http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/laskier.html Michael M. Laskier 2003-09-07-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/ginor.html Isabella Ginor 2003-09-07-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/looney.html Robert Looney 2003-09-07-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/levey.html Zach Levey 2003-09-07-03-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/momani.html Bessma Momani 2003-09-07-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/raphaeli.html Nimrod Raphaeli 2003-09-07-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/rahimi.html Babak Rahimi 2003-09-07-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/09/cetinsaya.html Gokhan Cetinsaya 2003-09-07-03-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/rubin.html Avshalom Rubin 2003-12-07-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/pollack.html Josh Pollack 2003-12-07-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/rivlin.html Paul Rivlin 2003-12-07-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/darwish.html Adel Darwish 2003-12-07-04-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/paz.html Reuven Paz 2003-12-07-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/abdallah.html Abdel Mahdi Abdallah 2003-12-07-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/frisch.html Hillel Frisch 2003-12-07-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2003/12/paz.html the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.ISLAMISTS AND ANTI-AMERIC 2003-12-07-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/israels-demographic-timebomb.html Jonathan Spyer 2004-01-14

2004-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/why-israel-needs-a-fence.html Jonathan Spyer 2004-02-24

2004-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/daigle.html Craig A. Daigle 2004-03-08-01-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/clawson.html Patrick Clawson 2004-03-08-01-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/mann.html Kenneth Mann 2004-03-08-01-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/kirisci.html Kemal Kirisci 2004-03-08-01-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/yordan.html Carlos L. Yordan 2004-03-08-01-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/nugent.html John T. Nugent, Jr. 2004-03-08-01-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/03/mizin.html Victor Mizin 2004-03-08-01-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/publications//anti-american-terrorism-and-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin 2004-05 Anti-Americanism, terrorism, and Middle East politics came together in an explosive mix that killed several thousand Americans on September 11, 2001. Yet these factors have long been one of the central issues for U.S. foreign policy as well as events in that region. http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/loathing-america.html Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin 2004-05 For many Americans, anti-Americanism was once a topic solely of interest to some diplomats and academics, a phenomenon thought to be confined to a few distant and radical countries. The United States was, its citizens believed, loved and admired throughout most of the world for her democratic values. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/missed-opportunities.html Jonathan Spyer 2004-05-07

2004-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-real-problem-in-iraq-the-primacy-of-domestic-politics.html Barry Rubin 2004-05-12

2004-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/assessing-an-israeli-withdrawal-from-the-gaza-strip.html Barry Rubin 2004-05-18 Let's put aside partisanship and ideology to ask: What would the situation actually be after an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip? The following is a good-faith effort to do so whose conclusions, I think, are hard to reject. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/understanding-the-middle-rast-a-600-word-guide.html Barry Rubin 2004-05-24

2004-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/why-clever-plans-and-solutions-make-things-worse-in-the-middle-east-part-1.html Barry Rubin 2004-05-31

2004-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/why-clever-plans-and-solutions-make-things-worse-in-the-middle-east-part-2.html Barry Rubin 2004-06-07

2004-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/rodman.html David Rodman 2004-06-08-02-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2004-06-08-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/shanahan.html Rodger Shanahan 2004-06-08-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/a-gloria-center-roundtable-discussion.html Roundtable Discussion 2004-06-08-02-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/abootalebi.html Ali Abootalebi 2004-06-08-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/russell.html James A. Russell 2004-06-08-02-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/06/shultz-and-beitler.html Richard H. Shultz, Jr. and Ruth Margolies Beitler 2004-06-08-02-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/taking-stock-in-stockholm.html Barry Rubin 2004-06-14

2004-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-winds-of-change.html Barry Rubin 2004-06-21

2004-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/through-the-middle-east-darkly.html Barry Rubin 2004-06-30

2004-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/israel-turkey-relations-present-and-future.html Barry Rubin 2004-07-06

2004-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/positive-thinking-about-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2004-07-13

2004-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/hatreds-and-hot-air.html Barry Rubin 2004-07-20

2004-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/divided-they-fall.html Barry Rubin 2004-07-25

2004-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-world's-changing-view-of-arafat.html Barry Rubin 2004-08-02

2004-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-sound-and-the-fury-of-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2004-08-09

2004-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/if-wishing-made-it-so.html Barry Rubin 2004-08-17

2004-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-future-of-turkeys-government.html Barry Rubin 2004-08-24

2004-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/anti-american-violence-in-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2004-09-01 Something remarkable has happened, even by the Middle East's usual standards. For the first time in history, states in the region are conducting a systematic covert war against the United States. The question is what can America do about it? Not much. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/policies-and-strategies-successes-and-failures.html Barry Rubin 2004-09-06

2004-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/spyer.html Mark N. Katz 2004-09-08-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/salmoni.html Barak A. Salmoni 2004-09-08-03-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/spyer01.html Jonathan Spyer 2004-09-08-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/brown.html Cameron Brown 2004-09-08-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/zisser.html Eyal Zisser 2004-09-08-03-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/al-marashi.html Ibrahim al-Marashi 2004-09-08-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/09/tarzi.html Amin Tarzi 2004-09-08-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/standards-of-success.html Barry Rubin 2004-09-14

2004-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/iraq-facing-todays-realities.html Barry Rubin 2004-09-21

2004-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-enigma-that-is-erdogan.html Barry Rubin 2004-09-28

2004-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/the-tragedy-of-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2004-10

Cambridge University Press

978-05216-0387-4

The Middle East is probably the world’s most tumultuous and crisis-ridden region, yet the reasons for this situation are far from clear. The Tragedy of the Middle East suggests that this...

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/10/syria-unsanctioned.html Barry Rubin 2004-10-05

2004-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/a-giant-palestinian-step-backward.html Barry Rubin 2004-10-12 An event of earthshaking dimensions happened on October 4 which should go down in the Middle East history books. On that day, an op-ed piece appeared in the New York Times by Michael Tarazi, the PLO's legal advisor. Such an article would never appear without approval by that group's leadership and broad support from its cadre http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/israels-policy-towards-peace-getting-the-facts-straight.html Barry Rubin 2004-10-19

2004-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/myths-in-the-making.html Barry Rubin 2004-10-26

2004-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/counsel-from-a-terrorist.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-02

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/how-arafat-changed-global-politics.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-08

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/the-woman-behind-the-chairman.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-09

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/us-outlook-on-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-09

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/two-three-many-arafats.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-17

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/what-abu-mazin-thinks.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-23

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/following-the-leader.html Barry Rubin 2004-11-30

2004-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/examining-the-evidence.html Barry Rubin 2004-12-07

2004-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/al-marashi.html Ibrahim Al-Marashi 2004-12-08-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/rahimi.html Babak Rahimi 2004-12-08-04-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/rubin.html Panel Discussion 2004-12-08-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/butko.html Thomas Butko 2004-12-08-04-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/hen-tov.html Elliot Hen-Tov 2004-12-08-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/rubin-brown-brown-pincus.html Barry Rubin 2004-12-08-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/pant.html Harsh V. Pant 2004-12-08-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/saleh.html Yustina Saleh 2004-12-08-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2004/12/kirisci.html Kemal Kirisci 2004-12-08-04-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/blueprint-for-a-regime.html Barry Rubin 2004-12-14 Arab states now have four possible role models, offering the sharpest set of alternatives in the modern history of the region. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/plight-of-the-arab-liberal.html Barry Rubin 2004-12-21

2004-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2004/reform-of-the-arab-world-the-last-great-battle.html Barry Rubin 2004-12-28

2004-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/terrorists-for-occupation.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-great-pretense.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-iranian-example.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-logic-of-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-next-four-years-of-us-middle-east-policy.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-non-territorial-islamic-states-in-europe.html Reuven Paz 2005

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-pas-test.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-real-palestinian-majority.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-three-heavy-tasks-of-iraqs-new-government.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/too-late-for-abbas.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/turkey_and_iran.html Barry Rubin 2005

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/turkish-american.html Barry Rubin 2005

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/what-the-world-should-know-about-israels-withdrawal-from-the-gaza-strip.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/what-to-do-about-iraq.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/whither-france.html Barry Rubin 2005

2005-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/elections-in-middle-east-cautious-optimism.html Barry Rubin 2005-01-04

2005-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-disengagement-of-disenchantment.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-01-07

2005-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/arab-views-on-israel.html Barry Rubin 2005-01-11

2005-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/shirabi-death-of-a-teacher.html Barry Rubin 2005-01-18

2005-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/yasir-arafat-a-political-biography.html Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin 2005-02 Yasir Arafat stands as one of the most resilient, recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. The object of unrelenting suspicion, steady admiration and endless speculation, Arafat has occupied the center stage of Middle East politics for almost four decades. Yasir Arafat is the most comprehensive political biography of this remarkable man. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/free-for-all-for-now.html Barry Rubin 2005-02-01

2005-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/pr-saudi-style.html Barry Rubin 2005-02-15

2005-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/after-hariri.html Barry Rubin 2005-02-22

2005-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-new-dawn.html Barry Rubin 2005-03-08

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/rubin-brown-pincus.html Barry Rubin 2005-03-09-01-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/shanahan.html Rodger Shanahan 2005-03-09-01-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/ishiyama.html John Ishiyama 2005-03-09-01-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/lakhdar.html Lafif Lakhdar 2005-03-09-01-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/freedman.html Robert O. Freedman 2005-03-09-01-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/karaev.html Zainiddin Karaev 2005-03-09-01-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/ahram.html Ariel I. Ahram 2005-03-09-01-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/03/salih.html Khaled Salih 2005-03-09-01-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/democratic-converts-in-borrowed-array.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-03-11

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/feeding-the-crocodiles.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-03-12

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/teaching-islam-in-saudi-arabia.html Barry Rubin 2005-03-15

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/democracy-with-a-communal-face.html Barry Rubin 2005-03-22

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/good-news-from-the-north.html Barry Rubin 2005-03-29

2005-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/covering-for-terrorism.html Barry Rubin 2005-04-05

2005-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-weakening-leader.html Barry Rubin 2005-04-12

2005-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/palestinian-election-nightmare.html Barry Rubin 2005-04-26

2005-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/monty-python-in-iran.html Barry Rubin 2005-05-03

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/missed-opportunities-in-new-histories-two-israeli-scholars-offer-invective-instead-of-Edification.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-05-07

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/05/Change-in.html Barry Rubin 2005-05-10 Egypt is still the Arab world's most important single state, President Husni Mubarak is nearing the end of his career with no clear successor, and Cairo's role in any successful peace process is more important than ever... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/hamas-victorious.html Barry Rubin 2005-05-17

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/mideast-fantasies.html Barry Rubin 2005-05-24

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/hamas-and-the-rebirth-of-illusion.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-05-27

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/dont-trust-islamists.html Barry Rubin 2005-05-31

2005-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/delay-and-deception.html Barry Rubin 2005-06-07

2005-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/ciorciari.html John D. Ciorciari 2005-06-09-02-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/james.html Laura James 2005-06-09-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/foley.html Sean Foley 2005-06-09-02-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/seliktar.html Ofira Seliktar 2005-06-09-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/carroll.html Michael Carroll 2005-06-09-02-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/miller-and-mishrif.html Rory Miller and Ashraf Mishrif 2005-06-09-02-06 Since its establishment in the late 1950s, the European Economic Community has always viewed the development of trade and economic ties as a vital instrument in its efforts to improve bilateral relations with the Arab world. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also known as the Barcelona Process), initiated at the November 1995 Barcelona Conference, is the most recent example. This article examines how in its first decade, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has contributed both to the economic development of the Arab world and bilateral European Union-Arab relations. It concludes by placing the very real achievements in the context of significant obstacles that still remain. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/duffield.html John Duffield 2005-06-09-02-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/alvi.html Hayat Alvi 2005-06-09-02-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/discussion.html The GLORIA Center 2005-06-09-02-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/06/rubin-brown-ribo-aharoni.html Barry Rubin 2005-06-09-02-10 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/roots-of-arab-anti-americanism.html Barry Rubin 2005-06-14

2005-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/more-of-the-same.html Barry Rubin 2005-06-21

2005-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/gunumuzde-turkiyenin-dis-politikasi.html Barry Rubin, Kemal Kirisci 2005-07 Bir zamanlar karmaşık ve aktif dış ilişkilerden uzak duruşuyla bilinen Türk diplomasisi, bölgesel anlaşmalar ve örgütlenmelerle şekillenen günümüz dünyasında büyük bir değişimden geçti... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/aoun-and-jumblatt.html Barry Rubin 2005-07-12

2005-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-scourge-in-londonistan.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-07-15

2005-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/cease-fire-what-cease-fire.html Barry Rubin 2005-07-19

2005-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-debate-that-wont-happen.html Barry Rubin 2005-08-02

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/hamas's-hangover.html Barry Rubin 2005-08-16

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/08/Mr.-Mubarak-Goes.html Barry Rubin 2005-08-23 As the campaign begins for the September 7 Egyptian elections, it is a good time to assess the era of the 77-year-old President Husni Mubarak, who has ruled the most powerful Arab country for almost a quarter-century... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/al-qaida-in-iraq-between-ideology-and-strategy.html Reuven Paz 2005-08-24

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/opting-out-of-arabism-in-iraq.html Barry Rubin 2005-08-30

2005-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/Re-engagingwithreality.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-09-02

2005-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-small-outbreak-of-reason.html Barry Rubin 2005-09-06

2005-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/teitelbaum.html Joshua Teitelbaum 2005-09-09-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/zisser.html Eyal Zisser 2005-09-09-03-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/samii.html Abbas William Samii 2005-09-09-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/podeh.html Elie Podeh 2005-09-09-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/russell.html Richard L. Russell 2005-09-09-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/rubin.html Michael Rubin 2005-09-09-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/al-marashi.html Ibrahim al-Marashi 2005-09-09-03-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/rubin-brown-ribo-aharoni.html Barry Rubin 2005-09-09-03-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/discussion.html the GLORIA Center 2005-09-09-03-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/09/uslu-toprak-dalmis-aydin.html the GLORIA Center 2005-09-09-03-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/blinded-by-ideology.html Barry Rubin 2005-09-13

2005-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/the-revolution-eats-its-own.html Barry Rubin 2005-09-20

2005-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/09/200-Years.html Barry Rubin 2005-09-27 Who wrote the following lines about Egypt? "What could be made of that beautiful country in fifty years of prosperity and good government!" If you guessed Gamal Abdel Nasser or Husni Mubarak, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, or any contemporary figure for that matter you would be wrong. It was Napoleon Bonaparte almost two centuries ago... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/greek-turkish-relations-in-an-era-of-detente.html Barry Rubin and Ali Carkoglu 2005-10 Greek-Turkish conflict-ridden relations have long occupied a problematic position in the Western alliance, first in NATO then, more dramatically, within the context of the newly developing European Union and its defence initiatives. Following three major earthquakes on both sides of the Aegean, the two countries have now experienced, firstly, a public empathy towards each other, and secondly, a significant diplomatic rapprochement. This rapprochement though has failed to resolve the Cyprus conflict, and is now at risk of reverting back to a series of conflicts. This book addresses the crucial issues between Greece and Turkey, from a critical perspective, and provides an up-to-date assessment of the current state of the Greek-Turkish rapprochement and its future development. http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/religion-and-politics-in-turkey.html Barry Rubin and Ali Carkoglu 2005-10 http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/eternal-iran-continuity-and-chaos.html Patrick Clawson and Michael Rubin 2005-11 From 'pillar of stability' to 'rogue state,' Iran's politics have been a center of American attention and concern. With a legacy of empire and a youthful and diverse population, the country... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/hating-america-a-history.html Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin 2005-11 In the early twenty-first century, the world has been seized by one of the most intense periods of anti-Americanism in history. Reviled as an imperialist power, an exporter of destructive capitalism, an arrogant crusader against Islam, and a rapacious over-consumer casually destroying the planet, it seems that the United States of America has rarely been less esteemed in the eyes of the world. http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/the-long-war-for-freedom-the-arab-struggle-for-democracy-in-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2005-11

John Wiley Publishers

978-04717-3901-2

The premise of U.S. policy since 9/11 is that we can win the war on terrorism by introducing democratic reform in the Middle East. But does democracy have any base of support...

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/osama-bin-ahmadinejad.html Barry Rubin 2005-11-01

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/assad's_strategic.html Cameron S. Brown 2005-11-04

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/strangebed-fellows.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-11-04

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/propaganda-and-caution.html Barry Rubin 2005-11-08

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-new-paradigm.html Barry Rubin 2005-11-15

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/israels-political-earthquake.html Barry Rubin 2005-11-22

2005-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/valiyev.html Anar Valiyev 2005-12-09-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/yom.html Sean L. Yom 2005-12-09-04-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2005-12-09-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/souleimanov.html Emil Souleimanov 2005-12-09-04-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/rubin-brown-ribo-aharoni.html Barry Rubin 2005-12-09-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2005-12-09-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/sakr.html Etienne Sakr (Abu Arz) 2005-12-09-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2005/12/saleh-and-harvie.html Ali Salman Saleh and Charles Harvey 2005-12-09-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-method-to-his-muddling.html Barry Rubin 2005-12-13

2005-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/a-tale-of-two-elections.html Barry Rubin 2005-12-20

2005-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2005/nowhere-fast.html Barry Rubin 2005-12-27

2005-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/getting-to-arab-democracy-dealing-with-communalism.html Barry Rubin 2006-01

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/grading-mubarak.html Barry Rubin 2006-01-03

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/sharon-and-israeli-politics.html Barry Rubin 2006-01-06

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/the-biggest-shoes-to-fill.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-01-06

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/is-the-world-moving-toward-israels-side.html Barry Rubin 2006-01-17

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/radical-islam-with-sovereignty.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-01-27

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/the-myth-of-a-moderate-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2006-01-31 A few months ago I was invited by an embassy to meet a visiting delegation to discuss European policies toward Hamas and Hizballah. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/01/what-the-nationalists-sowed-the-islamists-reaped.html Barry Rubin 2006-01-31

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/02/hamass-fatah-problem.html Barry Rubin 2006-02-07

2006-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/02/appeasement-redux.html Barry Rubin 2006-02-14

2006-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/02/hamas-is-in-for-the-long-run.html Barry Rubin 2006-02-21

2006-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/02/exposing-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2006-02-28

2006-02

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/hamas-governs.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/how-george-armstrong-custers-scouts-can-help-us-understand-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/iraqs-one-sided-civil-war.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/is-arab-dictatorship-americas-fault.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/more-united-less-passionate.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/sticks-beat-carrots.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/the-three-way-battle.html Barry Rubin 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/welcome-to-the-new-israeli-politics.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-03

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/war-on-terror.html Ely Karmon 2006-03-10-01-01 It should be stressed that contrary to the impression given by the media and some analysts in the West concerning its so called diffuse independent networking character, al-Qa'ida began life and long continued its... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/teitelbaum-and-litvak.html Joshua Teitelbaum and Meir Litvak 2006-03-10-01-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/khalil.html Magdi Khalil 2006-03-10-01-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/katz.html Mark N.Katz 2006-03-10-01-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/kumaraswamy.html P. R. Kumaraswamy 2006-03-10-01-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/Kfir.html Issac Kfir 2006-03-10-01-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/inbar.html Efraim Inbar 2006-03-10-01-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/rubin-and-clawson.html Michael Rubin and Patrick Clawson 2006-03-10-01-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/03/kfir.html the GLORIA Center 2006-03-10-01-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/03/facts-and-arguments.html Barry Rubin 2006-03-14

2006-03

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/create-your-own-hamas.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/fifteen-years-downhill.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/france-commits-suicide.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/good-things-in-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/iraqis-must-choose-their-government.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/moving-apart.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-01

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/sunni-versus-shia.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/the-17th-knesset-elections-2006.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/the-british-lobby-and-us-foreign-policy.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/the-insurgents-crusade-strategy-in-iraq.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/04/the-titanic-and-the-perils-of-policy.html Barry Rubin 2006-04

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/fatah-versus-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/fear-and-loathing-in-american-politics.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/hamas-explains-itself.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/mubarak-gets-away-with-it.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/same-old-same-old.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2009-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/sudan-the-ignored-crisis.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/the-us-supports-olmerts-plan.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/what-happens-when-we-dont-defend-our-defenders.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://gloria.idc.ac.il/gloria/articles/Why Israel Wins Wars.html Barry Rubin 2006-05

