Israelis and Palestinians must dramatically overhaul their approach to reaching peace, i.e., a paradigm shift in approach. Before negotiators return to the table, their respective leaderships must address the issues and attitudes of their populations in a direct and blunt conversation, the kind of conversation that requires leadership the region has not seen since Menachim […]

The United States seeks democracy and inclusive government while Iran looks for Shi’as to dominate Iraq. The blitzkrieg-like advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham in Iraq and its successive victories in that country’s Anbar, Ninewah, Diyala and Salah al Din provinces have provoked fanciful speculation of cooperation between the US and […]

Neither Presidents George W. Bush nor Barak Obama can be accused of causing the the current crisis in Iraq. However, both bear responsibility for that nation’s current state of affairs. Both erred in failing to understand the historical nature and profound depth of Iraq and the region’s sectarianism and the ease with which idealists, ideologues […]

Iraq is collapsing. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised to respond. But the ease with which ISIS fighters took major cities and the shocking capitulation of the Iraqi army and police raise serious questions over Maliki’s leadership and the army’s capability. Outsiders, including Turkey, Iran, the US and even the Kurds, are making their […]

The U.S. approach to undermining Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has been surprisingly constrained and unimaginative. US military action in Syria can now be essentially disregarded. Still, the United States possesses one particularly effective weapon that it can deploy: advanced technology. The U.S. and others should begin immediately to create a virtual Syrian government-in-exile on the […]