Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence this week, and this surely is a milestone of biblical proportions given the relentless challenges Israel has faced since its birth. The celebration also represents an ideal opportunity for Israel to reward itself with a gift that may, just may, keep on giving.

If you listen very carefully, above the din of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's nonsensical theatrical performances, the distant sound of war drums in the Persian Gulf are growing increasingly audible.

Two weeks ago, when Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker appeared before Congress, they testified that Iran had greatly accelerated its...

Cairo--By coincidence I was in Cairo today when former President Jimmy Carter arrived here to meet with a delegation from Hamas over the vociferous objections of Israel and the United States. I had served as Deputy Senior Advisor for Middle East Affairs in Carter's White House, and was on the...

When Gen. Petreaus and Amb. Crocker appear before both houses of Congress tomorrow and Thursday, Democrats should ideally position themselves through these hearings to achieve the following overarching goals:

-- Debunk the fiction that the military surge has achieved sustainable military or political objectives.

-- Undermine Sen. McCain's argument that...

Time is (fortunately) running out on Condi Rice. As our increasingly peripatetic Secretary of State makes here upmteenth photo op diplomatic drive-by to the Middle East, she is putting the finishing touches on a legacy that will add yet one more failure to her excruciating and unending list of diplomatic...

John McCain went before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council yesterday morning to showcase his foreign policy credentials and convince Americans that he is the only candidate experienced enough to take that 3am telephone call. While Clinton and Obama are distracted by a pre-Pennsylvania primary food fight, McCain's address constituted...

Today marks the fifth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq. There in Baghdad to commemorate (who can forget) our "Mission Accomplished" is none other than that immutable oracle of all things Iraq than America's own Vice President Dick Cheney.

Aside from Bush, Cheney, Condi and the CODEL (Congressional Delegation)...

Admiral William "Fox" (his flyboy nickname) Fallon, the head of the U.S. Central Command -- which covers most of the Middle East -- was given an unceremonious boot out of the Pentagon today even though for public attribution it was he who submitted his resignation.

Once again, this White...

With even Iraq off our collective radar screen (or at least not a subject of intense debate), it is no wonder that the deplorable humanitarian crisis in Darfur gets more distressing, as if it were not distressing enough, with nary a mention by the candidates in our campaign.

The recalcitrant...

Judging by the debate over which presidential candidate can best act wisely when he/she answers that 3am telephone call should a crisis break out in a dangerous part of the world, such as in one of the Muslim world's hot spots, the next president is going to have rebuild a...

Yes, I know that Texas is where it all stopped last night, but gaze with me for a moment south of the Rio Grande into our Latin backyard. There, you will discover that in recent days the democratically elected government of Colombia is being bullied by Venezeuela's Napoleon wannabe Hugo...

The long distance barbs and ad wars among Clinton, Obama and McCain over which candidate possesses the greatest experience on national security among the three portends a much nastier confrontation in the months ahead given the vexing foreign policy challenges the next president will inherit.

Take, for instance, the...

Watching tonight's Democratic presidential debate, I couldn't resist wondering whether Ralph Nader's infantile fancy as the Harold Stassen of the 21st century could somehow harm the Democratic nominee in the race to reach the few voters that could fall victim to Nader's eccentric rantings. As VP Gore's foreign policy director...

Things are not what they seem inside Iraq. Boiling just below the surface of the U.S. military's painstaking efforts to quell urban violence throughout Baghdad and the still violent-ridden cities of the north is the evil Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr. Moqtada announced today that he may call off his...

Dateline Doha Qatar

I am attending the U.S. - Islamic World Forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center and the Govt. of Qatar. If the sentiments expressed at this year's conference are any guide, Americans can perhaps be reassured that the once feared "clash of civilizations" between the...

I am in Qatar's capital of Doha attending the fifth U.S.-Islamic World Forum, which is sponsored by the Qatari Government and the Saban Center of the Brookings Institution in DC. This gathering of political, academic, civil society and business leaders from across the Muslim world and the United States represents...

Mitt Romney was surely running low on red meat to throw into the mosh pit of C(onversative) PACers yesterday when he reached deep into his Coleman cooler and threw the following gem of a meatball into the claws of his voracious right wing audience:

" Frankly, in this time...

After John McCain's victory in Florida, I couldn't help but wonder how McCain, who has consistently out "nine-elevened" Rudy G on the campaign trail by decrying "islamo-facists" at every breakfast, lunch and dinner, straight-talked his way to victory. After all, this is the same John McCain who told New Hampshire...

Since Benazir Bhutto's assassination, Pakistan has largely fallen off the front pages. But make no mistake about it, the situation inside Pakistan remains a dangerous threat to American security.

Apparently in response to those fears, SecDef Robert Gates yesterday raised the possibility that U.S. troops may be "invited" by...

As I was reviewing what may have emerged from Bush's marathon trip to the Middle East, it dawned on me as I watched one photo-op after another that all of this palsy-walsy stuff going on with petro-sheikhs and Arab kings had less to do with the serious business of Iran,...