2006-05

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/05/Mubarak-Gets.html Barry Rubin 2006-05-30 A turning point has happened in the Middle East--virtually without international notice, much less strong action--and yet will have a devastating effect on hopes for any improvement in the lives of tens of millions of people... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/along-with-the-boycott-some-good-news.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/culture.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/guns-before-butter.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/nostalgia-for-osirak.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/peace-plan-or-public-relations-gimmick.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/the-new-york-times-israel-correspondent-shows-his-hostility.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/the-three-monkeys.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/06/why-capturing-or-killing-terrorist-leaders-matters.html Barry Rubin 2006-06

2006-06

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/bourtman.html Ilya Bourtman 2006-06-10-02-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/discussion.html Panel Discussion 2006-06-10-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/discussion01.html Panel Discussion 2006-06-10-02-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/jvol10no2in.html Barry Rubin 2006-06-10-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/clawson.html Patrick Clawson 2006-06-10-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/three-alternative-futures.html Kenneth M. Pollack 2006-06-10-02-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/zisser.html Eyal Zisser 2006-06-10-02-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/brown.html Cameron Brown 2006-06-10-02-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-06-10-02-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/06/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2006-06-10-02-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/7-7-In-memory-of-anat-rosenberg.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/a-clear-conscience.html Cameron S. Brown 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/defining-palestinian-strategy.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/fighting-the-war.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/for-the-arab-world-the-triumph-of-hate-the-end-of-hope.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/israel-under-attack.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/new-a-muslim-jihad-against-muslims.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/the-root-cause-of-confrontation.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/what-it-all-means.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/07/whats-really-going-on-in-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2006-07

2006-07

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/a-detailed-analysis-of-the-lebanon-ceasefire-resolution.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/an-open-letter-to-turkish-friends.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/bashar-al-asad-fool-or-genius.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/bashar-goes-ballistic.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/ceasefire-or-arson.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/dark-victory.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/frances-big-chance.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/from-arafat-to-nasrallah-how-misperceptions-of-israel-shape-arab-strategy.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/israeli-lobby-and-its-effects.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/lebanon-civil-war-or-surrender.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/lebanon-turnaround.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-04

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/notes-on-the-new-era.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/on-the-el-khiam-ridge.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/the-lebanon-wars-impact-on-the-arab-world.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/the-state-of-turkish-politics.html Barry Rubin 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/08/the-war-in-lebanon-has-israel-really-lost.html Cameron S. Brown 2006-08

2006-08

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/09/a-united-front-against-fascism-in-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2006-09

2006-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/09/how-september-11-changed-the-middle-east-in-the-wrong-direction.html Barry Rubin 2006-09

2006-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/09/irans-investment-just-went-down-the-tubes.html Cameron S. Brown 2006-09

2006-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/09/sharaas-prophecy.html Barry Rubin 2006-09

2006-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/09/syria-hooks-the-west.html Barry Rubin 2006-09

2006-09

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/stemmann.html Juan Jose Escobar Stemmann 2006-09-10-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/kass.html Lee Kass 2006-09-10-03-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/kapsis.html James E. Kapsis 2006-09-10-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/leslau.html Ohad Leslau 2006-09-10-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/discussion.html Panel Discussion 2006-09-10-03-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/walters-kadragic-walters.html Timothy N. Walters, Alma Kadragic & Lynne M. Walters 2006-09-10-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/guindy.html Adel Guindy 2006-09-10-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/maddy-weitzman.html Bruce Maddy-Weitzman 2006-09-10-03-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/morag.html Nadav Morag 2006-09-10-03-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/09/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2006-09-10-03-10 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/iraq-good-intentions-terrible-choices.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-10

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/last-mile-on-the-nile.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/memory-loss.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/the-case-of-the-missing-reality.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/the-lesser-of-two-evils-makes-a-comeback.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/william-shakespeare-political-analyst.html Barry Rubin 2006-10

2006-010

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/10/Last-Mile.html Barry Rubin 2006-10-05 The Middle East has enough crises already but there is one more creeping up, almost invisibly, on the region that may some day soon eclipse all the others: Who and what will rule Egypt after President Husni Mubarak leaves the scene?... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/gaza-militants-take-a-senseless-course.html Cameron S. Brown 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/hizballahs-push-for-power.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/national-islamism-the-middle-easts-new-ideology.html Barry Rubin 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/old-think-rides-again.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/realism-now.html Barry Rubin 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/rewarding-terrorism-breeds-more-terrorism.html Barry Rubin 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/11/understanding-middle-east-realism.html Barry Rubin 2006-11

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/02/the-duties-of-thinking-classes.html Barry Rubin 2006-11-02

2006-011

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/bakers-stale-ideas.html Barry Rubin 2006-12

2006-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/dont-expect-peace-soon.html Jonathan Spyer 2006-12

2006-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/is-america-dead.html Barry Rubin 2006-12

2006-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/yogi-was-right-pundits-are-wrong.html Barry Rubin 2006-12

2006-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/pollack.html Kenneth M. Pollack 2006-12-10-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/rivlin.html Paul Rivlin 2006-12-10-04-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2006-12-10-04-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/kfir.html Isaac Kfir 2006-12-10-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/gat.html Moshe Gat 2006-12-10-04-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/o'ran.html Mutayyam al O'ran 2006-12-10-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2006/12/naby.html Eden Naby 2006-12-10-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/bakers-stale-ideas.html Barry Rubin 2006-12-12 Reading the Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq reminds me of a weird experience I once had. I've never told anyone about it before... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2006/12/the-three-main-middle-east-events-of-2006.html Barry Rubin 2006-12-26

2006-012

http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/yehiav.html Ayellet Yehiav 2007-03-11-01-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/paz.html Reuven Paz 2007-03-11-01-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/kramer.html Martin Kramer 2007-03-11-01-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/lubrani.html Uri Lubrani 2007-03-11-01-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/zisser.html Eyal Zisser 2007-03-11-01-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/arens.html Moshe Arens 2007-03-11-01-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/bachar.html Shmulik Bachar 2007-03-11-01-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/fair.html C. Christine Fair 2007-03-11-01-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/azarva.html Jeffrey Azarva 2007-03-11-01-10 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/03/yadav.html Vikash Yadav 2007-03-11-01-11 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/gluska.html Ami Gluska 2007-06-11-02-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/colp-rubin.html Judith Colp Rubin 2007-06-11-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/soage.html Ana Bel'en Soage 2007-06-11-02-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/raphaeli.html Nimrod Raphaeli 2007-06-11-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/thrall.html Nathan Thrall 2007-06-11-02-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/hendelman-baavur.html Liora Hendelman-Baavur 2007-06-11-02-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/06/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2007-06-11-02-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2007/07/Harry-Potter.html Barry Rubin 2007-07-28 News item: The Iranian establishment daily Kayhan, July 26, 2007, criticized officials there for allowing the sale of the new Harry Potter book, claiming the series is a Zionist project in order to disrupt the minds of young people... http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/journal/08-02.html 2007-08-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/guindy.html Adel Guindy 2007-09-11-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/discussion.html Panel Discussion 2007-09-11-03-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/crosston.html Matthew Crosston 2007-09-11-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/schwanitz .html Wolfgang G. Schwanitz 2007-09-11-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/al-marashi.html Ibrahim Al-Marashi 2007-09-11-03-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/bache.html William Bache 2007-09-11-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/bahar.html Heymi Bahar 2007-09-11-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/kfir.html Isaac Kfir 2007-09-11-03-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/09/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2007-09-11-03-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2007/09/Understanding-Ahmadinejad.html Barry Rubin 2007-09-28 A massive controversy has erupted in the United States, and around the world, around Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/An-Increasing-Possibility.html Jonathan Spyer 2007-11-09 The possible emergence of a nuclear-armed, Islamist Iran committed to the destruction of the Jewish state is the key security issue currently occupying the attention of Israel's political and security elite... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2007/11/The-Middle-East's-Nuclear.html Barry Rubin 2007-11-11 The Iranian nuclear issue is too important and dangerous to be miscomprehended. So here are some life-and-death factors to keep in mind about it... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/katz.html Mark N. Katz 2007-12-11-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/asgharzadeh.html Alireza Asgharzadeh 2007-12-11-04-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/leventis.html Evagoras C. Leventis 2007-12-11-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/gambill .html Gary C. Gambill 2007-12-11-04-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2007-12-11-04-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/ben-layashi.html Samir Ben-Layashi 2007-12-11-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2007/12/rafaat.html Aram Rafaat 2007-12-11-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/chronologies-of-modern-terrorism.html Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin 2007-12-31 Concise yet comprehensive, this one-volume reference examines the history of terrorism in the modern world, including its origins and development, and terrorist acts by groups and individuals from the French Revolution to today. http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/01/Syrian-Games.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-01-07 The ongoing impasse over the appointment of the next Lebanese president, after Emil Lahoud stepped down on November 24, is the product of Syrian machinations and interference in Lebanese politics. The agreement reached on Sunday in Cairo may finally ensure the appointment of General Michel Sleiman as president, but it is unlikely to bring the crisis in Lebanon to an end. The nature and extent of Syrian involvement can only be understood in the context of the larger, region-wide rivalry between US-led and Iranian-led blocs that is shaping and defining the politics of the region... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/01/Turkey-And-The.html Barry Rubin 2008-01-20 In a sense, no country has tried harder to get out of the Middle East than Turkey--by way of achieving membership in the European Union--yet Turkey does have an important role to play in the region. At the same time, though, this situation is complicated by divergences over Turkey's identity, interests, and internal politics... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/02/Take-Me.html Barry Rubin 2008-02-06 The day of giants--though some of them were ogres--is certainly over among Middle East leaders. In fact, what is most remarkable fact is how unremarkable the current rulers are... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/02/Pay-Now.html Barry Rubin 2008-02-10 Step right up! Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen! It's easy, fun, and everybody's a winner! Just guess which shell the nut is under... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/02/So-Many.html Barry Rubin 2008-02-17 The Middle East is a region where so many things seem to happen, so little appears to change, and far too much is said about it all... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/02/Pressure-Points.html Barry Rubin 2008-02-25 Ironic, isn't it, that radical forces threaten a wide range of violence, sanctions, and other behaviors against democratic states while insisting--along with their Western apologists--that any attempt by their victims to put any kind of pressure on them is useless... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/02/Confessions-At.html Barry Rubin 2008-02-28 A funny thing happened at the funeral of Imad Mugniyah. Those who had for years been denying any connection with him and his international terrorist activities--Iran, Syria, and Hizballah--suddenly admitted that he was one of their favorite people... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/israeli-counter-insurgency-and-the-intifadas-dilemmas-of-a-conventional-army.html Sergio Catignani 2008-03

Routledge

978-04154-3388-4

This volume analyzes the conduct of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) counter-insurgency operations during the two major Palestinian uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2005) in the Territories...

http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/03/Arab-Ideological.html Barry Rubin 2008-03-01 One of the things least understood by people in the West is the framework--or should I say straitjacket?--of the dominant ideology in the Arabic-speaking world in shaping thought, speech, and political alternatives. This shows up in the smallest of exchanges. But atoms, too, are very tiny yet make up all the wide variety of things in the world... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/03/If-They.html Barry Rubin 2008-03-10 Radical forces in the Middle East have rewritten the international rulebook in a way designed so "they can't lose." That is, there's no easy response to their behavior and strategies... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-03-12-01-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/seliktar.html Ofira Seliktar 2008-03-12-01-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/looney.html Robert Looney 2008-03-12-01-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/zeidel.html Ronen Zeidel 2008-03-12-01-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/soage.html Ana Belen Soage 2008-03-12-01-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/kirmanj.html Sherko Kirmanj 2008-03-12-01-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/03/kfir.html Isaac Kfir 2008-03-12-01-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2008/03/Let's-Talk-About-The-Nazis.html Barry Rubin 2008-03-14 Comparing contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis is increasingly commonplace. --U.S. State Department report on antisemitism, 2007... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/03/Imagined-Partners.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-03-25 The Middle East is currently divided between an alliance of radical Islamist and associated states and organizations, which take support and inspiration from Iran, on the one hand, and a coalition of pro-Western states, on the other. The "Annapolis process" is based on the expectation that Fatah will play the role of the pro-Western, pro-stability element among the Palestinians. The facts indicate, however, that for both structural and ideological reasons, it is neither able nor willing to play this role... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/the-israel-arab-reader.html Barry Rubin, Walter Laqueur 2008-04 In print for forty years , The Israel-Arab Reader is a thorough and up-to-date guide to the continuing crisis in the Middle East. http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/04/Why-A-Terrorist.html Barry Rubin 2008-04-01 Many years after September 11, despite more than 10,000 terrorist attacks by radical Islamist groups alone, there is still an amazing amount of confusion and falsehood over what should be a very simple point: What is terrorism all about?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/04/Lennonism-Imagines.html Barry Rubin 2008-04-14 The Middle East today is driven by five big conflicts: Among states for power; the Iran-Syria alliance's war on everyone else; the struggle between Arab nationalists and Islamists to control each country, and the Sunni-Shia and Arab-Israeli conflicts... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2008/04/Egypt-Between-The.html Barry Rubin 2008-04-25 Egyptian President Husni Mubarak is 80. After over a quarter-century in office he is ready for more. But how much longer will his rule--or regime--continue? And under him, Egypt has not done so badly, or has it?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/04/The-Islamic.html Barry Rubin 2008-04-29 If history works out in the end at least the high price paid in blood and suffering can be justified as having produced some good result. But what happens when it doesn't?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/04/Making-Mischief.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-04-30 With attention in the Middle East focusing on the US congressional hearings regarding a possible Syrian nuclear programme, the Syrian newspaper al-Watan made a surprising announcement last Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Israel, via Turkish channels, had in the previous 24 hours expressed its willingness to exchange the entirety of the Golan Heights area for peace with Syria... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/the-truth-about-syria.html Barry Rubin 2008-05 Syria has long presented a serious problem for the Middle East region and U.S. policy. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2008/05/Israel-and-Europe.html Barry Rubin 2008-05-05 Israel-European relations are at their highest point in a very long time. The strong anti-Israel forces that are often so loudly heard in elite and media circles should not drown out that fact... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/05/What-Happened.html Barry Rubin 2008-05-05 Uh-oh! It's Israel's sixtieth birthday and that means articles on Israel in the news media and, in turn, that may often mean something between inaccuracy and slander... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/05/Self-Made-Nakba.html Barry Rubin 2008-05-19 It's become fashionable to match celebration of Israel's founding (though part of the media can't even admit Israelis are celebrating) with Palestinian marking of their 1948 "nakba" catastrophe... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/05/Syria-isn't.html Barry Rubin 2008-05-27 Why is Israel negotiating with Syria and what happened in Lebanon? One of these events may be the Middle East's most important development for 2008. Hint: it isn't the first of them... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/05/An-Empty-Package.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-05-30 At this past Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a public statement relating to the revived negotiations with Syria. The talks, the prime minister wished to assure us, were "serious" and would be conducted with "all due caution." All the ingredients familiar from peace processes past were present in Olmert's statement: the gravitas; the quiet sense that history is presenting us with a chance that must not be missed; the necessary discretion. However, in the manner now familiar from Olmert's tenure as prime minister, what we were presented with was the form of something, without its content... http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/v28n3-062008.html 2008-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/ryan.html Curtis R. Ryan 2008-06-12-02-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/panel.html Panel Discussion 2008-06-12-02-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/elhadj.html Elie Elhadj 2008-06-12-02-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/zimmt.html Raz Zimmt 2008-06-12-02-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/azad.html Shirzad Azad 2008-06-12-02-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/raphaeli.html Nimrod Raphaeli and Bianca Gersten 2008-06-12-02-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/06/badran.html Tony Badran 2008-06-12-02-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/06/Don't-be-Fooled.html Barry Rubin 2008-06-16 Golda Meir once said that a bad press was better than a good epitaph. In other words, pragmatic considerations must take precedence over public relations... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/Who-Goes.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-02 Here's the most important thing I can tell you about the Middle East... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/Who-Goes.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-04 Each day we're told that radical Islamists, terrorists, and assorted extremists are going to moderate, so why not negotiate with them, appease them, defuse their grievances, have dialogue, and then everything will be okay... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/Trade-or.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-09 The Israeli prisoner exchange with Hizballah is a psychological victory for both sides. Nevertheless, I don't like the decision, I understand both ends of the debate over it, and my job is to analyze them. So rather than make some simple conclusion, I want to think out loud with you about all the factors involved... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/Collision-Course.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-07-15 Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak this week called the Iranian nuclear issue "a challenge not just for Israel but for the entire world." He added that "Israel is the strongest country... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/Alternative-war.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-15 Here's what Israel thinks: Since Iran's regime is thoroughly radical and deeply committed to its destruction, Israel can't accept Tehran having nuclear weapons. Unless sanctions... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/Being-a-Terrorist.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-22 The number-one mistake people make trying to understand the Middle East is refusing to believe folks here think differently from themselves... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/nuclear-Installation.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 If you're interested in the possibility of Israel bombing Iranâ€& and who isn’tâ€& immediately read a fascinating, remarkable article in International Security’s Spring 2007 issue entitled “Osirak Redux” by Whitney Raas and Austin Long. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/something-completly-different.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 I seem to remember-but cannot find-a line in a Monty Python sketch in which a professor is introduced as teaching Marxism... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/palestinian-attacks.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 On July 23, a second Palestinian bulldozer driver working on a Jerusalem construction project tried to murder Israeli civilians before being shot dead... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/lebanons-government.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 Following the prisoner exchange, nobody noticed the importance of Lebanese President Michael Suleiman's announcement... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/lebanese-prisoners.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 Western readers heard much about Israel releasing its only Lebanese prisoner-a terrorist murderer-in the Hizballah... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/07/NRP.html Barry Rubin 2008-07-25 I'm visiting Washington and get into the car to drive. So after I turn on the ignition I do the NPR race. I push the button... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/Self-radicalization.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-07-30 Over the last two months, Israeli security forces have arrested six young Arab men suspected of seeking to form an extreme Islamist cell for the purpose of carrying out high-profile terror attacks in the capital. Two of the six held Israeli citizenship, while the other four were residents of east Jerusalem... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/07/We'll-take-the.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-07-31 fourth round of indirect talks between Syrian and Israeli representatives was concluded in Istanbul this week and as the Turkish mediators kept themselves in shape conveying messages between the hotel rooms of the two countries' delegations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was keen to stress the urgency of the hour... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/08/prophets-and-losses.html Barry Rubin 2008-08-03 Strike One. September 6, 2007. Israel bombs and destroys Syrian nuclear facility. Syria is powerless to retaliate... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/08/Column-History.html Barry Rubin 2008-08-05 A nineteen-year-old man is to be beheaded for a bad joke interpreted as blasphemy. A father is accused of killing his son because he converted to another religion. They are not Muslims but Christians; the place is France in the mid-1700s... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/08/Bring-out-the-babies.html Barry Rubin 2008-08-07 One characteristic of media coverage of Israel is to take a very small story--which would not rate a mention on any other topic--and blow it up into something big... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/08/fifty-first.html Barry Rubin 2008-08-07 For those who don't know, 'Fifty First Dates' is a comedy film undistinguished except by its brilliant premise... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/08/Georgia-on-my-mind.html Barry Rubin 2008-08-11 Not talking about the Middle East greatly clarifies the mind. Once you clamber out from under all the factual and analytical nonsense... http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/journal/09-01.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/09/nuclear-arms.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-02 Senator Joe Biden, Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has been quoted on Israeli radio as saying Israel should reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/09/an-apartment.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-03 I read recently that Labour party leader and minister of defense Ehud Barak is trying to sell his luxury apartment... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/discussion.html Panel Discussion 2008-09-12-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/remez.html Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez 2008-09-12-03-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/rubin.html Judith Colp Rubin 2008-09-12-03-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/murinson.html Alexander Murinson 2008-09-12-03-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/rodman.html Harvey Glickman and Emma Rodman 2008-09-12-03-05 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/gilboa.html Eytan Gilboa 2008-09-12-03-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/09/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2008-09-12-03-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/09/fair-reporting.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-15 During any given week, the media-and its main news' supplier AP-have to cover a wide variety of stories. Many of them are uncontroversial and balanced... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/09/Method-in-Their.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-15 One evening you're walking down a street. A robber jumps on you to steal your wallet. You fight back and after a protracted battle you injure him enough so that he flees the scene... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/09/do-they-like.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-19 We are not seeing results of high support for Palestinians versus Israel, even in a country like France, even after years of anti-Israel propaganda... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/09/AP-Blames-Israel.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-26 In an article of September 20, Ali Daraghmeh, 'Army says troops kill Palestinian with firebomb,' there is a long discussion of the current state... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/09/Time-is-on-my.html Barry Rubin 2008-09-28 So sang the Rolling Stones. But which side has time working in its favor? That's one of the Middle East's most intriguing and controversial questions... http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/v28n5-102008.html 2008-10 http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/10/Giving-Until.html Barry Rubin 2008-10-08 In response to a casual question, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dropped a historical bombshell, an offhand remark telling more about how the Middle East works than 100 books. And a former Marine commander adds an equally big revelation about long-ago events quite relevant for today... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/10/what-went-wrong.html Barry Rubin 2008-10-09 Obama advisor and supporter Ambassador Dennis Ross gave a recent interview that went like this... http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/v28n6-122008.html 2008-12 http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/Dear-President.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 Dear President Obama: They say that you prefer the name Barry and so it pleases me no end that another Barry is finally president of the United States. In addition, I once worked as a community organizer so we have two things in common... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/12/good-guys.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 As often noted before in this column, it is the little things that count...In Aron Heller's November 20 AP story... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/12/philadelphia-inquirer.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 I realized something important when reading a relatively marginal feature story from the Associated Press... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/Don't-Flatter.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 In explaining why he was too fearful to vote in Jerusalem's mayoral election, an east Jerusalem Palestinian shopkeeper, Issam Abu Rmaileh, said, "I would have liked to vote because it's in our interest, but who's going to protect me and my family afterwards?"... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/Defending-Yourself.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 For years, India has been subjected to periodic terrorist attacks throughout the country. But what happened in Mumbai is something new and different: a full-scale terrorist war... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/India's-Options.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-06 India's government faces difficult choices and no one should interfere in that hard process. Still, it is worth describing the alternatives New Delhi must ponder and what it might ask the rest of the world to do... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/pollack.asp Kenneth M. Pollack 2008-12-12-04-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/symposium.asp Symposium 2008-12-12-04-02 Following Barack Obama's election, experts discuss the various foreign policy issues the new administration faces and the strategies the administration might follow. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/discussion.asp Panel Discussion 2008-12-12-04-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/kfir.asp Isaac Kfir 2008-12-12-04-04 This article examines Pakistan's role in the "war on terror" in light of the transition from the Musharraf presidency to that of Zardari. It opens with Musharraf's tenure and proceeds to discuss some of the key challenges faced by the current administration in this respect. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/katz.asp Mark N. Katz 2008-12-12-04-05 The August 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia has not only had a strong impact on the United States and Europe, but also on Israel and Iran. This article examines Israeli and Iranian reactions to the crisis, as well as its broader impact on regional energy and security concerns. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/ibrahim.asp Raymond Ibrahim 2008-12-12-04-06 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/elhadj.asp Elie Elhadj 2008-12-12-04-07 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2008/12/park.asp Bill Park 2008-12-12-04-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/Not-the-Center.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-16 Israel isn't going to be the center of the world for the Obama administration and that's a good, if ego-disappointing, thing. Both the pro-Israeli right's paranoia and the wishful thinking of the anti-Israeli left in the United States (and, in the latter category, Europe plus the Middle East as well), are operating out of expectations rather than the actual situation... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/What-They-Say.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-16 The full horror of contemporary Middle East politics and debate is comprehended by few in the West, largely because they aren't informed by their political leaders, intellectuals, and media... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2008/12/little-town.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-25 An annual fixture of international media coverage is Christmas in Bethlehem. One can almost use how this story... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2008/12/Hamas's-Strategy.html Barry Rubin 2008-12-29 Nothing is clearer than Hamas's strategy. It gives Israel the choice between rockets and media, and Hamas thinks it is a situation of, "We win or you lose."... http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/submit.html 2009 http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/ordering.html 2009 http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/stylesheet.html 2009 http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/tsjournal.html 2009 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/the-peace-process-is-jeopardy-i-wonder-why.html Barry Rubin 2009-01 Whatever became of reality, at least in analyzing the Middle East? Consider the following: "With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel." http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/articles/if-you-love-the-palestinians-you-should-hate-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2009-01 <div class='timestamp'>2009-01</div> <div class='abstract'>Let's say that you love the Palestinians, are sympathetic to Arabs, and are indifferent to Israel. Presumably, you would favor an immediate ceasefire to stop Palestinian suffering.</div> http://gloria.idc.ac.il/gloria/articles/the-gaza-war-choices-not-solutions.html Barry Rubin 2009-01

