As the parents of three Israeli teens live their worst nightmare, their sons the latest victims of terror, the drama can now follow a well-worn path of Palestinian triumphalism, Israeli revenge and global moral blindness. It is but another teaching moment – lest anyone still needs one – about why Israeli-Palestinian peace will not come …
The poll numbers are undeniable. Disillusioned by Afghanistan and Iraq, focused on domestic concerns, Americans increasingly want their nation to reduce its global footprint and stop trying to solve the problems of others. A cautious, poll-driven President Obama responds predictably, defining America’s global interests more narrowly and eschewing calls to address humanitarian horror, protect human …
Continue reading “What FDR Can Teach Obama About American Leadership”
The new Palestinian unity government of Fatah and Hamas puts the lie to fundamental assumptions on which the U.S. approach to Israeli-Palestinian peace have long rested, most prominently within the Obama administration. Washington has long assumed that a two-state solution is attainable, that “land for peace” is the formula for success, that the key remaining …
The secret text of recent days that reportedly describes how Iran will implement its six-month nuclear deal raises justifiable fears that, in fleshing out the details, Washington opened the door to more Iranian progress. That neither the United States nor the European Union will release the paper seems ominous, for they’d do so if they …
Continue reading “Critics justifiably fear latest Western deal-making with Iran”
The public run-up to all-but-certain U.S. military action in Syria in response to the al-Assad regime’s chemical weapons usage is undercutting the very message that President Obama feels compelled to deliver. For starters, Administration officials continue to say that the President still has not made a final decision on whether to respond forcefully – despite …
Continue reading “White House undercuts its professed steadfastness in very public ways”
Ever wonder about the European Union, a sometimes unwieldy body of 28 nations, each of which sacrifices some measure of its national sovereignty in order to help make continent-wide policy? The EU certainly can leave heads a-shaking, as it did recently in announcing two major policies related to the Middle East that, together, showcase its …
Continue reading “European Union Clearly Confused About Middle East”
Of all the challenges on his plate, U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey worries most about something nebulous – whether the United States can “maintain our swagger” on the world stage. “Even the Miami Heat,” Dempsey told Washington’s WTOP radio this week, referring to the two-time NBA champs, “if they don’t walk out there with …
Continue reading “America’s ‘Swagger’ Shrinks, World Suffers”