I share Eugene Robinson’s well-articulated concern in his most recent Washington Post column. The numbers are stark: America’s share of total world defense spending is 46.5%. Second place goes to China at a meager 6.6%. In an age of withering economic hardship at home and growing deficits and debt, why do we continue to subsidize a [...]
Archive for the ‘Israel’ Category
A Thinking Man’s Foreign Policy
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, defense spending, Fundamentalism, India, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, America, Americans, defense spending, India, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, Saudi Arabia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on November 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A Muslim Responsibility
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Europe, Fundamentalism, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, South Asia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, Women, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Europe, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on November 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Muslim communities across America can only cringe once again at the latest spate of news: package bombs from Yemen bound for Chicago area synagogues; a plot to simultaneously bomb multiple subway stations in the DC metro area. In both cases, the main culprits are American citizens of Muslim faith and heritage: in Yemen, Anwar Al [...]
Under Obama, Business as Usual…
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Shia, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, Radical, Saudi Arabia, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on October 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Hussein was not a dirty word for most American Muslims who watched the first black man inaugurated president two years ago. The president’s middle name represented a certain hope, not that our new head of state was a closet Muslim, for we all knew better, and, given many of our experiences, we were not advocates [...]
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
Posted in Afghanistan, democracy, Egypt, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Pakistan, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Americans, Arab Gulf, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Jordan, mullah, nuclear, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Tea Party, U.S. Foreign Policy on September 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This past weekend I hopped on Interstate 95 and rubbernecked my way along stimulus-inspired construction lanes down to colonial Williamsburg, a time-warp back to the days of British empire in America and its discontents. A passion-play called “Revolutionary City” was captivating a crowd of tourists along the former colonial capital’s cobblestone avenues, complete with costumed [...]
The Lost Narrative
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Somalia, Sunni, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Radical, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I won’t attempt to decipher the swirling debate surrounding the manufactured controversy of Park 51, the “mosque” (actually, cultural center modeled on the Jewish YMCA at 92nd Street) “at Ground Zero” (actually, several blocks away, like the other mosques already in the area.). All heat and very little light, it’s clear the only thing this debate [...]
The Case Against Iran
Posted in Ahmadinejad, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, nuclear weapon, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Ahmadinejad, Al Qaeda, Iran, Iranians, islam, Israel, Middle East, Netanyahu, nuclear, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I will not attempt to dissect the spate of reactions and counter-reactions to the Jeffrey Goldberg article on the Iran-Israel conflict in this past week’s Atlantic. Smarter people who follow this debate every day and have none of Goldberg’s hidden prejudice or agenda have provided some excellent analysis here and here. I highly recommend this reading for anyone who [...]
“Touches Pas A Mon Liban”
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Europe, Fundamentalism, Hizbullah, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, Sunni, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Americans, Europe, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, mullah, Muslims, Palestinians, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I don’t usually write about a status update on Facebook, but this one seemed to encapsulate so many of the complexities we deal with when trying to understand the shifting sands of identity in the Middle East. I haven’t seen or talked to this “friend” in several years, since a few too many drinks and [...]
No Reflection, On Both Sides
Posted in 9/11, Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, Radical, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on July 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A pair of instances recently reminded me how both sides- the “West” (more specifically, the United States) and the Muslim World- have engaged in so little self-reflection since the events of 9/11. It is much easier to project outward than to take a hard look at your own society. Problems are no longer yours when [...]
Enabling Terror
Posted in Fundamentalism, Hamas, islam, Israel, Middle East, Radical, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Gaza, Hamas, islam, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, Palestinians, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on June 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Gone are those halcyon days in the late 1970s, when Israeli intelligence carefully nurtured to life a fledgling political group that became the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. ”What?!”, you say?Yes. This is the sad historical context conveniently omitted from any recent news article or analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Back in the ’70s, the [...]
A Real Iran Policy
Posted in Ahmadinejad, Fundamentalism, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged America, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, mullah, nuclear, Obama, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Elected in no small part due to the backlash against rash Bush administration misadventures abroad, the incoming Obama team swore to itself it would pursue a more nuanced, collaborative policy towards Iran. And from the beginning, the president has acted with considerable restraint, even when the mullahs’ brutality against their own people streamed across the [...]