2009-01

Last December, Hamas unilaterally ended its ceasefire with Israel and escalated the kind of cross-border attacks continually attempted even during the ceasefire.

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/the-gaza-war-a-small-part-of-the-nationalist-islamist-conflict.html Barry Rubin 2009-01 In decades to come, when the Middle East's history for this era is written, the current war in Gaza will be deemed a skirmish in the great Arab-Persian; Sunni-Shia; Arab nationalist-Islamist; Iran-Syria versus Egypt-Saudi Arabia conflict that is going to be the region's--and perhaps world's--main feature for the rest of our lifetimes. http://gloria.idc.ac.il/gloria/articles/israels-international-support-a-glass-eight-tenths-full.html Barry Rubin 2009-01

2009-01

It's easy to be misled by elements of Western media and academia that seem to prefer terrorists and radical Islamists to Israel. A diplomatic balance sheet from Israel's standpoint is quite

http://gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/on-the-ground-in-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-04

2009-01

Israel didn't want to attack the Gaza Strip from the ground or from the air. Hamas, which had long broken the ceasefire, canceled it altogether. Then it began large-scale attacks on Israel.

http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/on-the-ground-in-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-04 Israel didn't want to attack the Gaza Strip from the ground or from the air. Hamas, which had long broken the ceasefire, canceled it altogether. Then it began large-scale attacks on Israel. This is a war of defense. And it is being conducted just 30 miles from here, Israel's main city. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/ending-the-gaza-war-choices-not-solutions.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-11 Last December, Hamas unilaterally ended its ceasefire with Israel and escalated the kind of cross-border attacks continually attempted even during the ceasefire. With massive public support, Israel struck back against a neighboring regime which daily attacked its citizens and called for its extermination. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/if-you-love-the-palestinians-you-should-hate-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-11 Let's say that you love the Palestinians, are sympathetic to Arabs, and are indifferent to Israel. Presumably, you would favor an immediate ceasefire to stop Palestinian suffering. But what else? What next? What is the solution from your point of view, from the Palestinian point of view? http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/israels-international-support-a-flass-eight-tenths-full.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-11 It's easy to be misled by elements of Western media and academia that seem to prefer terrorists and radical Islamists to Israel. A diplomatic balance sheet from Israel's standpoint is quite good, pretty remarkably good, better than it has been for a very long time... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/01/gaza-war.html Barry Rubin 2009-01-11 In decades to come, when the Middle East's history for this era is written, the current war in Gaza will be deemed a skirmish in the great Arab-Persian; Sunni-Shia; Arab nationalist-Islamist; Iran-Syria versus Egypt-Saudi Arabia conflict that is going to be the region's--and perhaps world's--main feature for the rest of our lifetimes... http://www.gloria-center.org/2009/02/all-israeli-but-no-palestinian-leaders-want-to-end-the-conflict.html Barry Rubin 2009-02 What is the most important theme of Israeli politics, policy, and thinking today? It is pretty simple but you will rarely see it explained in much of the world. http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/v29n1-022009.html 2009-02 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/02/first-fruits-of-the-new-era.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-02-26 President Barack Obama, in his first international media interview following his election, told al-Arabiyya that 'if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.' In addition to the new policy of seeking to reduce pressure on Iran, the US is currently engaged in what looks like an extended courtship of the Assad regime in Syria. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/02/keep-hamas-solated-or-wreck-any-hope-of-peace.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-27 Perhaps it is true that peace can only be made with enemies, but this is only true regarding those who no longer want to be enemies. This does not apply in the case of Hamas. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/02/america-look-behind-you.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-27 America: A freight train is heading your way and you’re standing right on the tracks, looking in the wrong direction. Or perhaps it is like a horror film in which the killer sneaks up behind the hapless victim while the movie audience yells: “Turn around! Turn around!” And then blood spatters across the screen... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/02/choosing-sides.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-27 Two of the region’s most important countries--Egypt and Turkey--are at a crossroads right now. Egypt has the chance to again be the Arab world’s central power; in contrast, Turkey’s government is throwing away the opportunity to become a major diplomatic player in the region while hammering the last nail into the coffin of its chance for European Union membership... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/02/fatah-vs-hamas.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-27 There was an election on Hamas’s mind when it cancelled the ceasefire with Israel, leading to the Gaza war. But it wasn’t the February Israeli election but rather the January Palestinian non-election. Four years ago, Mahmoud Abbas was elected leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for a two-year term. Two years ago, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian parliamentary election... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/02/virtually-unnoticed.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-27 It can certainly be claimed that no world area is more closely--and even obsessively--watched than the Middle East. This is quite understandable for many reasons, including the fact that many of the world’s crises, much of the world’s violence, and most of the world’s diplomatic energies are connected with that region... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/02/evaluating-the-obama-administration-so-far-not-so-bad.html Barry Rubin 2009-02-28 So far, the Obama administration's short-term record on the Middle East is relatively positive. That doesn't mean the longer-term one won't be very problematic. But let's review briefly... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/ifirangotnucleararms.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 If and when Iran gets nuclear weapons it would set off a global nightmare. And here's why.... http://www.gloria-center.org/about.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/terms.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 The GLORIA Center, including MERIA Journal, the GLORIA blog, and GLORIA Publications, has created and maintains the GLORIA website in order to provide artistic and scholarly information and resources to the public via the Internet. By using the site and its content you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms, which the GLORIA Center may change at any time. http://www.e-prism.org/ Barry Rubin 2009-03 This project provides reports on radical Islamist movements, especially their ideological presentations and internal debates, usually analyzing materials otherwise unavailable in English. Separate free subscription available. http://www.gloria-center.org/tsi/index.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 The institute's activities include: the publication of Turkish Studies journal (with Taylor and Francis) and the Global Directory of Scholars on Turkey, an online guide to scholars studying all aspects of modern Turkey. Additional research material is also available through this site. http://www.gloria-center.org/projects/us-policy.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 The GLORIA program for the study of U.S. Middle East policy examines current and evolving U.S. policy. This project includes detailed year-by-year assessments of U.S. regional policy for a 25-year period. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/board.html Barry Rubin 2009-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/about.html 2009-03 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/what-price-gaza.htm Barry Rubin 2009-03-01 Why should Western money rebuild Gaza? This is an assumption made widely and hundreds of millions will be wasted, wasted through corruption, through falling into the hands of Hamas ... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/the-little-cold-war.htm Barry Rubin 2009-03-01 It is fascinating to compare the new phase of Russia-U.S. relations with what happened at the end of World War Two... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/hillary.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-01 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel on the first of what will no doubt be many visits. Beyond the simple self-interest of making her feel appreciated, most Israelis are genuinely glad that she was appointed to this job... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/deciphering-hillary.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-02 One of my readers was annoyed--though very polite in expressing it--that I didn't portray Clinton's visit as part of a larger Obama Administration plan to betray Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/syria-fools-the-west-1000-times.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-03 There are many examples. How on his first visit Secretary of State Colin Powell was told that Syria had closed the terrorism offices in Damascus. He announced it. Then found out he'd been tricked. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/from-crackpots-to-hegemonists.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-04 Read this remarkable article: Spring-Summer 2009, Democratiya, 'Malcolm Caldwell: Pol Pot's Apologist' by Michael Ezra... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/innocent victims.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-05 It should be well-known that the rules applied to the Arab-Israeli conflict are different from those applied to any other place or issue in the world... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/will-this-be-the-u.s.-plan-on-syriaisrael-negotiations Barry Rubin 2009-03-05-2 Here a study by Frederick Hof for the U.S. Institute of Peace on how to make peace between Israel and Syria... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/reset-the-satire.html 2009-03-07 Sometimes the best way to explain reality is through satire. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened her first talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by giving him a present meant to symbolize the Obama administration's vow to... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/fayyads-resignation.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-07 Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's resignation indicates that, understandably, he is tired of battling for reform and economic responsibility in the Palestinian Authority against overwhelming odds... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/washington-post-right.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-09 The Washington Post gets it right. A March 9 editorial states: 'During her first tour of the Middle East as secretary of state, Ms. Clinton got an earful from Arab rulers... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/if-iran-gets-nuclear.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-09 If and when Iran gets nuclear weapons it would set off a global nightmare. Most obviously, Iran could use nuclear arms to attack Israel. It’s easy to say that Iran’s leaders would be cautious, but what if... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/their-own-words.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-10 Here is the official legal response of five Guatanamo prisoners to the indictment against them. It is quite chilling... http://www.gloriacenter.org/index.asp?pname=submenus/articles/2008/rubin/2_10.freemannomination.asp Barry Rubin 2009-03-10 Charles Freeman's nomination to be the top U.S. intelligence analysis has been dropped. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/hillary-visits-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-10 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the Middle East and the sky didn’t cave in. Two very large groups spun the story to the contrary... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/fools-charge-in.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-10 Roger Cohen, who recently visited Iran, was treated nicely, and concluded that it was a pretty good regime and Jews lived well there, now weighs in with his expert opinion in the New York Times on other regional issues: http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/freeman-withdrawn.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-11 He had too much to hide. The media and his supporters tried to pretend that the case against Charles Freeman Jr. being the key US intelligence analyst was that he was 'anti-Israel'... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/uspolicyiranassessment.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-11 Has U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair just completely reversed U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear weapons drive? http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/who-defeated-freeman.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-12 Charles Freeman Jr.'s nomination as chief U.S. intelligence analyst was neither stopped by the 'Israel lobby' nor were the reasons for his defeat accurately reported in the mass media. http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/conflict-insurgency.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-13 This book surveys the main conflicts and insurgencies in recent Middle East history, focusing mainly on the period since the 1980s. Taking a historical-analytical approach, it covers challenges from revolutionary groups, civil wars, and the main conventional wars in the region. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/symposium1.html Symposium 2009-03-13-01-01 The perceptions of Western elites and publics, and the policies of Western governments toward the Middle East have always been viewed as vital to events in the region. Perhaps such concepts are exaggerated, yet this subject is well worth examining. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/symposium2.html Symposium 2009-03-13-01-02 The perceptions of international elites and publics, and the policies of these governments toward the Middle East have always been viewed as vital to events in the region. Perhaps such concepts are exaggerated, yet this subject is well worth examining. Thus, in the wake of the Gaza war, people from a number of countries were asked to look at trends in the places where they live. Three levels are examined: the policies of governments, the attitudes of intellectual-media-cultural-journalistic elites, and public opinion. Several countries from a number of geographical locations were chosen to get some sense of whether these factors are changing and their current status. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/bonnefoy.html Laurent Bonnefoy 2009-03-13-01-03 One of the most remarkable features of the contemporary Yemeni political formula has been its capacity to deal with the various Islamist ideal-types through integration and cooptation rather than repression. Muslim Brothers, Salafists, violent "jihadi" fringes, Sufis, and Zaydi revivalists have all at some point collaborated with the state to a certain extent. Since the 1970s, such an equilibrium has proved rather functional, as it has reduced the level of political violence, allowed the participation of most, and maintained government stability. Yet due to internal developments and external pressures after September 11, this system has increasingly been placed in jeopardy with still unknown consequences. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/clawson.html Patrick Clawson 2009-03-13-01-04 Fifty years of rapid population growth in the Middle East is coming to an end. The Middle East is experiencing the same "demographic transition" to slow population growth that other areas have gone through. The immediate reason for the slower population growth is a fall in the number of children born to the average woman over her lifespan, known as the "total fertility rate" (TFR). While contraception availability and urbanization played a part in the declining TFR, the main factor was the empowerment of women. In recent decades, Middle Eastern women have made great progress at gaining more equal access to education, but that has not yet translated into more access to employment outside the home. The demographic transition through which the Middle East is passing presents an opportunity that is also a challenge. The opportunity is several decades in which the economy faces a relatively light burden in caring for children and the elderly. However, the Middle East can only take advantage of this opportunity if it can create enough jobs for the young people born during the years of rapid population growth. If jobs are not created in sufficient numbers to absorb those joining the labor market, the resulting rise in unemployment could have a considerable political impact. Meanwhile, within a few decades, the Middle East is expected to experience a rapid increase in the elderly population, which by 2050 will exceed the number of children in many of the region's countries. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/gray.html Doris H. Gray 2009-03-13-01-05 This article argues that family law is at the heart of the contentious discourse concerning the role and legal status of women in Algeria today. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/discussion.html Panel Discussion 2009-03-13-01-06 On January 22, 2009, the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, the U.S. Department of State's International Information Programs in Washington D.C., and the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Israel jointly held an international videoconference seminar focusing on recent changes in Turkish politics and foreign policy. The discussion has been updated and edited. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/gal.html Nissim Gal 2009-03-13-01-07 This article follows a number of artistic movements and events anchored in Israeli ideology, politics, and content. It offers a selective, partial panorama of art in Israel from 1948 through the first decade of the twenty-first century. The article presents a sequence of synchronic historical pictures defined by the specific context of each decade, in which each work is representative of an idea or artistic concept in local Israeli artistic discourse. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/schwanitz.html Wolfgang G. Schwanitz 2009-03-13-01-08 This article discusses the development of German-Kuwaiti relations from the late eighteenth century to the reunification of Germany. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/makinsky.html Michel Makinsky 2009-03-13-01-09 After several years of sharp increase, European exports to Iran declined significantly from mid-2006 until late 2007. French government support for the United States placed French firms under extreme financial pressure from Washington. While 2008 showed an unexpected recovery of European exports to Iran, France seems to have lost market its share there, as Germany--in spite of its stated firmness on sanctions--maintained its high level of trade with Iran. With the Iranian market virtually cleared of competitors, will a "grand bargain" initiated by Barack Obama present American companies with easy access to this market? http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/democracy-promotion.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-15 Democracy is a great idea; open elections are ideally the best way to choose governments... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/milk-cow.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-15 A cute joke that shows the difference among the Gulf states... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/cartoon-characters.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-15 A both horrifying and amusing set of actual videos showing the use of animals and cartoon characters... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Obama-Administration.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-15 Why is it that so far the Obama administration has been less hostile to Israel than expected? Here are some reasons... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/top-officials.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-15 According to the Boston Globe,* a group of 'top officials' have proposed the United States open a dialogue with Hamas... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Churchill-on-how.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-17 When democracies have to deal with ruthless ideological dictatorships it is hard to set a proper strategy... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Turkey's-march.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-17 Some time this year, President Barack Obama is going to visit Turkey and stand next to that country's prime minister... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Anatomy-of-a-ploy.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-17 It is being widely reported that Benyamin Netanyahu is making Avigdor Lieberman Israel's foreign minister in his coalition plan.Maybe; maybe not... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Washington-post.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-18 It is always a pleasure to read in the main mainstream media what I've been trying to tell people for years... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/jonathan-spyer-interview.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-03-18 Dr. Jonathan Spyer is in Australia and gave this terrific briefing... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/New-York-Times-Grapples.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-19 If there is a secret manual entitled, "How to be a NY Times correspondent," lesson 2--right after the one setting forth the political ideology must be... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/released-Hamas-prisoners.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-19 Two-Thirds of released Hamas prisoners return to terrorism. So says Haim Ramon, government minister. Presumably, statistics for Hizballah... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Obama's-speech.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-20 I'm not going to criticize President Barack Obama for offering an olive branch to Iran, complete with Farsi subtitles.The funny thing is that... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/How-hard.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-20 The idea of dialogue with the Iranian regime breaks down when applied in reality. Here is an anecdote from a source... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/Blundering-analysis.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-21 The problem, as we see repeatedly, with much media coverage of issues involving Israel is the way the story is defined. There need not be any sense of bias by a reporter... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/Palestinian-moderates.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-22 To see what's happening and what's wrong-with Palestinian politics, consider Muhammad Dahlan. In him is embodied the ideological and strategic straitjacket... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/what's-wrong.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-23 I am going to write a few notes on my op-ed on Palestinian politics as a guide and reflection on doing political analysis... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Dialing-Hizballah.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-24 "Earlier this month, the United Kingdom announced that it is reopening dialogue with the political wing of Hezbollah. Unlike the United States, the United Kingdom has only banned Hezballah's terrorist and military wings"... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/The-GLORIA-center-is.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-25 The GLORIA Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum as Principal Research Associate. He has been Senior Research Fellow, Moshe Dayan Center... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/the-cartoon.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-26 It is silly to say that the Pat Oliphant Cartoon in the New York Times and many newspapers around the world is antisemitic. But it's also a bad mistake because... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/03/Soap-Opera.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-26 Why does a soap opera become a huge success in the Arab world? According to the Guardian (1) the Syrian television program "Bab al-Hara" (The Neighborhood Gate) has set "the Arab World Agog" and is watched by millions... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/Obama-I-know-better.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-27 President Obama got it wrong in answering a question about Israel-Palestinian issues in his press conference, March 25. But his mistakes are different... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/Blood-Libel.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-27 A group of young Israeli soldiers were at a meeting to evaluate honestly their experiences in the Gaza war to see what could be learned from them to do better in future. The next thing... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/03/Britain-gets-tougher.html Barry Rubin 2009-03-28 Almost unnoticed in North America, three major victories have been won in the United Kingdom against radical Islamist forces. Collectively, they represent the biggest successes... http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/v29n2-042009.html 2009-04 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/War-crimes.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-01 Here's the report on the official Israeli investigation. Note two things... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/UK-Hizballah.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-01 In February, the British government announced it would begin contacts with the non-military wing of Hizballah. Now this strategy has been further clarified. The specific target... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Hizballah-propaganda.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-01 The cartoon has now been incorporated into anti-Israel, pro-terrorist propaganda by being posted by Hizballah at its site... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Barak-Obama.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-01 President Barack Obama has made Turkey one of the first countries he's visiting, intending to show support for what he thinks is a model moderate... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/04/The-associated-press.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-02 Sometimes, when I think that the AP has hit the heights of irresponsibility, when I start to feel that all the principles of democratic, responsible journalism have been breached, I read... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/04/Barred-from-Jenin.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-02 Wafa Younis, an Israeli Arab conductor, led her orchestra into playing a concert for Jewish Holocaust survivors and the band was then...disbanded as a result... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Arab-summit.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-04-05 The issues that dominated the 21st Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar, this week testified to the weakness and disunity of the Arab states. Sunni Arabs... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/A-New-Government.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-06 In the Israeli political game, there are some things too important to play with. Has the new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu safeguarded Israel's security and foreign relations... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Defending-The-Problem.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-07 The New York Times coverage of Middle East issues is so literally and systematically incredible that I am tempted to joke that the reason why no one can catch Usama bin Ladin is that he is living in New York... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Times-on-Obama-Nuclear-Strategy.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-07 The New York Times must praise Obama even if it can't figure out how what he's done is so great... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Who-Needs-Egypt-Israel-Peace.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-07 The NY Times covers the thirtieth anniversary of Egypt-Israel peace treaty with an article... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Boy-Murdered.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-09 Last week, a Palestinian with an axe attacked and murdered a 16-year-old boy, Shlomo Nativ, and wounded a 7-year-old boy in a West Bank Jewish settlement... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Palestinian-Murders.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-10 A 13-year-old Israeli boy is killed by a Palestinian ax-murderer; a 7-year-old is wounded. How is it covered? Let's take a look at the April 2, 2009 article posted by the Inquirer... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Why-Won't-the-West.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-11 Western leaders and media constantly love to talk about working with moderate Muslims. To quote the Daily Telegraph,"If the West wants to prevent further terror attacks, we must first distinguish between... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Naivete-Kills.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-14 It never ceases to amaze me that people who know nothing about the Middle East, in this case Roger Cohen but many other names come to mind, can suddenly proclaim themselves experts... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Mike-Metrinko.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-14 Before I met Mike--well our meeting was delayed because he was being held hostage in Iran--I had heard that he was a great Foreign... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Planet-Middle-East.