incitement that presently exists within Palestinian society. Life in Southern Israel as we speak is very […]
In the wake of the scandal that broke out in Turkey recently, when it was reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly instructed his son to hide large sums of cash, demonstrations similar to the Gezi Park protests have broken out throughout the country, demanding Erdogan’s resignation. However, Rafael Sadi, the spokesman […]
This past weekend, Russian marines in unmarked uniforms (or possibly, but less likely, private contractors paid by Russia) seized the airports of Crimea, allowing Russian planes to fly troops into that autonomous region of Ukraine while large-scale Russian military maneuvers to the north distracted the Ukrainian army. The quick and somewhat stealthy action permitted […]
In his new piece for the New Yorker, “Revolution on Trial: The strange world of the Muslim Brotherhood court cases,” Peter Hessler brings his readers into the courtroom of the ongoing trial against former Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, and his co-defendants. Morsi and a number of other Muslim Brotherhood members are charged in connection with multiple […]
“We cannot have our right hand tied in our back and be asked to defend ourselves with our crippled left hand.” – Abdirahman Sheikh Issa The recent al-Shabaab attack at the heart of the government’s compound, Villa Somalia, marks a turning point; both in terms of the audacity of the group’s militancy and the massive […]
By Ambassador Nathalie Cely, Ecuador’s Ambassador to the U.S. The “American Dream” has been the national ethos of the United States for generations. Its timeless appeal lies in its sheer optimism: those who work hard and play by the rules can achieve anything. Last month’s State of the Union address by President Obama, however, noted that […]
As Egyptian military leaders scramble to consolidate power ahead of a presidential election in April, it is seeking help from a former ally. After meetings last week in Moscow, it was reported that Russia will supply Egypt with $3 billion in arms and military aircraft. From Egypt’s standpoint, the deal will help make up for […]
In the past several months, the world has been gripped by the graphic political drama unfolding in Ukraine, but events have often unfolded so fast that it has been difficult to put them in context. And although the violence has stopped, the future of Ukraine is more uncertain than ever before. Here we’ll break down […]