June 22, 2014

Deconstructing the Iraq and Syria Conflicts

The current escalating sectarian violence between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Iraqi forces and the unending civil war in Syria are now intertwined and neither can be resolved without the other, which requires a dramatic change in t...

April 6, 2014

Stuck In an Ideological Divide

The common characteristics and stark differences between Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority’s President Abbas might just explain why the current peace negotiations are stuck and not likely to lead to any break...

March 11, 2014

Israeli-Iranian Axis? Highly Illusory

There are those who believe that given the sweeping turmoil in the Middle East, the two most powerful non-Arab countries other than Turkey -- Israel and Iran -- have common interests in forming a strategic alliance that would substantially strengthen...

February 9, 2014

The Tragic Geneva II Charade

It is hard to imagine that representatives of the 30 countries that assembled in Geneva actually believed that they could find a political solution to the Syrian civil war. Given the differing strategic interests in Syria of the powers within and out...

January 18, 2014

Sharon's Legacy

People around the world have passed judgment about the life of Israel's most controversial leader that runs the gambit from utter and deep admiration for his uncompromising devotion to Israel's security and wellbeing while others, especially the Pale...

November 29, 2013

The Nuclear Deal: Netanyahu vs. Obama

The Obama administration and Israel see the deal deal that was struck in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 (the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, China, and Germany) from entirely different perspectives. To exemplify the stark differences between the tw...

November 10, 2013

The Source of Assad's Staying Power

When Basil Assad, oldest son and heir apparent to the late President Hafez Assad, was killed in a car accident in 1994, the father turned to his inexperienced son Bashar to groom him for the presidency. Whereas Basil was trained in military and polit...

November 3, 2013

Israel's National Security: Delegitimizing the Legitimate

One of the main issues being discussed in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is Israel's national security. Although given its military might, Israel's sense of insecurity may seem exaggerated, the Palestinians should not dismiss this centr...

October 27, 2013

'The Jewish State of Israel'

As the Israelis and Palestinians are presently negotiating in an effort to end a nearly seven decades-old conflict, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made recognition of the Jewish right to a homeland in Israel "the most important key to solving the confl...

October 13, 2013

The Shadow of the Palestinian Refugees

One of the main issues that Israelis and Palestinians are struggling with in the ongoing negotiations is the Palestinian refugee problem. Although in previous negotiations both sides agreed on permitting a small number of refugees to return to Israel...

October 6, 2013

Facing the Truth about Jerusalem

Those who are privy to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations appear to be more optimistic than ever before about the prospect of reaching an agreement. Yet there are those who believe that, regardless of American prodding, no agreement i...

September 15, 2013

Obama's Syria Debacle

I am not a warmonger; I know the meaning of war -- the death toll, the suffering, and the destruction of property along with the spirits of innocent men, women, and children. That said, regardless of how appalling the use of force is to achieve any o...

August 3, 2013

Show the Leaders The Road To Peace

If there was even a small chance of success in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, they would have to be based on three fundamental tenets. First, they must come to an agreement on the critical issue of borders, delink it from other difficult confl...

July 28, 2013

Enough Talking About Talks

Secretary of State John Kerry is to be highly commended for his tireless efforts to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace negotiations soon in Washington. Although the prospect of success of these negotiations is very slim, if there ...

July 21, 2013

Killing In The Name Of God

Notwithstanding the cultural and interpretive differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the God worshiped by Muhammad is the same God that communicated with Abraham and to which Jesus prayed. This one God, it is believed, revealed sublime...

July 13, 2013

Is Islam Compatible With Democracy?

The question raised by the ouster of Egypt's President Morsi is whether Islam is compatible with democracy or any form of government that empowers the people and limits the power of leaders to hold merely representative offices with limited terms of ...

June 23, 2013

Contrasting Strategies, Same Results

Whereas former President Bush and President Obama are ideologically a world apart, their policies toward Middle Eastern conflicts produced the same damning reaction. Bush's misguided war in Iraq and its consequences, and Obama's diffidence toward the...

June 16, 2013

Kerry's Last-ditch Effort

In his upcoming visit to Israel and Palestine, Secretary of State John Kerry will attempt a last-ditch effort to persuade Israel's Prime Minster Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority's President Abbas to resume peace negotiations. If there is, howe...

June 2, 2013

Taking the Lead in Syria

America's friends and allies in the Middle East depend on the strategic vision, clarity, and resolve of the United States to deal with the multiple crises that surround them. They feel unsure, however, about the Obama administration's polic...

May 24, 2013

Humanitarian Disaster and Political Illusion

The continuing carnage and atrocities sweeping across Syria and the savagery committed against innocent men, women, and children defy the most nightmarish dehumanization committed by one against another. A government that slaughters its people and ma...

May 12, 2013

Turkey: Opportunities and Risks Ahead

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington on May 16 comes at a pivotal time when the Middle East is riddled with extraordinary conflicts that have the potential of exploding into a regional war. The time is also ripe for creat...

April 28, 2013

Resurrecting The Arab Peace Initiative

The resurrection of Arab Peace Initiative (API) by the United States, which was initially introduced by the Arab League in Beirut, Lebanon in 2002, is a strategic and timely move. Sadly, however, the API should have all along constituted the basis fo...

March 17, 2013

The Prospect for Peace Must Trump Potential Failure

President Obama's foray into the Middle East may well provide him the last opportunity to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which is central to the region's stability. Having failed in his effort during his first term to forge peace betw...

February 17, 2013

Religious Conviction and Reality

The most puzzling aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be that after 65 years of violence, enmity and suffering, it remains unresolved when coexistence is inevitable and a two-state solution remains the only viable option. Although there ar...