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-14 Many many years ago I had a research assistant in Washington who told me the following story... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/President-Ahmadinejad-East.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-14 The Spiegel interviewer does give Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a hard time. But here's my favorite line--and it reminds you of just how bizarre... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Reporting-That-Shames.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-16 What have I been telling you? The Associated Press and other media institutions can always report--and do so frequently--on what the Palestinians want and what Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Islamists-of-the-World-East.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-16 It's a development of tremendous importance and you probably won't be hearing about it from anywhere but here. Mahdi Akef, supreme guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, has defied his own... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/The-Confrontation.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-17 There are many people eager to see President Barack Obama and his administration bash Israel, or predict... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/UK-and-Hamas.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-17 Naturally, I was censorious when the UK government said it was going to meet with the political wing of Hizballah. But they've done even worse now with Hamas... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Bambi-Versus-the-Sharks.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-17 It is not such a big deal to disagree with a president and his policies. But it is shocking to realize that the leader of the world's most powerful country... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/How-Not-to-Engage.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-20 A man named John Tirman has written an article in the Boston Globe, April 19, entitled, "Bold action needed on Iran." His bio accompanying the op-ed tells us... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Ahmadinejad's-Wager.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-21 Why did Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with the full backing of Iran's regime, behave as he did at the Durban-2 conference?One reason, of course, is that he believed every word he said... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/The-Hamas-Lobby.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-04-22 A meeting was meant to take place on Wednesday in the Grimond Room at Portcullis House, adjoining the House of Commons in London. The planned meeting was titled... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/What-Will-Happen-If.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-22 Despite all the talk about Iran getting nuclear weapons, there is a huge misunderstanding about what this would mean... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Obama-Talks-About.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-22 President Barack Obama met with Jordan's King Abdallah, Tuesday April 21, and gave some thoughts about his plans for Middle East policy. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Our-Terrorism-Book-Wins.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-23 We are pleased to announce that our book--Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin, Chronologies of Modern Terrorism... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Who's-The-Threat.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-24 Lebanon is having very important elections in early June which may well determine whether the country continues to possess some real autonomy or whether it is incorporated into the Iran-Syria-led bloc of radical anti-Western Islamism... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Dissolving-in-the-two.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-25 Ring! Ring! The Israeli prime minister's alarm clock went off. He quickly sat up in bed and immediately shouted out: "Yes! I'm for a two-state solution!" http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/unbearable-lightness.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-26 Congratulations, the conflict is over! Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't a radical, aggressive Islamist and Holocaust denier but a peacenik! Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is against war and terrorism... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/04/Pirates-Attack.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-27 As I've noted before, media coverage in certain places is often so slanted against Israel that you want to laugh at the same time as being outraged. Here's a great example... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/04/Here-Comes-Hillary.html Barry Rubin 2009-04-28 Suddenly, the United States has awoken to the fact that in one month Lebanon is likely to be taken over by a radical government and hijacked into the Iran-Syria alliance... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/Obama's-Unhappy-Future.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-01 Ari Shavit of Haaretz has written an important article that should be read widely. I'll ll also say I think he is too pessimistic but makes a hugely significant point.The title tells it all: Obama in 2012, after he fails to deal with Iran... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/Obama-Administration-Withdraws.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-01 This has become a very interesting situation. On May 1, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in congressional testimony, reinterpreted the proposal discussed below to make it clear that the United States did not embrace... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/The-Haters-versus.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-01 We live in an age, as Jonathan Kay pointed out recently in the Canadian newspaper National Post recently, when a woman blows herself up as a terrorist to kill people... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/A-Memorial-Day.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-01 Israel observed its memorial day April 27-28, so how did the Associated Press, which supplies most newspapers with their international coverage, observe Israel observing its memorial day... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/President-Obama.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-02 The U.S. State Department has produced excellent research and analysis in its "Country Reports on Terrorism 2008" report just released. Now the only problem is to ensure... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/Turkey's-New-Foreign-Minister.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-03 Ahmet Davutoglu became Turkey's foreign minister, May 1, after having served as foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2002. He's the architect of... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/Afghanistan-shows-Iran's-stake.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-05-04 A month ago, US President Barack Obama announced a new strategy to address the current crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama's plan to 'disrupt, dismantle... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/media-perceives-moderation.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-05 Nothing is funnier than when someone wants to avoid an obvious conclusion.Nothing is sadder than people being borne away on waves of wishful thinking... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2009/05/some-sanity-in-evaluating.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-05 There has been huge misrepresentation and misunderstanding of both Israeli and U.S. policy. I have written about this... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/Iran-syria-alliance-in-harmony.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-05-06 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and President Bashar Assad of Syria reconfirmed the close alliance between their two countries during the Iranian... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/we-fooled-you-.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-06 When talking among themselves and in Arabic, Middle East radicals often "let their hair down," to use the English-language idiom, meaning talk frankly... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/A-Tragedy-is-not-a-crime.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-07 At least 30 and perhaps as many as 150 Afghan civilians have been killed in a U.S. bombing raid on two Western Afghan villages, including many women... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/Kerry-tells-iran.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-08 One of the things one constantly notices about U.S. policy nowadays is how often the most basic concepts of diplomatic skills are lacking. I find it annoying when people talking about the triumph... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/Netanyahu-goes-to-washington.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-08 There's no question that the Obama administration is less warm toward Israel than those of Clinton, Reagan, or George W. Bush's first six years. But is it worse... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/Obamas-syria-policy.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-08 People ask me why I criticize the Obama administration some days, note positive developments on others, and at still different times say that things are acceptable if not great... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/two-new-books-published.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-10 Barry Rubin, editor, Conflict and Insurgency in the Contemporary Middle East is in my Middle East Military Studies series from Routledge... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/the-peace-process-industry's.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-11 Putting your hard-earned political capital into the peace process industry is like investing with Bernie Madoff. It may look like a good prospect on the surface but any serious examination... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/syria-allied.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-12 While the United States has been trying to engage Syria, the Syrian regime has been busily engaging Americans: in battle... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/islamic-cleric-to-pope.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-12 It's a pity that the Palestinian Authority's (PA) chief Islamic judge Tayseer Rajab Tamimi will be criticized for rudeness rather than incitement to genocide. And the whole political context of Tamimi's... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/syria's-unhappy.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-13 Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's uncomplimentary nickname is "the giraffe" But while he is prone to stick his neck out, others get it in the neck for not making him happy. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/netanyahu's-the-man.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-13 Aluf Benn, of the generally leftist Haaretz, is just about the smartest, most interesting journalist in Israel. So when he writes something... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/arab-moderates-warn.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-13 What do moderate Arabs think about what Westerners think about the Middle East? Usually, such matters are raised only in private conversation with those of long acquaintance in whom the speaker has personal trust. But now we have... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/damascus-gets-what-it-needs.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-05-13 In his letter to Congress announcing the renewal of US sanctions on Syria, President Barack Obama was specific regarding the reasons for his decision... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/october-surprise.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-14 There's an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal that merits serious consideration. According to the article--which is obviously based on direct information from administration sources--the Obama administration... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/israel-seeks-justice.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-15 Every week I write a column on AP coverage of the Middle East and every week I am appalled anew at the profound and omnipresent bias in the coverage. I am not looking to bash the AP. On the contrary... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/still-a-fantasy.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-17 One of the features of these intellectually blighted times is that the most absurd statements can be made--and about what place are they more often made than the Middle East?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/cruelest-month.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-17 April, wrote T.S. Eliott, is the cruelest month. But for hopes of peace, freedom, and moderation in the Middle East, June will play that role this year... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/realism-must-be-realistic.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-17 I'm a Realist. In international affairs, Realists are people who believe that countries act according to their interests. But who decides the interests... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/most-popular-statesman.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-18 Here's one of many questions that should be asked everywhere but you might only see it here: If President Barack Obama actually succeeds in making himself more popular among Arabs and Muslims, what material advantage would http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/detailed-analysis-part-two.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-19 Obviously, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's job was to make a good impression including the flattery of President Barack Obama. He thus thanked him... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/detailed-analysis.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-19 So what did President Barack Obama say after the meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what does it mean?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/is-there-hope.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-19 Regarding the Obama-Netanyahu Meeting, please forgive the following: I...told...you...so... and I'm glad there's good news for once. U.S.-Israel relations are again on a firm footing http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/inside-obamas-brain.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-19 Obama said all the right things in his Newsweek interview but saying them--based on a briefing that gave him these words, remember--and doing them are two different things http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/when-dictators-strut.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-21 It's not so much that Iran launched a missile with a 1200-mile range but how that country's president characterized the event... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/my-discontented-pro-palestinian.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-21 Today in pondering the mess that is the Middle East, and epecially Arab politics within it, and especially Palestinian politics within that, I was startled to realize ... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/netanyahu's-peace-plan.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-21 In his successful meeting with President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a superb, workable peace plan backed by a wide Israeli consensus... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/hillarys-reasonable-request.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-21 Really, it's baffling. The Obama administration sounds like King Canute, the legendary British king who ordered the sea to stop making waves... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/an-innocent-abroad.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-05-21 The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi has published what it claims are key details of the new Middle East peace plan to be presented by President Obama in... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/the-conflict-continues.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-22 Lebanon has filed a complaint with the UN saying that an Israeli spy ring in the country has been gathering information on Hizballah. The office of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/there-goes-lebanon.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-24 It's really nice that Vice-President Joe Biden went to Lebanon in order to, in the words of the White House statement, "reinforce the United States's... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/russia-makes-a-mess.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-25 Nowadays, lots of world leaders act almost as if they're trying to sabotage any serious effort to make the Middle East a better that isn't controlled by homicidal ideological maniacs, wracked by violence... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/governments-still-getting-along.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-25 The reporter asked if I could talk or was in the middle of something. Trying to sound like a wise Oriental philosopher I said, "One is always in the middle of something but can easily make a beginning or an end"... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/how-can-israel-depend.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-26 Back in 1993, when the "peace process" began, President Bill Clinton told a press conference that Israel was ready to take risks for peace and he told Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/if-the-u.s-governement-ignores.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-28 There is probably no more obnoxious action of the Palestinian Authority (PA) than its continuing glorification of terrorists who have murdered Israelis. Not only does this show a lack of support... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/why-isnt-the-palestinian-authority-moderate.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-31 So dreadful was the performance of Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas during his meeting with President Barack Obama... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/05/stopping-settlement.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-31 Although somewhat quieted by the successful Netanyahu-Obama meeting, a predominant theme in current talk about U.S. Middle East policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/on-the-border.html Barry Rubin 2009-05-31 There's nothing like standing next to the Israel-Syria ceasefire line for contemplating the meaning of peace, both real and fabled... http://www.gloria-center.org/current-contents/ 2009-06 Current Contents of periodicals on the Middle East reports about journal articles on the Middle East. It appears six times a year and is sent to all MERIA Journal subscribers. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/abbas-seizer-opportunity-depend.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-01 When Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas visited President Barack Obama in Washington, he squandered a great opportunity while, at the same time, giving Obama a tremendous opportunity... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/whats-unsettling.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-03 Whether construction continues on Jewish settlements in the West Bank or not right now is, in my opinion, a very secondary question. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to say that... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/learn-from-berdimuhamedow.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-03 Some people understand how international affairs work. They might not be in the hallowed halls of Whitehall, the Quai d'Orsay, or State Department. But what about Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/05/smoke-mirrors-and-fire.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-06-03 This week, nine more Lebanese citizens were arraigned on charges of espionage and collaboration with Israel. This brings the total of people charged in connection with the alleged Israeli "spy ring" in Lebanon... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/don't-worry-be-happy.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-04 One of the most common themes in media stories in this bizarre era of ours could be called Don't Worry be Happy! It's the concept of mass media as valium... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/speaking-flattery-to-power.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-05 Barack Obama's speech in Cairo is one of the most bizarre orations ever made by a U.S. president, not a foreign policy statement but rather something invented by Obama... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama's-cairo-speech.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-05 President Barack Obama's discussion in his Cairo speech of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is so important that it took up about 25 percent of the text... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/they-don't-understand-the-middle-east.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-05 General David Petraeus has been highly praised for his labors in Iraq, and I mean to show no disrespect to him. But every day American leaders make statements that show their failure... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama's-hand.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-06 MEMRI is publishing a round-up of articles and cartoons in the Arabic-speaking world about President Barack Obama's Cairo speech. Roughly they fall into three categories: Obama is great... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/middle-east-policy.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-07 Leaving aside the merits of the issue which I discussed here and here, the fact that U.S. Middle East policy seems to hinge on whether or not Israel builds around 4000 apartments http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/three-failed-plans.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-07 There are now no less than three main plans for wiping Israel off the map. 1. Conquest. This is the old PLO strategy and continues to be the Hamas strategy. In addition, it is endorsed less overtly by a large... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/lebanon-election.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-06-08 It is now clear that the pro-Western March 14 alliance has won an unexpected victory in parliamentary elections in Lebanon, and senior sources in the Hizbullah-led March 8... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/good-news-from-lebanon.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-08 In Lebanon's election, the moderate March 14 coalition did well, gaining one seat from its current total. Hizballah and its allies cannot claim they won a victory at the polls. For the best analysis see Tony Badran's detailed assessment... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-accidently-abrogates.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-10 No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons." Thus spake President Barack Obama in his Cairo speech.After a pause for contemplation, I respond, "Why the Hell not?"... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/israel-and-america.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-11 The United States demands that Israel stop construction on settlements. If this doesn't happen, it hints at dire retaliation... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/spyer.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-06-13-02-01 This article traces the history of Israeli-Lebanese relations. Key episodes in the Israeli involvement in Lebanon are outlined. The article also examines the process whereby the Palestinian movement became a player in internal Lebanese affairs and the effect this had on Lebanon's internal situation and eventually on the Israel-Lebanon context. Also discussed are the Litani operation of 1978, the 1982 war, subsequent Israeli involvement in southern Lebanon, and the 2006 war. The article concludes with observations regarding key elements and likely future direction of relations between Israel and Lebanon. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/sekercioglu.html Eser Sekercioglu 2009-06-13-02-02 In the March 2009 Turkish local elections, the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and Democratic Society Party (DTP) did better but not as well as they had hoped. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) was content to finish first but disappointed by reduced support. Government losses were concentrated in the developed west--hard-hit by the global economic crisis--and the east and southeast--where continuing violence breeds discontent. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-13-02-03 The Obama administration faces an enormous number of challenges in the Middle East each of which has its separate roots and requirements. Yet throughout these conflicts runs a single theme: the battle between an Iran-led coalition and other states, along with the overlapping battles of Islamists versus nationalists, and sometimes of Sunni versus Shi'a. This article is a brief analysis of these issues and the options possessed by the administration in dealing with them. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/panel-discussion.html Panel Discussion 2009-06-13-02-04 On March 24, 2009, the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, the U.S. Department of State's International Information Programs in Washington D.C., and the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Israel jointly held an international videoconference seminar focusing on reform and democracy in the Gulf States. Brief biographies of the participants can be found at the end of the article. This seminar is part of the GLORIA Center's Experts Forum series. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/guindy.html Adel Guindy 2009-06-13-02-05 This article surveys compulsory Arabic language curricula of the Egyptian education system. Extracts are presented and analyzed to show how these lessons are often infused with Islamic religious texts that emphasize Islam as the basis of all societal relations. All students, regardless of religion, are indoctrinated to uphold "obedience to God and His Prophet [Muhammad]." Lessons promote that leadership positions should be held by "believers" only; that any ruler who "disobeys God and His Prophet" can be himself disobeyed; and that the believers should take a firm position against those who "do not submit to the orders of God and His Prophet." There is little mention of the constitution or laws. The article concludes that this government-endorsed curriculum is breeding intolerance and extremism among the new generations. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/dodds-wilson.html Joana Dodds and Ben Wilson 2009-06-13-02-06 The Iran-Iraq War was one of the longest in the 21st century, as well as one of the most fruitless. A border dispute ballooned into one of the longest conventional wars of the twentieth century. This article is a study of the strategy and tactics that contributed to the war's inability to accomplish the goals of either side. Three factors explaining the long duration will be discussed: military ineptitude, political and ideological motivations, and geopolitical influences. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/dimitrakis.html Panagiotis Dimitrakis 2009-06-13-02-07 In 1978, Egypt and Cyprus clashed while terrorists held hostages in an airplane. The Cypriot government, under President Spyros Kyprianou, who personally handled the negotiations with Arab terrorists, faced an Egyptian crack antiterrorist group. Meanwhile, Egyptian troops attempted to free the hostages without the authorization of Kyprianou. The Egyptians, aiming for an Entebbe-style operation, met the determined Cypriot National Guard, who opened fire against them, killing 15 commandos and destroying their C-130H transport in a 50-minute battle at the Larnaca airport. The government of Cyprus was willing to show the world that they could defend their sovereignty, even at the cost of being viewed as negotiating with terrorists and defeating an anti-terrorist unit. British diplomats assessed the unfolding crisis hour-by-hour and provided a balanced account of the complex web of relations among Cyprus, Egypt, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/stealing-an-election.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-14 Many Western analysts and journalists are treating the stolen election in Iran as something of no international significance. After all, they say, it is only an internal matter... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/mr-popularity.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-14 A lot of Americans exult that President Barack Obama has made the United States loved again in the world.Of course, a parent who lets the kids stay out all night, a boss who gives more holidays than work, or a person who... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/whose-ox-is-gored.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-14 From Medieval times through the Nazi Holocaust organizer Adolph Eichmann down to today, antisemites have liked to style themselves as experts on Judaism... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/won't-denounce-the-administartion.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-14 "We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran, but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/netanyahu's-speech.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-15 In a much-awaited speech about his new government's foreign policy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained Israel's situation, experience, and views. Other countries, especially those which... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/forty-eight-hours.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-16 In the Middle East the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry because reality steps in.President Barack Obama based his policy of engaging with Iran on the idea that while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/iran's-crisis.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-17 As much as we all hope the best for the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Iran and the majority who voted for the two reformist candidates, the fact is that the regime is still in power there... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-takes-reality.