Oye. Didn’t I, as Israel’s prime minister, already have enough problems? Let’s see: Syria’s most radical rebels are gaining strength among the opposition to Bashar al-Assad, so they’ll be better positioned to turn their guns on us after they topple him. Meanwhile, the Golan Heights is growing more dangerous as al-Assad threatens to convert his …
Turkey’s tumult reminds us that no one can predict the event that will spark massive public protest, the incident that will bring longstanding grievances to the surface, the dispute that will ignite the courage of thousands to risk life and limb for freedom and democracy, dignity and respect. No one knew, or could have known, …
Continue reading “Turkey, communications, and autocracy’s future”
The decision by Iran’s Guardian Council to bar the long-time Iranian leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from participating in its June 14th presidential election prompts two thoughts about the Islamic Republic. First, despite fanciful notions by some top U.S. officials, Iran is no democracy. Second, despite equally fanciful notions by some U.S. “experts,” Rafsanjani is no …
Israel’s military strikes in Syria leave the interested observer with admiration over Jerusalem’s steadfastness, disgust over Washington’s continued dithering, and worry over the long-term global implications. To be sure, Syria is both a humanitarian horror and a geopolitical mess and, at this point, no one’s got a clean, easy, fool-proof way to stop the slaughter …
If you monitor United Nations proceedings, listen to political debates on college campuses, and take in much mainstream and new media, you might think that Israel is the world’s greatest human rights abuser. The reality is quite different, as this week’s release of the U.S. State Department’s latest annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices …
Continue reading “No, Israel’s not the world’s big human rights problem”
Fresh off the failure of Almaty, where global negotiators again received nothing for their slavish effort to convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear pursuit, Western diplomats insisted that talks would continue. “There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue,” a Western diplomat told Reuters this week. “I would not expect a breakdown.” Why? Because …
Across our world in which 7.1 billion people dwell, 2.2 billion (or 31 percent) are Christians. They pray in mega-churches across America, in isolated villages in China, and in thousands of places in between. More and more, they pray in fear. That’s because, as the Hudson Institute’s Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Nina Shea outline …