Middle East Politics

A third intifada could have disastrous consequences for all parties involved. Yet it remains unclear if a new uprising would be directed against Palestinian leaders for failing to deliver realistic change and reform or against Israel -- or both.

By expanding the coalition, Netanyahu has provided himself with the ideal political environment to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians and bridge the social gap domestically.

Turkey is a real force to be reckoned with in the Levant. And if memories serve well, upsetting the Ottoman Turks never proved to be a very intelligent policy. Upsetting modern-day Turks may not differ.

While it is not wise to use one interview as a basis to form an opinion or policy, one point of view is better than no point of view. I am fortunate to know someone from Iran briefly studying in the U.S. that is willing to talk about this issue from an Iranian point of view before he returns to Iran.

Last week the Obama administration sent clear signals that it was planning to fold its tents in Afghanistan earlier than previously advertised. That set off a flurry of speculation as to why and whether we were giving up on the mission. Most of the talk is about how a retreat could be accomplished with credibility intact. After all, Afghanistan is where the "war on terror" began more than ten years ago. Once again, though, we are focusing on means and modalities without specifying the ends. And the bitter truth is that the Obama administration's foreign policy team is witless about too many things. There is a strong case to made that it is not competent to be the custodian of the nation's welfare in the larger world; nor is it honest about its shortcomings.

While the West could be all wrong about Iran's intentions, the evidence uncovered by the IAEA does not suggest this to be the case.

There is only one avenue for a sustainable peace: finding a means to employ the vast populace in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon who currently endure the indignities and difficulties of unemployment.

The Palestinian state that is now emerging should be recognized as an affirmation action state, recognized by the United Nations before it has control over any territory of its own as a way to alleviate the special suffering of the Palestinian people.

When over 4,000 Arabs from Morocco to the Arab Gulf States are asked their views about critical issues of importance to the region and to peace, it is important that they be heard and understood. For too long, Arabs have been ignored.

It is foolish to believe that if/when the Baath is no longer "leader of state and society," Syria would crumble before international pressure to sign peace with Israel or automatically transform into a Mubarak-like Egypt.

The creation of a Palestinian state via the UN will in no way end the Mideast conflict, but will only add another dimension of instability to the region. Nor will it serve the interests of the Palestinian people.

There is a lot of work to do to continue educating the American public on our steep learning curve about the Muslim world in general and Pakistan in particular.

The true failure thus far has been the inability of the US foreign policy establishment to realize the unsustainable nature of alliances with undemocratic leaders in demographically and ideologically shifting countries.

On 13 December 2010, The Elders released a joint statement that is sure to strike a chord with anyone interested and genuinely concerned with cause of...

Stability is often illusory. Autocracies are stable -- until they're not, and then it's too late. This will, or at least should, be one of the major lessons of the Tunisian uprising.

The hall where a lively debate had been taken place suddenly went silent. A courageous Jordanian journalist asked a candidate for Jordan's parliamentary elections a question rarely asked.