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-17 I've said it before so I'll say it again: it's easy to overestimate the eagerness of the Obama administration for a confrontation with Israel. And it's easy to underestimate the eagerness of the Obama administration... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/internal-balance.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-06-18 One would need a heart of stone not to be moved by the scenes currently emerging from Iran: Hundreds of thousands of youthful demonstrators, taking to the streets to express their frustration at the restrictions of life... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/bias-beyond-belief.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-19 Often, it's really hard to believe how biased and bad media coverage of Israel is. I've been watching this stuff for decades and it still amazes me. A subtle bias is one thing... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/the-novelist.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-19 Here is all you need to know about the state of the Arabic-speaking world and the illusions of those who pander to these problems rather than help resolve them... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/iranian-crisis.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-20 Of course, the title above is meant in a joking manner. But after reading literally hundreds of articles and blog items on Iran, they seem to all be saying precisely... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/middle-east-politics.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-21 A reader asks: Do we really want to promoting the making of deals with "moderate dictators" or are we better urging them to turn their countries into liberal democracies?... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-could-should-say.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-22 Administration policy toward America's enemies reminds me of one of the most famous jokes in radio history. Jack Benny, the comedian, pretended to be really cheap. On one of his shows, he's walking in a dark alley... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obamas-big-freeze.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-22 Ironically, three of President Barack Obama's ideas in dealing with foreign policy, so visible in his Iran policy, have had more impact on his relationship with Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/western-front.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-22 The Iranian crisis is being fought out on three fronts. The first, and the one properly receiving the most attention, is inside Iran itself. Commentators have now found the perfect phrase for describing the outcome there... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-on-iran.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-23 A "senior administration official," which is codeword for a secretary of state or one of the top two levels below speaking on background, told reporters regarding Iran... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/alienated-israel.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-23 If you think the Obama administration has done more than enough to alienate Israel, well, as my grandparent's cantor's son used to put it: "You ain't seen nothing yet!" (footnote)... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/good-intentions.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-23 Thirty years ago precisely--it's hard for me to believe--I wrote a book on U.S.-Iran relations as another revolution raged in that country. It is called Paved with Good Intentions: The American Experience and Iran. The title, of course, is based on... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/lebanon-liberation.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-23 No country in the world has more political battles, military conflicts, and ethnic complexity per person and per square mile than does Lebanon... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/palestinian-leaders.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-26 Volcanoes are classified historically as active, dormant, and dead. The second group is merely inactive at present but could blow any time. As a terrorist organization, Fatah, the leading group in the Palestinian Authority (PA) which supplies nearly all of its leaders... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/salam-fayyad.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-27 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's big policy speech received global attention. Not so that of his Palestinian counterpart, Salam Fayyad. Fayyad's June 22 presentation deserves careful analysis... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/golden-egg.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-06-28 Washington's decision to return its ambassador to Syria is the latest stage in the present administration's policy of engagement with Damascus. It relates most importantly to the US desire to secure Syrian cooperation in the build-up to the departure of American combat troops from urban areas in Iraq... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/cnn-editor.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-29 Analysis of Middle East events, it often seems, is the worst-managed of all intellectual chores concerning the contemporary world. There are ideological and political barriers that get in the way of accuracy... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/irans-turmoil.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-29 Let me coin a phrase: "analytical sanity," by which I mean the ability of people professionally involved in international affairs to believe in a version of events that somehow corresponds to reality. As close readers know, while being quite critical of the Obama... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-and-iran.html Barry Rubin 2009-06-30 Both Rice and David Axelrod, Obama's top adviser, said Ahmadinejad doesn't appear to have the final say over Iran's foreign policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/azerbaijans-moderate-drem.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-01 Azerbaijan, an oil- and history-rich country on the Caspian Sea's western coast has a dream: to be a pragmatic, moderate, secular, tolerant Muslim-majority state which serves as good example to others in the region... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/obama-to-ahmadinejad.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-01 I just noted something very curious in Obama's rhetoric on Iran, which might be summed up in the word: Repent! Or....um, nothing... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/iranian-lobbying.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-07-01 President Shimon Peres's landmark visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan this week represents a significant advance for Israeli ambitions in Central Asia. In the wake of the recent decision to permit Israel to open an embassy in the Turkmen... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/peace-plan.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-02 Israel has put forward a serious peace plan which deserves international support from anyone serious about solving the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict.The cabinet's five-point proposal states... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/diplomatic-lessons.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-02 Every day we have evidence of how people think and politics function in the Middle East. There are, however, two particular malformations of thinking that inhibit Western understanding of the Middle East... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/iranian-tragedy.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-05 It would have been hard to believe if at the beginning of this year someone had predicted the Iranian regime would be even more dangerous within six months.But that's precisely what's happened... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/wishful-thinking.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-05 The more things change, the more they remain the same, sayeth the French. The Bible states that there's nothing new under the sun. Doing a television interview today made me reflect on the relationship... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/more-sanctions.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-06 President Obama's high priority is engaging with Iran on nuclear weapons and other issues. Why? Because, he says, the United States needs to show the world--and especially Europe--that it genuinely has tried to work things... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/aspens-suspension.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-07 The Aspen Daily News, the publication of the affluent, conspicuous-consumption ski resort in Colorado, is not a major media outlet. Yet how beautifully this society sheet illustrates the spirit of an age in which self-described beautiful people applaud the ugly terrorists and dictatorships!... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/british-officer.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-08 Several colleagues, including British and French ones, have told me lately the tremendous respect that the militaries and defense ministries in their countries have for Israel's army. A French military magazine recently ran a cover story... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/equivalency.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-08 1. On May 27 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "With respect to settlements, the President was very clear....He wants to see a stop to settlements, not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/honor-killing.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-08 If the world were a saner place than it is at present, Professor Phyllis Chesler would be a revered international heroine. Almost alone among American feminists--it shocks me to write that but it is true--she has stood up for the rights of women in the Middle East... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/israels-left.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-08 Aluf Benn, possibly Israel's smartest journalist, makes a fascinating point about the construction on settlement freeze issue: why is Israel's left so indifferent to it? In the past, the left (which can mean, say, Labor party through Peace Now) has eagerly rallied to U.S. efforts... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/three-years-later.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-07-09 Three years have passed since the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pointed out this week that the cease-fire which ended the war on August 14, 2006, remains fragile. The core issues which triggered the fighting remain unresolved... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/G8-to-Korea.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-09 The G8, the assembly of most of the world's most powerful nations--the United States, Russia, and the main European powers--have met and they have spoken with a loud, clear, and united voice... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/G8-misunderstanding-syria.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-10 Western coverage of the Arabic-speaking world is often a trifle one-sided, to say the least. Take the question of Syria. Hundreds of articles present the case for Syria becoming more moderate and engaging... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/media-coverage.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-10 Uzi Arad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security advisor, gave a fascinating, broad, and detailed interview to one of Israel's top reporters. Arad explained why he didn't believe there was any real Palestinian partner for peace, discussed the tremendous... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/good-intentions.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-12 Look, this is the Middle East. It eats diplomats for breakfast, foreign ministers for lunch, and presidents or prime ministers for dinner. Here be dragons. Over there is quicksand. Get serious or get a different hobby... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/adult-supervision.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-13 One of the reasons why Israel is so suspicious of negotiations efforts is that "friendly" Western countries and institutions seem to feel no obligation whatsoever to live up to their past commitments to Israel, commitment... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/why-the-silence.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-13 On July 12, seven churches were bombed in Baghdad with 14 people being killed, many of them while attending religious services.Christians in Muslim-majority areas are constantly being targeted by radical Islamists, especially in the Gaza Strip... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/middle-east-policy-emerges.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-14 A clear, consistent, and carefully formulated U.S. strategy is emerging in the Middle East. Unfortunately, it's a badly flawed one that won't work. Probably, the Obama administration will spend the next... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/big-trouble.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-14 A reporter just wrote me a letter that contains a single sentence which I think reflects on why the Western world is in such trouble today. After understandably discussing such real problems of reporting as short deadlines, complex issues... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/palestinian-politics-fragments.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-15 Reality keeps impinging on the four main illusions regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the ideas that: peace is possible in the not-distant future; that there's a Palestinian negotiating partner which wants a two-state solution... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/human-rights.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-16 Want proof of extreme and unprofessional anti-Israel bias on the part of so-called human rights' groups? Look no further. Human Rights Watch has now revealed its prejudice in two different, but equally shocking, ways... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/ultimate-anecdote.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-16 Here's the ultimate story on the Arab-Israeli conflict. And it's true, too. A professor at Bar-Ilan University was standing next to an Egyptian colleague at a conference. To show how Israelis were so empathetic and fair-minded, always ready... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/the-obama-ideology.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-16 The idea of supporting democracy as a major U.S. policy priority is back with the Obama administration, albeit somewhat further down the list. In her speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Hillary Clinton said... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/obama-ideology.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-17 To get a sense of Obama administration thinking, let's examine the speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Council on Foreign Relations, July 15. Remember that the wording of such speeches is not random... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/Political-Wing.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-19 Nawaf Musawi was until recently the leader of Hizballah's "political wing."He is now a member of parliament from Tyre. Note that Britain, Russia, and other countries have had high-level officials meet with this political... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/brief-guide.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-19 Here's a brief guide to the differences between Palestinian Authority (PA), Syrian, and Iranian strategies toward the United States and the West. While expressing it in a succinct and perhaps amusing way to... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/shi'ite-missiles.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-07-19 The explosions in a Hizbullah arms storage facility in the south Lebanese village of Khirbat a-Silm on Tuesday are testimony to the successful efforts of this organization to rebuild its strength south of the Litani River... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/israeli-policy.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-19 While there is definitely a school of thought in Israel that says: let Syria control Lebanon as this will give Damascus the incentive to maintain quiet there and stop cross-border attacks against Israel, this approach does not control policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/diplomatic-odyssey.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-20 "If anyone unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/new-era.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-20 This could be the most important article I write this year. Israel has entered a new era of thinking and policy in which old categories of left or right, hawk or dove are irrelevant under a national unity government bringing together the two main ruling parties... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/yakan-dies.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-20 Fathi Yakan, Lebanese radical Islamist, has died of natural causes. Hizballah leader Hasan Nasrallah seizes the moment to threaten a new war with Israel. Is this Hizballah's response to losing the election?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/06/limits-of-confrontation.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-21 I'm going to make a bold assertion: I think the U.S.-Israel friction over construction on settlements is largely over, not in terms of verbal criticism but rather in any meaningful way. This doesn't mean the United States is going to stop talking... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/fifty-injured.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-22 Muhammad Dahlan's nephew had a wedding in Khan Younis, Gaza. Dahlan, former commander of Fatah in the Gaza Strip and national security advisor to Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas wasn't there... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/06/case-studies.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-22 How to analyze statements by governments is an important task. In doing so, we should focus on context and not force-read extraneous ideas based on conceptions of their ideological orientation... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/fire-him.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-23 In a rather amusing example of how the Israel issue works in the Arabic-speaking and Muslim-majority world, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a problem. He appointed an aide, Esfandiar... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/talk-softly.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-07-23 The region is currently witnessing a concerted attempt by Saudi Arabia to mend its relations with the Syrian regime. This effort derives from Riyadh's fear of Iran, and its sense that now may be an opportune moment to begin to prize... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/fatahs-big-meeting.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-23 On August 4, Fatah is scheduled to open its general assembly, the first since 1990 in Tunis, which I had the honor to attend as a journalist. Having followed Palestinian politics for 30 years and written three... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/07/anti-freeze.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-25 Let me begin by saying that in exchange for full peace and an end to the conflict, I not only support the dismantling of all Jewish settlements on the territory of Palestine, I enthusiastically endorse... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/egyptian-succession.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-25 There's one crisis in the Middle East to which attention is rarely paid but which will one day, soon, explode onto the front pages: Who will be Egypt's next president? President Husni Mubarak will pick his successor all by himself. And if he dies without doing so... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/obamas-love-letters.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-27 "How you laughed when I cried,Each time we saw the tide, Take our love letters from the sand". So went the 1931 song made famous by Pat Boone in 1957. And that's what President Barack Obama's been writing. Talking about his respect for Islam and distancing http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/hamas-and-the-house.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-27 The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has just issued a 100-page report on the Middle East. Here is the main conclusion as expressed by Mike Gapes, the committee chair... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/whats-futile.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-27 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated on July 26 to Iran that if it's seeking nuclear weapons, "Your pursuit is futile." She continued: "What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions that if you're pursuing nuclear... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/middle-east-reality.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-29 Hints are being dropped in the media and by U.S. officials visiting Israel that President Barack Obama's Middle East policy has altered somewhat. Now the spin is that Israel isn't just being asked to make a unilateral concession to stop... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/temperature-in-the-north.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-07-30 Israel's border with Lebanon is currently at its most tense since the cease-fire which ended the war of 2006. This tension has been brought on by the combination of a number of factors... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/middle-east-dictotors.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-30 One advantage of new technology is it brings experts and readers together more closely. I often find that I get my best ideas when talking to readers and non-experts who ask interesting, basic questions and force a writer to express... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/07/huge-mistakes.html Barry Rubin 2009-07-31 People keep writing me along the following lines: I read and respect your analysis but something in my gut tells me that. Or, It simply isn't possible that administration officials so understand the nature of the Middle East... Barry Rubin 2009-08 Lars Berger 2009-08 Ofra Bengio 2009-08 Eyal Zisser 2009-08 Bruce Maddy-Weitzman 2009-08 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/pretend-not-to-notice.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-01 Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal is visiting Washington. He praised the Obama administration and then hammered nails into the coffin of its Middle East policy. There was nothing subtle about the Saudi response... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/et-tu-kuwait.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-04 Ok, first it was Saudi Arabia, then Jordan, now Kuwait's emir visiting Washington has said that the Arab states don't need to do anything to promote peace with Israel. In other words, they said "no" to President Obama's request for gestures to help him build a peace process... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/40-lashes.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-04 Perhaps we should start a list of developments Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should denounce as strongly as she did a court decision in Israel affirming that individual Israelis have owned two buildings in east Jerusalem for 100 years... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/middle-east-miasma.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-05 From the marvelous book on Africa by Richard Dowden, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. This is the kind of thing the "experts" in the West don't understand and the journalists generally don't write about... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/elected-leader.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-05 No, I don't want to keep writing every day about the Obama Administration's Middle East policy. There are many other topics I'd prefer, but the problem is that they keep doing things.Now the White House has recognized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/fatah-congress.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-05 As so often happens, the debate over Fatah's policy misses the point. The central issue has become Fatah's theme of saying it wants peace but it is ready to go to resistance, that is, armed struggle... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/legitimate-statement.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-05 In "Obama Administration Recognizes Ahmadinejad as elected leader of Iran," yesterday, I wrote: "Was this an error? Did [White House spokesman Gibbs mess up? Did the State Department get on the phones to the White House and urge some "qualification" on this http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/reward-syria.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-06 Perhaps you think I exaggerate when I talk about the follies of Western policies toward the Middle East, so consider this relatively obscure but instructive tale.For many years, the EU has been holding up the signing of an association agreement with Syria... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/reversal-of-fortune.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-06 Do you think the moderates--that is the March 14 bloc--won the Lebanese elections, while Hizballah and its Iranian-Syrian sponsors lost? Well, not so fast. Negotiations have been going on about what the government will look like and it appears that the pro-Syrian... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/too-busy.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-06 It really is amazing, and often amusing, what passes for Middle East analysis nowadays. Here's someone named Reza Aslan, quoted at length in Reuters: "To think that at the same time as putting together his cabinet in the midst of the largest... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/freeze-construction.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-06 Barak Ravid of Haaretz, who obviously has a leak from Israeli government officials, reports that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has proposed that Israel give a "deposit" that is a commitment to stop construction on West Bank settlements for one... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/hooray-for-jihad.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-07 I'm beginning to understand the Obama administration strategy, at least in its initial phase, as a "bridge too far" approach. That expression came after the heroic Allied operation at Arnheim in World War... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/iranian-alliance.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-08-07 The key strategic process that has taken place in the Middle East in the last half-decade has been the emergence of an Iranian-led bloc of states and movements, committed to undermining the U.S.-led status quo... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/no-to-normalization.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-08-08 The idea of gestures of 'normalization' from Arab states to Israel is a central component in the US administration's plan for reviving the Mideast peace process.The notion represents a variant of the Oslo-style approach whereby a series of confidence-building http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/turth-logic-rationality.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-08 Since the evaluation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is so often far removed from serious and sober political analysis, one has to resort to philosophical explanations.To paraphrase Karl Marx: Misunderstanders of the Middle East... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/dumping-israel.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-08 One amazing thing about bad ideas or analytical myths about the Middle East is that they never die, they just get recycled. Here's a simple little thought experiment you can do in the privacy of your own home... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/palestinian-politics.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-09 A nice little vignette about the arrogance of Western journalists and experts who drop into our neighborhood for a few days is offered by Tom Friedman's latest column. He writes:"Because the West Bank today is largely hidden from Israelis by a wall... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/fatah-congress-fails.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-10 The sober Financial Times speaks of the "agony" of Fatah. Khalid Abu Toameh of the Jerusalem Post, the best reporter covering Palestinian politics, compares it to the Iraqi Ba'th party. The Fatah Congress has been a dismal failure, even a disaster... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/ny-times.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-11 There are two remarkable articles--which means remarkably bad articles--in today's New York Times.First, Isabel Kirshner's article on the Fatah Congress is amazing, amazingly bad. Basically, it sets down the proper line and tells you, the reader, to follow... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/fatah-election-results.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-11 At the Fatah Congress meeting in Bethlehem, eighteen people were elected to the Central Committee of the group which rules the Palestinian Authority and will determine if there is going to be peace with Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/palestinian-politics.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-12 What happened at the Fatah Congress? It was pretty successful as far as maintaining the status quo goes, but very bad for any chance at making progress toward a comprehensive peace. And there's one terribly... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/new-phase-in-sight.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-12 After watching Middle East politics for more than 30 years, it is clear that these events--and the perceptions of them--move in cycles. At times, developments force a more realistic, and at other times a less realistic, understanding... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/media-bias.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-13 How did the Associated Press, the main source for the world's English-language media, report on the Fatah Congress? It's a tale of two dispatches. Here are AP's themes:--Fatah: moderate, pragmatic, wants peace, pro-American, youthful. (Problems are presented... