In a few short months, the world won't have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to kick around anymore. Not that many on the world stage, save his fellow anti-American aspiring autocrats, will miss him. This is because, in June, the Islamic Republic of Iran will be holding the quadrennial charade that they call...

Here is something we know about the coming year: It is going to be crucial for the future of Iran, the region and American interests in the Middle East. In assessing what the Iranian regime's behavior will be in the near future, the best guide is how it has behaved...

This past weekend Middle East watchers almost certainly expressed gratitude for a respite from the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. For many the recent fighting probably appeared to be another predictable moment in the seemingly intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. While the casual observer shouldn't be faulted for...

It has been a trying time of late for the European Union. The last several years have seen the continent's common currency battered under the weight of seemingly never ending sovereign debt crises. The talk of a Euro break-up, or at the very least the exit of some of the...

As we watch the demonstrations currently roiling the Muslim world, many of us can't help but scratch our heads and wonder: "How does this happen? How can something like a YouTube clip, no matter how offensive, cause such violent reactions?" On the face of it, it's baffling. Four Americans are...

At the end of June, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi delivered a bizarre, rambling, accusatory and anti-Semitic speech that blamed the Talmud, a traditional Jewish holy text, for the world's drug problems. These comments were made at a conference put on with the help of the United...

Revelations about the cyber attacks targeting the Iranian regime's nuclear program have rightfully grabbed headlines recently, but what about the Iranian regime's use of the Internet to tighten its stranglehold on its own people?

David Sanger's new book, Confront and Conceal, reviewed last week in the New...

It's tough to be a journalist. Between budget cuts, staff reductions, and the demand to be a "one man band" e.g. write, shoot, tweet, blog, etc. all in real-time -- expectations and pressures have never been greater.

But during a year in which legends in the international press corps have...

If you haven't been paying close attention to what is happening in Syria, yesterday's announcement that the United States is closing its embassy in Damascus might have caught your attention. This extraordinary diplomatic move is a stark demonstration of the growing danger the unfolding situation posed to American...

If there is one thing that the Iranian regime is adept at it is hostage taking. Since the seizure of the U.S. embassy in 1979, Iran has used the tactic as a staple of its diplomatic toolkit. We all remember the ordeal faced by the American hikers Sarah...

Today is International Human Rights Day. You probably didn't know that. Don't worry; you're in good company. For better or worse the contemporary calendar is littered with an untold number of days of celebration, commemoration and recognition ranging from National Beer Day to National Hugging Day. But while the vast...