BLOG… Post #127: Mission Impossible in the Middle East 1 Sep 201627 Feb 2017 We all know from personal experience how difficult it is to burn the candle at both ends when we’re trying to satisfy two people who are at odds with one…
BLOG… Post #105: Time for a Reset in US-Saudi Relations 27 Jan 201627 Feb 2017 The growing rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran is reportedly causing great consternation in US policymaking circles (www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html). Once again, US officials are called upon to decide whether to…
BLOG… Post #96: Truth and Consequences 21 Oct 201527 Feb 2017 A recently discovered piece of Vietnam War history has new meaning today. At the same time that Richard Nixon was telling the public that the US air war in Vietnam…
BLOG… Post #84: The Engagement Critics 15 Jul 201527 Feb 2017 One of the predictable outcomes of any US effort to reset relations with an adversary is that allies start whining about their vulnerability and demanding some sort of compensation for…
BLOG… Post #78: The Middle East Quagmire: Give Peacemaking a Chance 23 May 201527 Feb 2017 The desperate state of US policy in the Middle East became apparent once again with the ISIS rout of the Iraqi army at Ramadi. It was another setback for US-supported…
BLOG… Post #72 – An Enemy of Peace 30 Mar 201527 Feb 2017 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has established himself as the biggest enemy of peace in the Middle East. His thoroughly unwelcome and error-marred speech to Congress on Iran, his last-minute…
BLOG… Post #68 – Netanyahu’s Visit and the US Opportunity 26 Feb 201527 Feb 2017 Washington is on edge these days. Democrats are bewildered, the President is seething, Republicans are salivating, K Street and J Street lobbyists are working overtime—all because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
BLOG… Post #67 – Presidents and War 14 Feb 201527 Feb 2017 President Obama has submitted a request to Congress for authorization—actually, reauthorization—of wars the United States has been fighting for many years. Though he considered the initial authorization in 2001 to…
BLOG… Post #61 – A Bad Start to the New Year in the Middle East 6 Jan 201527 Feb 2017 Having been thwarted in the UN Security Council when a vote to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank went against it, the Palestinian Authority (PA) decided last week to…
BLOG… Post #56 – What is to be Done? Six Paths to a New US Policy in the Middle East 1 Dec 201427 Feb 2017 If I am correct that the United States has once again fallen into a quagmire in the Middle East, one with some of the same features that marked the Vietnam…
BLOG… Post #55 – Obama’s Wars: Deeper into the Quagmire 25 Nov 201427 Feb 2017 President Obama continues to do everything to fulfill his prediction of September 12 that the Middle East wars will long outlast his administration. At that time (see my post #47,…
BLOG… Post #51 – Back to Basics on an Israeli-Palestinian Peace 1 Nov 201427 Feb 2017 The September 2014 issue of Harper’s carried a fascinating dialogue among eight prominent Israeli and Palestinian citizens on the future of their relationship. It took place against the background of…
BLOG… Post #47 – Mission Impossible 29 Sep 201427 Feb 2017 The New York Times editorial board has finally awakened to Obama’s “strategy” in the “war” (as it is officially called now) against ISIS. It is essentially the same strategy that…
BLOG… Post #42 – The Lone Ranger Rides Again: America’s Return to Iraq 26 Aug 201427 Feb 2017 In an interview with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times on August 8 (www.nytimes.com/2014/08/09/opinion/president-obama-thomas-l-friedman-iraq-and-world-affairs.html?), President Obama stressed that the US was only fighting the Islamic State (IS, or…
BLOG… Post #40 -The Coup in Baghdad 13 Aug 201427 Feb 2017 “What coup?” you ask. “How could I have missed it?” No, you didn’t exactly miss it; it’s just that the media didn’t call it a coup, describing Prime Minister Nouri…
BLOG… Post #38 – Smoke and Mirrors in Gaza 4 Aug 201427 Feb 2017 One of the cardinal lessons of international conflict resolution is that two warring parties will not be interested in a peaceful settlement if they believe continuing to fight is worth…
BLOG… Post #37 – War’s Other Casualties: The Situation in Gaza and the Global Refugee Crisis 28 Jul 201427 Feb 2017 I ended a recent post by asking when someone would step forward to bring about a cease-fire. Well, John Kerry eventually answered the call. But by the time he left…
BLOG… Post #34 – The Madness in Gaza 13 Jul 201427 Feb 2017 War never achieves political goals, but just destroys the people,” he said. “War is the language of the ignorant, and it is fought by the ignorant.” The speaker was an…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 