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/positive-signs.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-13 No, I constantly have to explain to people, I don't think President Barack Obama and his administration are seeking to destroy Israel. They have some naive and wrong views of the region but the main danger... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/attack-on-israel.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-13 Guy Bechor is a very smart analyst of Arab politics and society. Especially interesting was his recent Haaretz article providing ten reasons why Hizballah is not going to attack Israef. Briefly, his persuasive argument goes like this, though the list is influenced by my own views... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/common-hatred.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-08-13 The arrest this week of the "Zeitoun terror cell" is a significant moment in the ongoing battle between the Egyptian security forces and homegrown Islamist extremism. The cell, we are told, plotted to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Shalom Cohen. It is also thought to have been... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/yasir-arafat.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-14 "'Mistah Kurtz--he dead."All the pilgrims rushed out to see. I remained, and went on with my dinner. I believe I was considered brutally callous...--Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness".I think that the death of Yasir Arafat is a perfect metaphor for the problems of the Palestinian... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/fatah-election-.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-14 As I predicted, the fact that only one out of 18 members of the Fatah Central Committee came from the Gaza Strip caused trouble. The Western media is generally celebrating the Fatah conference--on the basis of false conclusions... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/warfare-works-.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-14 One of the first signs we were heading into an era of insanity was when some years ago Ariel Sharon, before he became prime minister, said something like this: Israelis must understand that we aren't the grasshoppers... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/pakistan-still-hates.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-15 The August 13 Pew poll in Pakistan shows just how much effect the popularity of President Barack Obama has on this critical country. Since he became president positive attitudes toward the United States as caring... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/mubaraks-peace-plan.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-17 Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, in a major interview, August 17, explained his position on regional peace with Israel. The problem is to understand what it means in practice.Here's what he said in his briefest explanation of this policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/short-guide.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-18 Two-State Solution: Israel accepts a two-state solution--including an independent Palestinian state--only under conditions it believes would lead to real and lasting peace.It is a myth that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only recently accepted... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/hamas-transforms-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-18 Hamas is Turning the Gaza Strip into a Repressive, Radical Islamist, Terrorist State Allied to Iran. Might this suggest the need for concerted Western action to eliminate this threat? Apparently not.Here's a detailed report on how Hamas... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/hamas-transforms-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-18 When it comes to moderation Palestinian politics, one thinks of the folktale about the Greek philosopher Diogenes who searched fruitlessly night and day for an honest man.One can find among Palestinian leaders some relative moderates and people... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/swedish-newspaper.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-19 We are not talking about a Saudi newspaper or Hamas radio station but a Swedish newspaper. We are not talking about a neo-Nazi rag but a daily closely tied to the Swedish Social Democratic Party... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/lack-of-change.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-19 Presidents must be optimistic when presenting initiatives. To keep up support they have to insist that things are going well, progress is being made, and all will be well.At the same time, though, a president better have... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/al-qaida-style-islamism.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-08-19 Quiet has now returned to the Gaza Strip after the weekend violence which claimed the lives of 28 people. The last of the funerals of the Jund Ansar Allah fighters killed in the suppression of the organization... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/prime-requirement.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-20 One of Israel's highest priorities in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) is recognition by the PA and Arab states as a "Jewish state". The purpose of this demand is to ensure a lasting peace with Israel as it exists... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/alienating-both-sides.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-20 A new poll, conducted jointly by Israeli and Palestinian institutions, shows that President Obama is not too popular with either Israelis or Palestinians. If he presents a peace plan of his own and then tries to pressure both sides... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/mondo-bizarro-.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-21 Here are some developments worth noting (and even more important, understanding). Although this is written in a light-hearted style--since otherwise such news would send one into a deep depression--these are most serious... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/next-step-.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-21 It[s always a pleasure to arrive in a place, scrutinize the situation carefully, and conclude that your analysis has been right. And it's also a good time to be taking a close-up look at U.S. Middle East policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/real-rights.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-22 A few years ago, two unarmed Israelis, headed to camp to fulfill their army reserve duty, accidentally drove into a Palestinian town. They were seized by a mob and beaten up. The Palestinian police then took them to their station... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/trouble-with-washington.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-24 It is hard to convey the enormous gap between Middle East reality and Washington thinking. To try to explain here what things are actually like in the region is to invite ridicule. People in the Nation's Capital... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/stalinist-era.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-25 The post-election trials of opposition activists in Tehran resemble the Soviet purge trials of the 1930s. They are one more sign that Iran is entering a new era, but one that is the exact opposite of the idea that the conflict over... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/state-institutions.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-25 This will never lead anywhere, but that's the point isn't it?Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has a new peace plan: he's just going to create a state without reaching a peace agreement with Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/08/lets-pretend.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-26 Here's one of my favorite stories explaining how the Middle East works. It was told by Muhammad Hussanein Heikal, the famed Egyptian journalist. Like all Heikal's stories, it may or may not be true, which is also part of the lesson... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/open-secret.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-26 One of the world's biggest open "secrets" is this: Syria is arming, helping, training, financing, and giving access across the border into Iraq for terrorists who are murdering Iraqi civilians and American soldiers... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/irans-regime.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-27 It is beyond belief: Iran's government has named a wanted terrorist, Ahmad Vahidi, as its defense minister. And even that's not all: Vahidi ran the Qods force in the 1980s and 1990s, making him responsible for liaison between Iran and foreign... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/policy-adjustment.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-28 The Obama Administration is slowly adjusting its policy on Arab-Israeli issues but doing so in a way that ensures it still won't work. They understand they were doing it wrong, they still won't work. They understand they were doing it wrong, they still don't understand... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/no-engagement.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-28 Gerald Seib's article in the Wall Street Journal is worth responding to because it does symbolize the curious mentality about Iran prevailing in American policymaking and opinion-making circles... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/saudi-prince.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-28 Of Saudi Arabia it has been said that a bird doesn't move without the royal family's permission. That a suicide bomber was able to get close enough to wound the Saudi Assistant Interior Minister Prince... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/one-minute-test.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-31 It is an open secret that Syria is behind most of the terrorism in Iraq. The Syrian regime let's in would-be Sunni terrorists, arms them, trains them, serves as a supply base, and then helps them cross the border... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/arms-smuggling.html Barry Rubin 2009-08-31 It is because the Middle East's history--even most recent history--is continually ignored does Western policy tend to go in a cycle, the same mistakes are repeated, and disasters occur predictably... Panel Discussion. 2009-09 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/08/oil-deal.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-01 On the face of it, growing evidence that the British government released a terrorist who murdered 270 people in exchange for an oil deal is shockingly loathsome.But that's not the worst of it... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/oil-deal.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-01 If Iraq became Bush's war, the Obama Administration is making Afghanistan its war. Except for the size and visibility of the conflict--which are huge factors--Bush got the better of the deal.Iraq has been... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/day-in-the-life.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-01 I've never been so discouraged, a courageous Arab intellectual writes to me. Understandably so. There are three fronts really in the battle of the Middle East, and none of them are going so well.What are these three fronts... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/false-inevitability.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-01 The awarding of the Legion d'honneur to Charles Enderlin, the journalist who perpetrated the Muhammad al-Dura fraud, is only the latest example of the fact that promoting hatred of Israel or antisemitism pays very well nowadays. Enderlin, who wasn't present... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/sinking-ship.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-01 Let's not forget about Lebanon even though the Obama Administration has done so.Walid Jumblatt, once the lion of the moderate coalition, has now deserted it, thus weakening the anti-Hizballah... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/neutrality-on-iraq.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-03 On August 26, State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, was asked what the United States thought about the Iraq-Syria dispute. His answer shockingly recalls the last time a U.S. government made... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/whos-lying.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-03 A reader wrote me about one of the latest (and innumerable) sensationalist stories in the Middle East. Namely, in this case, that Hizballah has allegedly deployed chemical and biological weapons.This... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/iran-sanctions.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-04 The centerpiece of U.S. Middle East policy at this moment is to put higher sanctions on Iran which supposedly will make Tehran negotiate an end or slow down to its nuclear program. Even if sanctions are made much... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/the-army-commander.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-04 An ounce of reality is worth a ton of propaganda. Every day we are deluged with material about how horrible Israel is. For example, a petition to a Canadian film festival--signed by Alice Walker, Jane Fonda, and Danny Glover--oppose... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/raison-d'etre.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-09-04 The Baghdad government's assertion of Syrian responsibility for the explosions which killed more than 100 people in Iraq on August 19 has refocused attention to Syrian policy vis-a-vis its eastern neighbor... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/polite-discourse.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-05 After publishing an op-ed by a radical Israeli professor urging a boycott of Israel, Los Angeles Times editorial page editor, Jim Newton, said, "Had Hitler submitted an excerpt from Mein Kampf in the late 1930's [I would have published it] because the world would have... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/ugly-spirit.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-09-06 The article in the popular Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet alleging the Israel Defense Forces were involved in organ theft was the latest and most heinous example of an increasingly familiar phenomenon... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/moderate-radicals.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-07 The scandal of Britain releasing a Libyan terrorist who helped kill 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing in exchange for an oil deal continues to build. But I want to focus on some details of the issue that shed light on...well, just about everything concerning... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/ignorant-arrogance.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-07 One remarkable thing about watching the Middle East is how what's celebrated as brilliant in Europe or America is errant nonsense. Writing such stuff makes people successful and gives them an audience of millions... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/Israel-Europe-relations.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-07 The AP reporter's voice shows she's very young and her choice of words show she's very inexperienced. "What do you think," she asks me, "about the crisis between Europe and Israel." Crisis? Well most immediately this is the kind of "crisis" you want, over a very narrow issue... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/egypt-warns.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-08 If as close a U.S. ally as Egypt openly--not just privately but publicly--totally contradicts President Barack Obama, what does it say about U.S. credibility in the Middle East.First, the background.Credibility and deterrence are two basic foreign policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/obama-sanctions.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-08 The big, highly advertised meeting of six great powers--China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States--to raise sanctions against Iran seems to have ended without any major breakthrough... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/crime-does-pay.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-09 This comes at the very moment when Iraq is accusing Syria of involvement in major terrorist attacks in Baghdad plus complaining that it refuses to expel those organizing the war of terrorism against Iraq... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/reuters-rewrites-pay.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-09 The pervasive media slant on Middle East issues is so obvious that it's funny, and also transgresses the proper rules of journalism.Here's a headline on a Reuters dispatch today: "Israeli official doubts Syria's clout on Hezbollah"... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/apparent-decline-pay.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-10 Help! Our lives have been turned into a parody, a satire. How else can you explain things like the Los Angeles Times editorial of September 8, entitled, "The U.S. and Iran: It's time to talk." The editorial isn't just stupid; it's full of lessons... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/war-failures.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-09-10 Hamas has undertaken a major process of examination and investigation into its deeply flawed performance in the course of Operation Cast Lead, sources say. The review process is aimed at developing a new doctrine for Hamas... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/own-goals.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-11 President Barack Obama didn't understand how quickly and easily his diplomatic "generosity" and readiness to make concessions becomes a trap or also how his self-professed reluctance to do anything tough turns... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/irans-trap.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13 The great French diplomatist Talleyrand put it best: "That's worse than a crime, it's a mistake."By accepting the Iranian proposal for negotiations, the Obama Administration has just made the most important foreign policy decision... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/west-feeds.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13 If you want to understand the Middle East, don't read the Western media, read Arab writers like Mshari Al-Zaydi. His September 9, 2009, op-ed in Al-Sharq al-Awsat, "They Feed Our Illusions," is aimed at those who write or speak in Arabic about how all the... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/saving-it.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13 When people are very pessimistic, I say to them: Don't worry our enemies will save us. By that I mean that the enemies of peace, progress, and democracy--Islamists and radical Arab nationalists, terrorists and silly people in the West alike... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/irans-regime.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13 Forgive me for a bit of repetition but what has just happened is so important that it deserves the closest attention and clearest analysis. A more comprehensive explanation is here. This article presents... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/new-arab-stategy.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13 There's been an important new development in Arab strategy toward Israel. Although it was implicit in the Saudi, later Arab, peace proposal it has now become explicit, as in the Turki al-Faisal New York... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/abootalebi.html Ali R Abootalebi 2009-09-13-03-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/maddy-weitzman.html Bruce Maddy-Weitzman 2009-09-13-03-02 This article is based on a paper presented at the June 8-9, 2009 conference entitled "Israel and the Arab States: Parallel Interests, Relations, and Strategies," jointly held in Jerusalem by the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The article presents an overview of Israeli-Maghrebi relations since Israel's establishment. It also discusses cooperation with Israel in various spheres and ideas on how to further promote this. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/berger.html Lars Berger 2009-09-13-03-03 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the June 8-9, 2009 conference entitled "Israel and the Arab States: Parallel Interests, Relations, and Strategies," jointly held in Jerusalem by the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Members of the new Israeli government have entertained the notion of an Israeli-Arab realignment vis-a-vis Iran. This article argues that such hopes are bound to be disappointed. They rest on a Realist understanding of Middle East international politics that fails to take into account the role domestic considerations and identity politics play in foreign policy decisionmaking. While Riyadh is undisputedly concerned about Iranian power projection in the region, improved relations with a U.S. administration that is more open to its concerns and an increasingly diverse set of international security links mean that it does not feel the need to endanger domestic and regional legitimacy by openly engaging Israel without any perceived progress along the parameters outlined in the Abdallah initiative of 2002. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/zisser.html Eyal Zisser 2009-09-13-03-04 This article is based on a paper presented at the June 8-9, 2009, conference, "Israel and the Arab States: Parallel Interests, Relations, and Strategies," jointly held in Jerusalem by the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. While many Israelis once felt Lebanon would be the second Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel, today, it is assumed that Lebanon will be the last Arab state to take this step. While Hizballah didn't obtain a majority in the June 7, 2009, parliamentary elections, the results showed its continuing power. Any chance of advancing an Israeli-Lebanese understanding, which would also help to stabilize Lebanon's internal political situation, depends on broader regional results. Meanwhile, Israel must ensure preservation of its deterrence vis-a-vis Hizballah to try to preserve calm on the Israeli-Lebanese border. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/panel-discussion.html Panel Discussion. 2009-09-13-03-05 On June 8-9, 2009, the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung jointly held a conference in Jerusalem entitled, "Israel and the Arab States: Parallel Interests, Relations, and Strategies." Brief biographies of the participants can be found at the end of the article. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/bengio.html Ofra Bengio 2009-09-13-03-06 This article is based on a paper presented at the June 8-9, 2009 conference entitled "Israel and the Arab States: Parallel Interests, Relations, and Strategies," jointly held in Jerusalem by the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The article discusses Israeli-Iraqi relations in the post-Saddam era, arguing that Iraq has distanced itself from its traditional radicalism and adopted a more pragmatic and moderate posture. Still, close ties between Iran and Iraqi Shi'a groups in particular threaten the chances for normalization between Jerusalem and Baghdad, while the U.S. ability or willingness to challenge Iran on this matter is limited. Also discussed is the positive Kurdish-Israeli relationship and areas of potential cooperation. At the same time, however, there exist Kurdish fears of negative reactions from non-Kurdish Iraqis and the Arab world and Israeli fears of antagonizing Turkey and jeopardizing its strategic partnership with it. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/09/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-13-03-07 This article considers prospects for developing relations between Israel and the Persian Gulf monarchies: Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. A central feature of U.S. Middle East policy--and one doomed to fail--is an effort to urge Gulf countries to take steps toward peace or confidence-building measures with Israel. Israel has a strong interest to seek normal relations with these countries, as each state moving toward peace further tips the regional balance, making it harder for other countries and movements to attack Israel, obtain funds for arms and terrorism, or subvert the peace process. Israel can also make important (though more modest than many expect) commercial gains by trade with these wealthy countries, while there are certain products they could obtain that would benefit their economies. Yet all of these Gulf countries have very strong reasons that make them unlikely to move toward peace, normalization of relations, or confidence-building measures. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/uk-libya-relations.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-14 First the British government released a Lockerbie terrorist, despite his having killed so many people, as part of an oil deal with Libya. Now, according to a credible report, the British army will be training... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/us-iran-negotiations.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-16 Before I respond to some points about the U.S. government negotiating with Iran, let me tell a personal story that illustrates the issue.Some years ago, a colleague wanted to invite me to speak at his think tank in Washington. To his surprise the director of the... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/muhammad-ghaneim.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-16 There's nothing written about more often--and inaccurately--than the Palestinians, yet there is curiously little interest about the politics and ideology which governs their behavior. The same situation applies to the mans slated... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/advice-for-the-advisors.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-17 Though remembered today by only a few specialists, Aemilius Paullus was a brilliant general and seems like an impressive fellow all around. In 168 BCE he was appointed to run the Romans' failing campaign... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/newsweek-articles-relations.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-22 want to start by talking about two specific articles and then draw some conclusions about the current philosophy of U.S. foreign policy so please keep reading. Ready? Here we go: So let me get this straight. Newsweek publishes an article advocating... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/missile-defense.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-22 Remember the name Uzi Rubin because he might emerge as the most important individual in the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons drive. Rubin is the former head of Israel's missile defense program and now a defense consultant. He has developed the best alternative... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/failure-of-obama.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-22 It's a development of shocking proportions if properly noticed and evaluated. President Barack Obama's entire Arab-Israeli and Iranian policies are miserably failing, though partly concealed by theatrical events and media protection... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/basic-concept.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-23 The most important paragraph of President Barack Obama's speech announces a repeal of all prior guidelines and principles for U.S. foreign policy and a rejection of the basic rules of diplomacy as they have been practiced for centuries. It reveals the fundamental... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/human-rights.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-24 The United Nations-sponsored Goldstone report, created for the purpose of bashing Israel over the Gaza war with phony claims of "war crimes," is possibly the most inaccurate document ever produced by that organization... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/reassessment.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-24 To say that President Barack Obama hates, seeks to destroy, and/or is pressuring Israel is a staple of the Internet rumor mill, especially from the right. A large portion of the far left would like to believe it . But it isn't true. That outcome of reasonably good U.S.-Israel relations... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/obama-overlooks.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-24 It's clear that numerous Hamas children's shows, mosque sermons, and publications advocate genocide but this never seems to elicit a Western government response. The absence of any mention of Hamas or the problem it poses... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/brand-tarnished.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-09-24 A famous Hizbullah marching song, "Hizbullah ya ayuni" (Hizbullah - my eyes), contains the following verse: "And today through the blood of the brave, the merciful creator has given us victory, and the whole world and all people have begun to speak... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/or-else-pay.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-26 At the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, President Barack Obama and several European leaders threatened Iran that it had just better stop developing nuclear weapons right away or else they would act decisively. Let's call this the "Or Else" factor... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/09/alternative-to-victory.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-29 The problem with President Barack Obama is not that he makes gaffes or factual errors when he speaks but because he expresses an ideological framework so shocking and dangerous.Take the latest such remark, made in the G-20 press conference, referring to Iran's... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/growing-islamization.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-09-29 Deriving accurate and reliable information from within the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is not easy. The Strip is largely closed to journalists, and its inhabitants are reluctant to speak in detail of events there.Nevertheless, reliable sources confirm that one observable trend taking place there is the growing ... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/friends-with-sudan.