Consider five factors that had no effect on the very warm reception given by President Barack Obama to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: –While the U.S. government has pressured Erdogan not to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Erdogan announced in the White House Rose Garden that he would do so. An alleged U.S. ally says publicly in front of Obama while being hosted by him that he is going to defy the United States. This is not some routine matter. With previous presidents, if … [Read more...]
About Barry Rubin
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist for PajamasMedia at http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan)
As Benghazi Scandal Builds, Libya Falls Apart
By May 13, 2013
Even as the Benghazi scandal is growing in the United States, the situation in Libya is deteriorating further. Ignoring the actual threat of revolutionary Islamist militias—and attributing problems to a video—plus the botching of the investigation of the attack—due to the cover-up–has also led to a mishandling of post-attack U.S. Libya policy. As a result, the terrorists who murdered four Americans are going free; the group that carried out the attack is still enjoying popularity and … [Read more...]
If You Think America Should Go to War in Syria You Haven’t Been Paying Attention
By May 10, 2013
“You should be careful what you wish for, as the reasons for war get confused. One person can be very clear in their motives, but others can have different agendas.” –Dougray Scott I am amazed at the current U.S. debate over Syria. Those urging intervention may be driven by humanitarian good intentions, to end the fighting and ease suffering. But whatever they are proposing–no-fly zones, safe havens, direct supply of weapons to rebels, etc—have they actually considered how four … [Read more...]
Why the Benghazi Issue is Overwhelmingly Important
By May 9, 2013
There is something terribly and tragically and importantly symbolic about the Benghazi attack that may be lost in the tidal wave of details about what happened on September 11, 2012, in an incident where four American officials were murdered in a terrorist attack. This point stands at the heart of everything that has happened in American society and intellectual life during the last decade. And that point is this: America was attacked once again on that September 11, attacked by al-Qaida … [Read more...]
New Articles: Israel elections; Arab armies; China’s policy; Lebanon
By May 9, 2013
The following articles from the GLORIA Center are now available on Scribed and now you can also embed them in your blog: CHINA’S STRATEGIC SHIFT TOWARD THE REGION OF THE FOUR SEAS: THE MIDDLE KINGDOM ARRIVES IN THE MIDDLE EAST THE RISE OF NATIONALISM AMONG IRANIAN AZERBAIJANIS: A STEP TOWARD IRAN’S DISINTEGRATION? ISRAELI-AZERBAIJANI ALLIANCE AND IRAN WESTERN INFLUENCE ON ARAB MILITARIES: POUNDING SQUARE PEGS INTO ROUND HOLES THE 19TH KNESSET ELECTIONS: LACKLUSTER ELECTION, … [Read more...]
The Demise of the Anti-Israel Card
By May 8, 2013
For decades in the Middle East the most reliable political tool often seemed to be the Israel card, the idea that by condemning Israel, blaming it for the Arab world’s problems, and claiming that those who were insufficiently militant on the issue were traitors. But the Israel card doesn’t work anymore, at least not in the way it used to do so. True, the rise of revolutionary Islamism has focused more hatred against Israel. Yet at the same time—and this analogy is imperfect—it is less … [Read more...]
