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 [...]
Archive for the ‘Middle East’ Category
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 »
“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 [...]
Top Secret America, in Denial
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Americans, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Radical, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The dust has yet to settle surrounding the twin revelations of the last several weeks: the Washington Post’s revealing expose on America’s mammoth national security apparatus with its ties to big business and the Wikileaks data dump of classified reporting from the front lines of the spiraling Afghan war. Taken together, the two episodes cannot [...]
Europe and the Muslim Conundrum
Posted in Al Qaeda, Europe, Fundamentalism, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, Women, tagged Al Qaeda, Arab Gulf, Europe, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy, veil on July 21, 2010 | 2 Comments »
A colleague is heading overseas for an important meeting with some Arab Gulf investors next week. But he flies to South of France instead of the Middle East. Mediterranean Europe has long been the summer playground of the Arab petro-elite. Closer than America (without the oversized no-fly lists) and even more permissive, Arab men have [...]
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 [...]
Islam’s Hidden Light
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, Shabab, Somalia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Al Qaeda, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, Shabab, Somalia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on June 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Lost among headlines recently of state-sponsored piracy on the high seas and Americans headed to Somalia for jihadist training was a stunning Washington Post article by Sudarsan Raghavan about a little-known militia on the fringes of the civilized world. When we hear the word militia, it typically conjures up negative connotations in our heads; vigilantes [...]
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 [...]
Don’t Bargain with Iran for the Americans
Posted in democracy, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged America, Americans, elections, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Rumors were rife last week of a back room bargain between Iran and the United States for the release of the three Americans who “strayed” into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan last July. Here’s a few reasons why its a bad idea: We Cant Betray Iran’s Great Hope: Deal-making with the mullahs sends the wrong message [...]
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 [...]
Fighting Extremism: Harnessing our Strengths
Posted in Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One wonders what would have happened if the Times Square car bomb attempt had occurred in Phoenix instead of the teeming, diverse neighborhoods of NYC. What if the street vendors who tipped off police with vital information that eventually led to Faisal Shahzad’s capture (by his shoe laces) were Latino instead of African-American? Given Arizona’s [...]