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-30 Good news for bad guys. The Obama Administration has found another dictatorship to appease. Thanks to a superb article in the Washington Post, we can see what's happening with U.S. policy toward Sudan. That country's government, once accused... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/09/bookburners.html Barry Rubin 2009-09-30 Hala Mustafa is one of Egypt's leading thinkers regarding contemporary political and international issues. Recently, she's been the subject of a campaign to destroy her career because of something she did which has made her the object of hatred... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/humiliating-halt.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-01 The newly elected Fatah Central Committee--the one that was supposedly made up of young, reform-minded moderates but actually isn't--has told Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas that he should absolutely not... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/diplomatic-success.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-02 The United States--along with Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany--met with Iran in Geneva and officials, media, and experts proclaim it a success. Was its nuclear program what Iran defused or merely Western pressure? It is widely claimed that... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/choice-of-strategy.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-02 There are two basic strategies being put forth in the West and particularly the United States today in regard to the challenge from radical and Islamist forces. The narrower, terror-only strategy is a far more tempting one to follow. It is less expensive, less risky, and makes... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/losing-the-battle.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-05 Have these people no shame? One meeting with Iran at which the Iranian regime mentions a possible commitment to give up its nuclear fuel, then denies having said any such thing, and they are ready to surrender... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/dali-lama-dilemma.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-05 The postponement by President Barack Obama of his meeting with Tibetan exiled leader the Dalai Lama is a fascinating case study of contemporary foreign policy, the constraints posed by realistic strategy, and the upside-down world in which we live at present... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/saudi-royal.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-10-08 The Syrian Al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday that a two-day visit by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz was due to begin that day. The talks, Al-Watan noted, would conclude with the signing of a joint agreement on the issue of taxes... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/illusion-of-victory.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-11 This may be a very big development, a turning point. Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders are now openly complaining about President Barack Obama, saying he has hurt the Palestinian cause, by accepting less than a complete freeze of... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/why-im-optimistic.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-12 Every day dreadful things happen in the Middle East and in the echoes of that region--diplomacy, news coverage--in the West. Yet things are by no means as bad as they seem. Precisely because a lot of what happens simply doesn't... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/irans-plan.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-13 Iran is sneering at the possibility that one day during the remainder of this century, the United States and European countries will put some form of sanctions on Iran to try to stop its nuclear weapons' program... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/the-charade.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-15 Let's take a careful look at this AP dispatch on an October 12 Fatah internal memorandum. The official Fatah document charges the Obama Administration with disappointing the Palestinians and being mainly responsive--like presumably all previous presidents--to the pro-Israel lobby... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/unfinished-war.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-10-15 The explosion in the south Lebanese village of Tayr Felseir offers the latest evidence of the way in which Hizbullah is rebuilding its infrastructure following the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In the pre-2006 period, Hizbullah maintained its military infrastructure in open countryside areas... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/end-of-peace-process-era.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-16 The UN Human Rights Council has now endorsed the Goldstone Report. There are important implications to this decision that make it a turning point. It means the first make or break test for Obama's foreign policy. There is no easy way out... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/engagement-with-sudan.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-17 The Obama Administration apparently thinks that its policy of engaging repressive radical anti-American dictators has been working so well as to extend it now to Sudan. This is the meaning of the new policy to be on this issue October 19... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/hatred-of-israel-reporter.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-20 You know that the Islamist-oriented Turkish government has cancelled a military exercise with Israel, made a military cooperation alignment with Syria, and aired an antisemitic film. Here's what you don't know about the film... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/the-big-freeze.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-21 If solving the Israel-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict is the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's Middle East policy--at times it seems the keystone of the government's entire policy--there's an obvious problem derailing it... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/freed-reporter.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-22 When reality breaks into the mainstream media it can be of earthquake intensity. Such is the New York Times article by David Rohde, a journalist held prisoner by the Taliban for over seven months and finally released... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/iran-reaps.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-10-22 Sunday's bombing in the Sistan-Baluchestan province in Iran contains within it a certain unavoidable irony. The 43 people who died in the attack included six senior officials of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, among them the deputy commander of the IRGC ground forces... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/ploy-of-the-week.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-22 There are widespread reports about an imminent deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Here's how the New York Times optimistically presents the proposal: "Iranian negotiators have agreed to a draft deal that would delay the country's ability to build a nuclear weapon for about a year, buying more time for President Obama... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/cant-remember.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-23 The White House has just released a very routine but still quite disturbing declaration by President Barack Obama. And it goes like this: "On the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, we remember today the 241 American Marines, soldiers... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/not-english.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-23 Here's a tip for understanding the Middle East. For Arabic-speaking countries and groups, there are two parallel lines of discourse going on: one in English, one in Arabic. The English-language one is directed outward at the West; the Arabic-speaking is for the direction of policymakers... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/stop-the-reign.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-25 So I'm talking to a Turk who's feeling desperate about her country crumbling away from under them, trying to figure some way out. What hope can I offer? What help will the United States give to prevent one of its historically most... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/stop-the-reign.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-25 So I'm talking to a Turk who's feeling desperate about her country crumbling away from under them, trying to figure some way out. What hope can I offer? What help will the United States give to prevent one of its historically most... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/childrens-crusade.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-26 A friend of mine who used to be a high-ranking U.S. government official made a very interesting remark: Intelligence does not settle disputes in government, theories do. In other words, no matter how badly an enemy acts, you can interpret it as their building up bargaining chips to... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/something-for-nothing.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-26 For many years the European Union has talked with Syria about a trade treaty giving Damascus lots of benefits. For some time, the EU balked, insisting that Syria make some commitments on improving human rights in the country. Yet step by step, while Syria did nothing... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/no-mystery.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-26 You know that two car bombs hit three government buildings in Baghdad on October 25 and killed 132 people. You probably know that this was a devastating hit against the effort to stabilize the country, which in turn is a precondition for U.S. withdrawal. Many analysts viewed... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/10/slanders-outrun.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-27 Eric Severeid, one of the greatest American journalists of the twentieth century, once said that it is impossible to protect your reputation against someone determined to misinterpret you. That is also true in international affairs. There are honest misunderstandings... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/rise-in-gaza.html Barry Rubin 2009-10-29 One of the most notable political processes currently taking place in Hamas-ruled Gaza is the growing prominence of "Salafi jihad" organizations. These are groupings committed to the rigorous, apocalyptic version of Sunni Islamism associated with the al-Qaida network... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/guide-to-islamist.html Barry Rubin 2009-11 http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/moments-of-decision.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-01 The two main and contending political forces in Egypt--the government and the Muslim Brotherhood--are both facing the choice of a new leader. Will they make a clear decision or postpone their decisions?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/10/obstacles-to-peace.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-02 Yesterday I discussed the significance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's praise for Israel's policy during her trip to Jerusalem, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had offered unprecedented concessions to get peace talks started again... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/turkey-israel-alliance.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-02 The Turkey-Israel alliance is over. After two decades plus of close cooperation, the Turkish government is no longer interested in maintaining close cooperation with Israel nor is it--for all practical purposes--willing to do anything much to maintain its good relations with Israel... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/handle-the-truth.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-03 The Obama Administration has no idea of what is about to happen. After all, it has won hasn't it and done something positive for the Palestinians, right? It demanded that Israel freeze all construction on West Bank settlements. Israel agreed, save only that it finish the approximately... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/trying-to-be-friends.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-05 Will Rogers, the great American comedian of the 1920s and 1930s, famously said, "I never met a man I didn't like." The problem with the Obama Administration, at least so far, is that it has never met an enemy that it could identify as such... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/ambassador-to-london.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-05 The Lebanese have a saying: Syrian officials cannot open their mouths without making threats of violence. That regime uses repression and torture at home while systematically sponsoring terrorism abroad: against Lebanese moderates; American soldiers and Iraqi civilians... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/the-joke.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-05 You have to have a sense of humor to study the Middle East. What happens every day--often presented and analyzed in the greatest detail and actually taken seriously--has its farcical quality out front. As William Shakespeare put it in... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/media-wakes-up.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-07 There's something big happening in the air regarding American media coverage of the Obama Administration. With the Washington Post in advance, the New York Times waking up the tiniest bit, the Los Angeles Times trailing far behind, and a lot of other newspapers getting... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/us-syria-relations.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-09 As I've previously reported, policy toward Syria has been the best-run aspect of Obama Administration foreign policy. That's largely because it has been left in the hands of State Department officials who have no illusions about that radical dictatorship which... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/yale.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-12 This is a lecture I gave recently at Yale University. But the title above the video indicates only a small part of the talk at the end. The main purpose was to explain how Middle East politics works and why so few in the West understand this. Hope you find it interesting... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/iran-and-syria.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-12 The Aztecs of Mexico believed that if they didn't sacrifice human victims each day the sun wouldn't come up the next morning. This seems to be the principle governing how Western elites blame Israel for everything that goes on... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/turkish-army.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-12 I've already written about how former President Bill Clinton, in line with the Obama Administration's thinking, acted as an apologist and even booster of Turkey's Islamist regime. Now the State Department is doing it. Indeed, this is a fascinating... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/great-abbas.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-13 It's really funny how the story about Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas supposedly-going-to-call-elections-and-resign story was covered. Everyone in the Middle East knew he wouldn't resign and... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/why-i-murdered.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-14 How do we know that the attack at Fort Hood was an act of Islamist terrorism? Simple, Major Nidal Hassan told us so. You've seen reports of a long list of things he did and said along these lines. But what's most amazing of all is this... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/radical-islamism.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-19 This is perhaps the best newspaper article I've ever read on the phenomenon of radical Islamists in Europe, written from the point of view of those who have left the movement and now discuss how they felt and what they did. Well worth reading. It is by Johann Hari... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/quicksand.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-19 Of course, the Obama Administration has its defenders. They either ignore criticism of the Administration's foreign policy or claim it is all partisan and ideological. And yet the truth is that if you watch the government's policy on a daily basis it is truly remarkable how many dumb... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/comes-to-iran.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-20 Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says she doesn't consider the Iranian foreign minister's statement that they aren't making the deal to be "the final word." The Obama Administration will give Tehran a few more chances--and probably a few more months... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/you-benefit.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-20 You may be aware that while its enemies are threatening to wipe it off the map or are attacking it with terrorism and while many of those who should be its friends slander it daily, Israel does things that benefit all humanity. When you see four such medical and technological... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/al-qaida.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-22 Does anyone read the newspapers in the U.S. government? How about checking out the dispatches coming from its generals in the field? Here's a news story which tells all.A Reuters' dispatch from Iraq interviews the commander of U.S. forces there... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/against-tehran.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-22 It isn't hard to conclude that Iran having nuclear weapons is a direct threat to Arab states, except Syria--Tehran's ally--which would benefit. Why, then, don't Arab states and intellectuals public express more concern?... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/real-damage.html Jonathan Spyer 2009-11-22 The statement by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Riyadh last week expressing French willingness to mediate talks between Syria and Israel is the latest indication of Syria's emergence from diplomatic isolation. Damascus has largely... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/important-step.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-22 Israel's operation into the Gaza Strip last January and the embargo on aid has had an effect. Hamas is now announcing that it will stop attacks on Israel. This, in effect, ends Hamas's renewal of the fighting a year ago. Here's the problem: Is Hamas just... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/trial-in-new-york.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-23 What will be the impact on the Middle East of putting September 11 plotters on trial in New York? As usual most of the debate in America revolves around the effect within the United States: how will New York react, might the defendents get off... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/get-hillarycare.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-25 People are aware--at least those people who don't get all their news from certain sources--that the Obama Administration is messing up a lot on foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. What is often missed, however, are the little things that have... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/11/does-it-continue.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-25 It is always the same theme: Palestinians are the victims of Israel. They want an end to the "occupation," which in a real sense has not existed for 15 years, and are desperate for a state of their own. Help us! Help us! Help us! But the funny thing is that... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/11/hillarys-bombshell.html Barry Rubin 2009-11-27 In a one-paragraph statement welcoming Israel's ten-month-long freeze on building apartments in existing West Bank settlements, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a major statement. The dramatic new U.S. stance on Israel-Palestinian Authority peace agreement is camouflaged... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/explaining-russian-and-chinese Barry Rubin 2009-12-03 China is very much motivated toward development rather than ideology or geopolitical ambition. It wants to get along with everyone as much as possible and make lots of money... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/on-israel's-construction-freeze Barry Rubin 2009-12-07 Israel acceded to a U.S. request to freeze construction on existing Jewish settlements; the Palestinian Authority (PA) refuses even to negotiate or to give anything in exchange for this concession... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/bus-blows-up-in-damascus Jonathan Spyer 2009-12-07 The Syrian authorities are currently trying to attribute the blast Thursday on a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims near the Saida Zeinab mosque in Damascus to an exploding tire... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/arab-writer-obama Barry Rubin 2009-12-08 Here is a remarkable article from Michael Young of the Beirut Daily Star that tells you more about what is happening in the world than anything you will read in the Western media. To give you a clear sense of the contents... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/lebanese-hizballah Barry Rubin 2009-12-09 On January 1, Lebanon will become a member of the UN Security Council, having been elected last October by the General Assembly for a two-year term. The Lebanese government now includes a majority of ministers who are nominees of either Hizballah... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/hezbollah's-delusions Jonathan Spyer 2009-12-09 The latest events in Lebanon offer an image in miniature of larger regional developments. The Iranian-backed Shi'ite Islamist movement Hezbollah is pursuing a long-term strategy intended to eventually deliver Lebanon into its hands. In the short term... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/saudi-regime Barry Rubin 2009-12-10 Four years ago, in my book, The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East, I wrote about an American-educated Saudi building contractor named Hussein Shobokshi. He had written an article warning that the infrastructure of Saudi cities... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/excuses-for-palestinian Barry Rubin 2009-12-13 The Arab-Israeli, or Israel-Palestinian, conflict is the most misrepresented subject in the entire world. The most basic facts are often distorted... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/west-fooled-by-middle-east-dictators Barry Rubin 2009-12-13 It is remarkable how easy it is for Middle Eastern dictatorships to fool the West. Iran has been stringing along Europe and the United States for seven years on the pretense... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/landes1.html Richard Landes 2009-12-13-04-01 The first part of this two-part article explores the pervasive flaws that mar the UNHRC's "Gaza Fact-Finding Mission Report." It focuses on an interlocking combination of problems: 1) its failure to investigate seriously the problem of Hamas embedding its war effort in the midst of civilians in order to draw Israeli fire and then accuse Israel of war crimes; 2) its astonishing credulity concerning all Palestinian claims, contrasted with a corresponding skepticism of all Israeli claims; 3) its harsh judgments on Israelis for war crimes (i.e., deliberate targeting of civilians), contrasted with its resolute agnosticism concerning Hamas intentions. The result is that Goldstone actually participates in Hamas' strategy and encourages the sacrificing of their own civilians. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/landes2.html Richard Landes 2009-12-13-04-02 The second part of this two-part article explores two main themes: 1) How journalists and human rights NGOs created the body of information Goldstone largely replicated, and 2) the role of intimidation and advocacy on journalists, NGO workers, witnesses, and judges. It concludes with an analysis of how such a systematic misrepresentation of events repeatedly occurred and the dangerous results for the very cause Goldstone espouses--the protection of civilians and the human rights culture. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/kfir.html Isaac Kfir 2009-12-13-04-03 The study examines how the United States has come to deal with Afghanistan-Pakistan, a key foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. It focuses on President Obama's new policy known as AfPak, the Kerry-Lugar Act, and other U.S. initiatives adopted since 2009 in order to help stabilize the situation in South Asia. The author concludes by arguing that the new initiatives will not substantially improve the situation in Pakistan, because they fail to address the country's core problem: lack of strong democratic institutions. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/bengio.html Ofra Bengio 2009-12-13-04-04 The abrupt upheaval in Iraq's leadership ranks is the greatest in its history as well as in the annals of the entire Middle East: from a single, all-powerful sovereign to a litany of rulers, leaders, and claimants to the throne; from the one and only Ba'th party to a vast array of parties, factions, and organizations. This essay analyzes the causes and consequences of this earthquake in Iraq and portrays the new elites which ascended to power. It argues that from the dawn of its existence, the Iraqi state's various regimes and leaders have endeavored to establish a stable polity that could boast of internal unity and a supra-sectarian allegiance with a measure of historical continuity but failed to do so. Consequently, the question that begs asking is whether the new elites will succeed where their predecessors have failed. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/senyuva.html Ozgehan Senyuva 2009-12-13-04-05 This article examines the current state of Turkish politics and the positions of the two main opposition parties - the Republican People's Party and Nationalist Action Party - on the major issues. The article argues that rather than formulating alternative sociopolitical and economic policies, both opposition parties partake in a merely partisan debate. This in turn partly discredits them as engaging in unconstructive criticism for their own political gain. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/elhadj.html Elie Elhadj 2009-12-13-04-06 The compatibility between Islam and democracy has been a controversial topic. While empirical studies since 2000 confirm the prevailing notion that Muslim majority states offer fewer political rights than non-Muslim countries, the question as to why such a phenomenon exists remains unsatisfactorily answered. One key element is how the interpretation of Islam itself has been so effectively used by Arab regimes to indoctrinate subjects into believing that blind obedience to their absolute rule is a form of Islamic piety. This article will also argue that Islam, combined with the security forces and the poverty of the masses render the majority of Arabs politically quietist. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/12/kandel.html Arielle Kandel 2009-12-13-04-07 This article examines the dynamics of Indo-Israeli relations in the post-Cold War period. What is most surprising is the considerable extent to which Indo-Israeli relations have advanced since the normalization of relations in 1992, in stark contrast with the coolness from the Indian side during the entire Cold War period. Though Indo-Israeli ties still remain constrained by several factors, India and Israel have forged such close ties that some scholars refer to the two states as strategic partners. This article, however, will attempt to demonstrate that the Indo-Israeli relationship does not in fact form a "strategic partnership." http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/clinton-speaks-about-iran Barry Rubin 2009-12-14 In a December 10 al-Jazira interview, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explains U.S. policy toward Iran, showing the administration has still not really started turning from engaging Iran to slapping on high sanctions... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/palestinians-tell-the-world Barry Rubin 2009-12-16 If you want to understand what is really going on in the alleged Israel-Palestinian peace process--beyond the babble that progress is being made, it is all Israel's fault, and everyone is working hard on it--here is what you need to know... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/two-big-developments Barry Rubin 2009-12-16 It may well be that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given the signal for the new phase of U.S. policy toward Iran. On December 14, she said that the engagement policy with Tehran had not worked and now it needs to press for additional sanctions... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/why-can't-h-clinton Barry Rubin 2009-12-18 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave an interview to al-Jazira television, December 10, which reminds us of something exceptionally important for any discussion of the Israel-Palestinian conflict: what her husband offered the Palestinians... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/arab-world-wakes-up Jonathan Spyer 2009-12-20 The 30th summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, meeting in Kuwait this week, expressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia in its fight with the Shi'ite Houthi rebels in northern Yemen... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/afghanistan-obama-administration Barry Rubin 2009-12-20 Prediction: One day some enterprising author or former intelligence officer is going to write a best-selling book about the hunt for Usama bin Ladin. Readers will be horrified to find how the Pakistani government... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/auschwitz-sign Barry Rubin 2009-12-21 The theft and then recovery of the famous sign at the entrance of Auschwitz--Arbeit macht frei, work will make you free--has brought that artifact of the Holocaust to international attention once again. Merely dismissing the sign as "cynical," few understand... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/seventy-years-ago Barry Rubin 2009-12-23 The greatest opportunity ever to prevent Israel's creation and instead make the entire land a Palestinian Arab state took place in 1939, specifically on May 17, 1939, seventy years ago... