There is simply no justification for Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.   The erroneous rationalization offered for Russia’s annexation of Crimea proceeds along one or more of the following lines: 1: The US, NATO and other Western governments left Vladimir Putin and Russia no choice. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO aggressively […]

Is the Crimea crisis a sign of a return to the Great Game or the Cold War? The crisis in the Crimea Autonomous Republic of Ukraine, wrought by the recent fall of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president and subsequent introduction of Russian troops in Crimea, revives memories of the 19th century’s Great Game, which pitted the Russian […]

As many predicted as the U.S. was exiting Iraq in 2011, the country and its fragile democracy are now in very serious trouble. After the investment of 4,500-plus American lives lost and more than one trillion dollars spent there from 2003 through 2011 and a much welcomed exit at the end of 2011, this is […]

Commentary: Stronger ties to US and the West would assure Iraq of its best future. Iraq is now in very serious trouble, as many had predicted during the US exit in 2011. The security interests at stake for the United States create an imperative for coming to the aid of Baghdad now. This is a […]

Could Lebanon’s 15-year conflict prove to be a lesson for Syria? Lebanon’s civil war, which cost some 150,000 lives, was brought to a much needed if unsatisfactory end by the Taif Agreement, or National Reconciliation Accord. It had become clear to the warring Shi’a, Sunni and Christian factions, that there was no military solution to their […]