On June 39th, in keeping with the timetable set by the US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, the US redeployed its combat forces out of major Iraqi cities--the first phase of a plan that should lead to a complete US withdrawal from Iraq by December 31, 2011.

The Iraqi government declared...

During the 2008 election there was a television ad featuring a late night phone call on the White House hot line. "It's 3:00 am," the narrator said, "there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing, something is happening in the world...who do you want answering the phone?"

I am just returning from the Middle East, where, in the wake of President Obama's Cairo speech, the victory of the March 14th Coalition in Lebanon, and the return of Senator George Mitchell to the region, some "brave" souls are allowing themselves to feel a bit hopeful. I say "brave"...

There are times I am struck by how fortunate we are that Barack Obama was elected president on November 4th, 2008. This is one of those times. Having spent the last 30 years of my life working to bridge the divide between the US and the Arab World, I became...

Following on the heels of his meetings with a number of Middle East leaders, President Barack Obama travels next week to Egypt where, on June 4th, he will deliver a much anticipated speech to the Muslim world.

Already the topic of great speculation, there are several elements...

When Benyamin Netanyahu last came to Washington as Prime Minister of Israel the setting was quite different. Back then, President Bill Clinton was distracted, beset by scandals that culminated in his impeachment. Republicans, who had formed a partnership with Netanyahu's Likud party in opposition to both Clinton and the Labor...

In the days leading up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first visit to Washington, a mini-drama, of sorts, has been playing out.

The Obama administration has made clear its intention to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is pressing the Israeli Prime Minister to accept...

On April 24th, 2009, President Barack Obama issued a statement commemorating Armenian Remembrance Day--the day when Armenians worldwide recall the genocidal assault on their community that ultimately took the lives of 1.5 million in the post-WWI era.

In the weeks leading up to the 24th, both Turks and Armenians...

The American electorate is deeply divided on issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with voters who backed Barack Obama and John McCain holding dramatically divergent views of the conflict, what should be done to solve it, and the role the U.S. ought to play.

This is the most startling finding...

In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court decision ending the 2000 election, my brother, John Zogby, polled Democrats and Republicans, asking each whether or not they would respect the outcome of the contest and view as "legitimate" the presidency of either George W. Bush or Al Gore. Two-thirds...

Despite some domestic criticism, the president was correct in releasing the largely un-redacted Bush era "torture memos". If we are a nation of laws, then all must be held accountable before the law. The memos are, on the one hand, horrifying in their cold and near ruthless attention to the...

Stories on the Bush Administration's use of torture in Sunday's New York Times ("Spanish Court Weighs Criminal Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-era Officials" ) and Washington Post ("Detainee's Harsh Treatment Foiled No Plots") raise several issues worth noting.

Despite Cheney's stubborn insistence that information...

When Benjamin Netanyahu became Prime Minister in 1996, he ran on a platform dedicated to ending the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. That is what he said in Israel. For U.S. consumption, Netanyahu took a different approach, seeking instead to unilaterally alter the terms of the process. He rejected the "land...

On the day after St. Patrick's Day, a panel was convened on Capitol Hill to discuss the lessons learned from the Irish peace process, and reflect on their applicability to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Titled, "From Belfast to Jerusalem," the panel brought together: EU Ambassador to Washington, former Irish Prime...

While supporters of a two-state solution continue to insist that Israel freeze settlement construction in the West Bank, there is something quite maddening about this entire enterprise.

The U.S. has called on Israel to halt settlements for over three decades now. On at least one half dozen occasions, Israel has...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent Middle East trip was striking, by any measure. Despite grumbling by some in the Arab media for what they derided as her "excessive caution," or claiming that she merely echoed the policies of the previous administration - some going so far as to...

Last Friday, the "Weekend" section of the Washington Post featured a cover story on "Arabesque: Art of the Arab World," the Kennedy Center's three-week-long festival of Arab arts and culture. There is no better way to begin a reflection on the program, than to quote the opening lines of...

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), a leader of the religious right wing in the Senate, who once infamously held a hearing on Saudi Arabia, featuring, as experts, three authors who had never been to Saudi Arabia, is at it again.

The Obama administration, both the president and secretary of state, have...

Some elections serve as clarifying moments in a nation's history, others resolve little and serve only as a reflection of internal division. The former provide direction, the latter create paralysis.

The recently completed Israeli elections and ongoing deliberations over how to the shape of the next government serve...

This week we commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, arguably the U.S.'s greatest and most complex President.

Born in deep poverty, hard work and driving ambition brought him success, first in the practice of law and then in politics. Though self-taught, with only one...