On the Iran nuclear crisis, hope not only springs eternal; in Western circles, it springs maddeningly so. We often hear that our approach to stopping Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weaponry is working; Iran is more isolated than ever; sanctions are biting; its economy is suffering; Tehran is ready to talk. The international community can solve …
Jaap Polak walks gingerly these days, leaning on a cane or holding the rail as he climbs the stairs to his second-floor room at The Sparhawk, a comfortable waterfront resort in the southern Maine town of Ogunquit. That’s where, for more than half a century, he and his wife, Ina Soep, have spent a few …
The news of recent days reminds us that, in a close U.S. presidential election (as the ObamaRomney contest is expected to be), Jews have an influence that far exceeds their numbers across America. That’s because they congregate in key swing states (e.g., Florida, Ohio) and the wealthiest among them tap their resources for candidates and …
Freedom and democracy don’t come easily to a land that’s known precious little of it over time. Often, a nation overthrows an authoritarian government and replaces it with a democratically elected one, only to see the new government subvert the rule of law and impose a new authoritarianism. That’s why as a nation teeters between …
Continue reading “US Should Forcefully Encourage Free Elections In Georgia”
President Obama and Congress are moving to replace the landmark Jackson-Vanik law of 1974 – which conditioned U.S. trade with the Soviet bloc on its willingness to let Jews and other oppressed people emigrate – with a law to establish normal trade relations with what’s now Russia. The effort is probably long overdue. The Soviet …
Recent developments in Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere have convinced skeptics that U.S. human rights promotion in the Middle East causes more harm than good by inciting instability – positioning the Muslim Brotherhood and other anti-Western forces to win elections or otherwise seize power. The argument has superficial appeal, but it rests on problematic assumptions about …
Continue reading “Now more than ever, U.S. must side with activists struggling to install democracy”
Events in Libya and Egypt highlight the potential benefits of United States human rights promotion – both for the U.S. and for people across the world – as well as the downsides of America’s failure to pursue that task. The U.S. promotes human rights – i.e., freedom and democracy – for both moral and selfish …