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/domino-effect Jonathan Spyer 2009-12-24 Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri's December 19 visit to Damascus is the latest marker in the return of the coercive Syrian presence in Lebanon. It is also an indication of Syria's successful defiance of the west... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/for-obama-2010 Barry Rubin 2009-12-25 The year 2010 is going to be interesting. Well, all years in the Middle East are interesting; many of them are far too interesting. For the Obama Administration, I am going to predict, it will not be a fun year... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/for-israel-2010 Barry Rubin 2009-12-27 In contrast to my rather gloomy assessment of the Obama Administration's prospects in the Middle East, Israel's prospects look rather good. This is granted, of course, that the chances for any formal peace (note the word "formal") with the Arab states or the Palestinians are close to zero... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/arab-world-2010 Barry Rubin 2009-12-28 The politics of the Arabic-speaking world are going to face some serious challenges during 2010. Probably none of them, however, will have anything to do with the Arab-Israeli issue, despite the overwhelming attention... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/palestinian-authority-sets Barry Rubin 2009-12-29 We now have Mahmoud Abbas's answer regarding short-term Palestinian Authority (PA) strategy. He says that if Israel stops all construction now... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/there-are-lots-of-lessons Barry Rubin 2009-12-30 In his reaction to the attempted terrorist attack on the flight for Detroit, President Barrack Obama gave his analysis: "This incident, like several that have preceded it, demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extremist." If this means that only one extremist was on the plane... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2009/12/obama-2010-policy-and-iran Barry Rubin 2009-12-31 A friend of mine is angry, saying I am too tough on President Barack Obama and that nothing he does pleases me. Well, I wish he would do more that pleases me, and disconcerts America's enemies... Richard Landes 2010-01 http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/muslim-world-iran Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-03 The ongoing demonstrations in Iran are testimony to the continued strength and resilience of Iranian civil society. They make a mockery of the Islamic Republic's ambition of offering a model for successful Muslim governance to the world... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2009/12/what-weve-been Barry Rubin 2010-01-04 As a new calendar year begins, it seems appropriate to give you, gentle readers, some accounting of what I have been doing this year and the one coming up... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/casualties-and-solutions Barry Rubin 2010-01-05 If you launch a West Bank operation to defeat a terrorist war (against international complaints); build a security fence (despite international criticism); and fight a defensive action in the Gaza Strip (despite international condemnation) the result is that fewer of your citizens are murdered... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/suicidal-rules Barry Rubin 2010-01-06 It is always interesting to analyze those little stories that show so clearly the rules of Arab politics and debate, themes which never quite find their way into the Western media, which only see these issues in a Western political and intellectual framework. Yet if you want... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/boring-press-conference Barry Rubin 2010-01-07 What could be more boring, you might ask, then a press conference following the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr al-Thani? Well, a little document like this is a gold mine... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/iran-hasn't Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-07 The salient strategic fact in the Middle East today is the Iranian drive for regional hegemony. This Iranian objective is being promoted by a rising hardline conservative elite within the Iranian regime, centred on a number of political associations and on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/why-cant-everyone Barry Rubin 2010-01-10 It's a heartening story just made for this season and the Western media : two seriously injured children, one Israeli and one Palestinian, becoming friends together in a hospital, with an innocence that transcends the hatred of their peoples. The New York Times article is written precisely balanced... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/outsmarting-the-terrorists Barry Rubin 2010-01-10 Here is my usual disclaimer: I would love to be able to stop criticizing the Obama Administration but it keeps saying and doing things that shock and surprise me or--if you want to put it this way--live up to my worst expectations. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/not-al-qaida-obama Barry Rubin 2010-01-11 A friend sent me an article written, in his usually witty style, by Mark Steyn in the conservative magazine, National Review, entitled "But We're Still Gonna Kill You." Steyn writes: "Barack Obama has spent the last year doing bigtime Islamoschmoozing... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/arab-world-yemen Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-12 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently described the current situation in Yemen as "a threat to regional stability and even to global stability." She was referring to the fact that Yemen is the latest failed state to become a haven for elements of the Sunni global jihad... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/why-cant-western-policymakers Barry Rubin 2010-01-13 A reader sent me an article asking me if it made me feel like laughing or crying. Neither. I just gasped in amazement. Studying the Middle East isn't really a matter of being a Democrat or Republican; liberal or conservative... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/radical-islamism Barry Rubin 2010-01-14 A young American named Ramy Zamzam, arrested in Pakistan for trying to fight alongside the Taliban, responded in an interview with the Associated Press: "We are not terrorists. We are jihadists, and jihad is not terrorism." http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/-saudis-seek Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-17 Syrian President Bashar Assad is reportedly scheduled to visit the Saudi capital Riyadh, where he is to meet with Saudi King Abdullah. The meeting is rumored to be a prelude to a three way summit... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/brilliant-defender Barry Rubin 2010-01-18 Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, gave a very interesting interview to the alumni magazine of his old college, Columbia University. I analyze some of the points made not to criticize Leiter but to point out some basic ideas... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/resistance-strategy Barry Rubin 2010-01-19 Have you heard from any of the Western mass media about the Resistance strategy of Middle East radicals? I'm sure you haven't. Yet without understanding this powerful... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/decline-of-obama-administration Barry Rubin 2010-01-20 There is an iron rule in modern democratic politics that parties periodically ignore to their peril: if a party goes too far to an extreme--to the left, the right, or any other far-out viewpoint--the voters reject it... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/muslim-brotherhood Barry Rubin 2010-01-20 Muhammad Badie, a 66-year-old professor of veterinary medicine is the new head of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed, barring any serious ill health he will probably run the Islamist group for the next ten to twenty years, foreclosing the possibility of... http://www.gloria-center.org/Gloria/2010/01/did-the-long-arm-of-iran Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-21 The revelations of possible Iranian involvement in the attack on Israeli diplomats earlier this month in Jordan appear to offer the latest evidence of direct engagement by Teheran in subversion and paramilitary activity across national borders... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/01/muslim-brotherhood-cleric Barry Rubin 2010-01-21 Forget about the moderate mythology fed the Western public by its media. Forget the comforting nonsense about reasonable masses held back from being humanitarian democrats only by manipulative dictatorships... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/point-of-no-return Barry Rubin 2010-01-24 We must now face an extremely unpleasant truth: Even giving the Obama Administration every possible break regarding its Iran policy, it is now clear that the U.S. government isn't going to take strong action on the nuclear weapons issue... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/obama-administration-learns-basic-lesson Barry Rubin 2010-01-25 In contrast to its refusal to change course on Iran, the Obama administration has learned something about Israel-Palestinian peacemaking, conclusions clearly expressed in the government's new talking points... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/islam-and-islamism-are-extremists-hijackers Barry Rubin 2010-01-26 One of the most controversial issues today is the relationship of the political doctrine of Islamism (including revolutionary activity and terrorism) and the religion of Islam... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/obama-state-of-union-message Barry Rubin 2010-01-28 Significantly, President Barack Obama's discussion of foreign policy came only at the end of his State of the Union message. Obviously, domestic matters and especially the economy come first. Yet international affairs are not only vital but... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/lebanon-conflict-widens Jonathan Spyer 2010-01-31 In the last week, senior Israeli policymakers made statements of an uncharacteristically bellicose nature regarding Syria. It is unlikely that these statements were made because of sudden random irritation toward Israel's hostile northeastern neighbor. Rather, the statements probably constituted part of a message of deterrence to Damascus... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/answering-readers-questions Barry Rubin 2010-02-01 Question: You describe Fatah hardliners as seeking a Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. Why don't they want to take over Jordan also? And why is a similar change of mind impossible about a permanent peace with Israel?... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/suckered-by-hamas Barry Rubin 2010-02-02 After writing my article on the new Fatah Charter (click on the link for a more detailed report and analysis of the charter), I saw that JTA has published a story positively glowing about Fatah's "moderation," under the title "New Fatah charter omits language on Israel's demise."... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/palestinian-prime-minister Barry Rubin 2010-02-04 Imagine this. You're prime minister of a regime that isn't yet a state. You are praised in the Western media as a great moderate man of peace. You represent a people who the U.S. president says is in an intolerable situation... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/iranian-quickstep Jonathan Spyer 2010-02-05 Latest Ahmadinejad statement suggests that Teheran still believes it can find a few partners for the dance it has been performing since 2003... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/cost-benefit Barry Rubin 2010-02-08 "We continue to judge that Iran's nuclear decision-making is guided by a cost-benefit approach, which offers the international community opportunities to influence Iran." Dennis Blair, chief of U.S. intelligence in his annual threat assessment report for 2010. Forget about Nazi analogies... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/defining-victory Barry Rubin 2010-02-10 "War," said General William Tecumseh Sherman, "is Hell." He knew what he was talking about. Sherman's march through Georgia and into South Carolina at the end of the Civil War helped end the Civil War while destroying a lot of civilian homes, farms, and towns... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/does-the-obama-administration Barry Rubin 2010-02-14 Foreign policy is often a matter of wording. When a government is careless about analysis and definitions it sets up a very dangerous situation that might end up killing people and overthrowing governments... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/us-military Barry Rubin 2010-02-15 The Department of Defense has just released its new Quadrennial Defense Review Report for 2010. What does it say about the Middle East? Far less than you'd expect in terms of space but still some extremely important points about what might involve the United States in future wars there... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/saudis-to-obama Barry Rubin 2010-02-17 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to the Persian Gulf is generally being portrayed as a success in the media with the New York Times, for example, saying she "may have made some headway" in getting the Saudis to support sanctions... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/news-flash Barry Rubin 2010-02-17 Yesterday I wrote a piece pointing to U.S. government insensitivity in giving Syria a big concession--the long-awaited naming of the new U.S. ambassador to Syria... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/why-isnt-there-peace Barry Rubin 2010-02-18 I've been having a dialogue through correspondence lately with someone describing himself as a moderate Palestinian who lives in the United States... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/why-naive-westerners Barry Rubin 2010-02-19 There are three basic reasons why many Westerners are so gullible that they often overstate the moderation--or inaccurately claim that a major step toward moderation has taken place--on the part of radical states or groups... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/long-term-fallout Jonathan Spyer 2010-02-19 The evidence suggesting that British passports were used by members of the team responsible for killing Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh is causing concern at the possibility of a new diplomatic row between Israel and the UK. Such a row would come at a time of already strained relations between the two countries... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/how-naive-westerners Barry Rubin 2010-02-20 How does a leading sponsor of terrorism cease being a sponsor of terrorism? By stopping the encouragement, organization, funding, logistical backing, and even ordering of terrorist attacks? No... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/how-a-forgery Barry Rubin 2010-02-22 You won't see where I'm going with this at first but trust me and you'll hear a good story with a very timely point... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/when-it-comes-to-analyzing Barry Rubin 2010-02-24 After more than 30 years of watching people write dumb things about the Middle East, I believe that in the last month I've seen more nonsense than at any previous time. The problem arises from ignorance... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/02/watch-the-themes Barry Rubin 2010-02-25 A basic principle is to look at the underlying interests and perceptions of specific governments and states, not the immediate headlines, if you want to know what countries or mass movements are going to do... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/02/northern-tinder-box Jonathan Spyer 2010-02-28 The war of words is continuing. The latest salvoes were fired last week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and his Lebanese ally and client Hassan Nasrallah. Ahmedinejad reportedly told Nasrallah that if Israel attacks Hizballah... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/the-real-arab-stuff Barry Rubin 2010-03-01 Hussain Abdul Hussain gets it. He’s one of the most interesting Arab journalists and he also writes in English. His latest article--published in the "Huffington Post"--entitled "Lonely Obama vs. Popular Iran... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/us-government-rewards-syria Barry Rubin 2010-03-01 Forgive me for writing so much about U.S.-Syria events but it is such a remarkable story that it deserves a lot of attention and it really does reveal a great deal about the problems of current U.S. foreign policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/will-obama Barry Rubin 2010-03-02 If--and I repeat, if--this story is true it is going to be a very big development that may, as they like to see in the television promos, change the Obama administration forever... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/americans-love-israel Barry Rubin 2010-03-03 International relations isn't a popularity contest. But public opinion polls can be useful in countering myths and examining the impact of policymaker, elite, and media campaigns on the masses. Which brings us to Gallup's latest poll measuring how Americans feel... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/when-its-necessary Barry Rubin 2010-03-05 There has been a huge international controversy about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a leading Hamas terrorist, in Dubai on January 19. I have no idea who did it but have some points to make on the subject... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/what-does-assad Jonathan Spyer 2010-03-07 In Damascus last week, the full array of leaders of the so-called "resistance bloc" came together in a series of meetings. Presidents Ahmedinejad of Iran and Assad of Syria were there... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/zbigniew-brzezinski Barry Rubin 2010-03-07 I remember it as if it were yesterday. January 20, 1978. I was visiting an esteemed professor at Georgetown University and we were talking about the new Carter Administration. The conversation went to Zbigniew Brzezinski... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/pardom-me-obama Barry Rubin 2010-03-08 The story of the U.S. engagement with Syria and the sanctions issue regarding Iran's nuclear program are fascinating. Each day there's some new development showing how the Obama Administration is acting like a deer standing in the middle of a busy highway... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/saudi-fm Barry Rubin 2010-03-09 Here's today's evidence that we are now living in Middle East 2.0 instead of the old version. First, a definition: Middle East 1.0: Characterized by Arab nationalist domination... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/going-backward Barry Rubin 2010-03-10 Last September, President Barack Obama said before a large audience at the UN that within two months there would be intensive, direct, final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Sort of a Camp David III... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/announcing-construction Barry Rubin 2010-03-11 There's been a lot of nonsense written about an Israeli government announcement that 1600 apartments will be built in east Jerusalem. The timing was stupid, of course... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/how-to-make-defeatism Barry Rubin 2010-03-12 I’m not going to bash or rant about a Newsweek article about Turkey by Owen Matthews--shocking and dangerous as it is--but rather talk about what is wrong and inaccurate about it. That article is part of a new wave of defeatism... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/how-quick-they-forget Barry Rubin 2010-03-14 For more than four months the U.S. government has been celebrating Israel agreeing to stop construction on settlements in the West Bank while continuing building in east Jerusalem as a great step forward and Israeli concession deserving a reward... http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/poole.html Patrick S. Poole 2010-03-14-01-01 A great deal of study and analysis goes into the effect of U.S. foreign policy on the Middle East, but the issues and conflicts in the region also have an effect within the United States, which acts as an extension of those matters. With the dramatic developments of September 11, 2001, revolutionary movements and terrorism struck America directly. This article explores recent developments in that interaction by analyzing terrorist plans or attacks originating in the Middle East but being aimed at activities on U.S. soil. What is particularly striking is that 2009 was the year with the highest number of such incidents. Thus, while "September 11" is now a historic event from almost a decade ago, the strategic themes initiated then are continuing and even arguably intensifying. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/rubin.html Barry Rubin 2010-03-14-01-02 For a half-century, Middle East politics were dominated by Arab nationalist regimes and movements, defined by the struggle among them for regional hegemony. Now the area has moved into a new era in which the central feature is the struggle between Arab nationalist regimes and revolutionary Islamist forces. Yet many Western policymakers have failed to understand this transformation. This article discusses the nature of the central conflict, including the identity of the Islamist side and the balance of forces. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/foley.html Sean Foley 2010-03-14-01-03 This article explains how women in the Gulf states have harnessed political and socioeconomic changes over the last decade to alter their standing at home and abroad. It argues that Gulf women have benefited from investments made by Gulf governments in higher education since the 1970s, the war on terrorism, the ever higher costs of employing expatriate workers, and the inability of their male colleagues to fill either skilled or unskilled positions. It also argues that the position of women today is consistent with their position historically in Gulf society, and that questions of gender are not limited to women. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/escobar.html Juan Jose Escobar Stemmann 2010-03-14-01-04 As former allies of the monarchy, the Muslim Brothers have played a key role in Jordanian political life at times when the regime has engaged in political openness. However, their moderation in domestic politics has been accompanied by a growing radicalization on foreign policy issues, as a result of their refusal to accept the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan and their staunch opposition to the military intervention in Iraq. Hamas's victory in the Palestinian elections have prompted a change of attitude on the part of the government, which has opted to restrict the Brotherhood's social activities and lessen its capacity for mobilization. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/lin.html Christina Y. Lin 2010-03-14-01-05 While the international community is facing a nuclear stalemate with Iran and North Korea, China is increasingly emerging as a Great Wall in blocking the path towards sanctions and peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear crisis and denuclearizaton of the Korean Peninsula. While much recent literature has been written on the deleterious effects of a regional nuclear arms race should Iran become a nuclear power, there has been relatively little effort to explore why China persistently defends Iran by blocking or watering down UNSC sanctions and on the strategic partnership between Iran and North Korea in missile and nuclear collaboration. This paper explores the triangular strategic alliance between China, Iran, and North Korea and the attendant negative spill-over that poses a threat to East Asia and Middle East regional stability. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/rosenberg.html David Rosenberg 2010-03-14-01-06 Israel experienced no more than a mild recession as a result of the global financial crisis that began in 2007, a testament to policies adopted by the government over the previous decade. These policies emphasized fiscal restraint, as well as liberalization and increased competition across most of the economy while strengthening regulatory restrictions on the banking sector. Indeed, the only case of market failure in Israel came in the relatively unregulated non-bank credit sector. However, Israel’s recent policy successes by themselves are insufficient for ensuring long-term, sustainable growth for the economy. This article suggests that Israeli policy makers must now focus on measures that expand and deepen its knowledge-based industries--which are too reliant on high-technology start-up companies--and narrow the social and economic imbalances that have emerged since the 1980s. http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2010/03/guindy.html Adel Guindy 2010-03-14-01-07 This article addresses sectarian violence and discrimination against Egypt's Coptic minority, including the January 2010 attacks in Nag Hammadi as well as other incidents during the previous years. It also points to the government's failure to acknowledge the situation and take action or responsibility. It argues that rather than protecting its citizens, the regime's first and foremost priority has been its own survival. In order to appease Islamist groups (its main contenders), the government has thus encouraged an Islamization of Egyptian society, which in turn has resulted in further discrimination against the Coptic minority. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/how-bad-is-the-quality Barry Rubin 2010-03-15 Here's an example of just how bad media coverage is. I'm not writing this as an example of anti-Israel media bias but of just poor reporting which applies to lots of other stories... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/palestinian-authority Barry Rubin 2010-03-15 In 1994, Israel asserted, and the PLO accepted, that construction would continue on existing Jewish settlements. For the next 15 years, negotiations were never stopped by that building... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/explaining-us-israel-crisis Barry Rubin 2010-03-16 It is important to understand that the current controversy over construction in east Jerusalem is neither a public relations' problem nor a bilateral policy dispute. It arises because of things having nothing directly to do with this specific point... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/general-patraeus Barry Rubin 2010-03-17 General David Petraeus is a smart guy, one of the smartest in the U.S. government at present. But he's no Middle East expert. Let's examine two remarks he made in his congressional testimony... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/how-can-turkey Barry Rubin 2010-03-17 Syria's government newspaper says Turkey is an ally of Syria and Iran. Iran's president says that Turkey is an ally of Syria and Iran. And now the prime minister of Turkey says basically the same thing. Yet much of the West is blind to what is right there out in the open... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/nations-must-know Barry Rubin 2010-03-18 Sometimes selective appeasement is necessary in foreign policy. But when and just how far should a democratic country go in such behavior? Here's a brilliant defense of giving in at times... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/hamas-fans-flames Jonathan Spyer 2010-03-19 Hamas leaders are seeking to escalate Palestinian unrest over the supposed Israeli threat to Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. In addition to reflecting the movement's ideological goals, this effort makes good political sense... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/other-than-apartments Barry Rubin 2010-03-21 While the Obama Administration is fiddling over the construction of apartments in Jerusalem, the Middle East is burning. Yet these other issues don't attract the attention--and certainly not the action--required... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/un-gives-award Barry Rubin 2010-03-22 If you want a good example of the ridiculous, shameful ironies in the terrible era we're living in here it is. The UN-Habitat organization, part of the United Nations, has initiated a Rafik Hariri Memorial Award... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/trial-balloon Barry Rubin 2010-03-23 Has anyone else noticed that David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist who always tries to echo what he's hearing from his administration contacts, has just called for an imposed settlement on Israel and the Palestinians... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/exclusive-scoop Barry Rubin 2010-03-23 In my entire life I have rarely read an article which simultaneously showed the need to be well-informed before reading a newspaper and the shocking shortcomings of mass media coverage of the Middle East than this minor piece about the reopening of the Cairo synagogue... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/hillary-clinton Barry Rubin 2010-03-24 When policymakers say things that are in blatant contradiction, there is something wrong with their world view and strategy. Yes, political leaders often say contradictory things--often they have to do so--but it is not supposed to be too obvious... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/cair-attacks Barry Rubin 2010-03-24 I've heard a lot about the methods of CAIR, and of course we are all familiar with the incredible intimidation (combined with clever strategy) used against anyone who writes about Islam in any way other than simpering reverence. But experiencing it is another matter... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/white-house-ignores Barry Rubin 2010-03-25 The United States is at war with al-Qaida. Al-Qaida carried out the attack on the World Trade Center that killed 3,000 Americans. Al-Qaida is killing Americans in Iraq and elsewhere. So one would think the fact that al-Qaida has found... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/eu-think-tank Barry Rubin 2010-03-25 "Stephen Spender [the great British poet] said to me recently, 'Don't you feel that any time during the past ten years you have been able to foretell events better than, say, the [government]?' I had to agree to this... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/legacy-of-mahmoud-al-manhouh Jonathan Spyer 2010-03-26 Wherever departed Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh is now, he is presumably enjoying the considerable trouble the nature of his exit is causing his Israeli enemies. The British decision to expel an unnamed Israeli diplomat... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/repackaging-illusion Jonathan Spyer 2010-03-28 The Obama administration's approach to the Middle East is characterized by an apparent desire to revive the sunny illusions of the 1990s peace process--in an era that is far more uncertain and dangerous. This is particularly noticeable in the Israel-Palestinian arena... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/03/has-the-obama-administration Barry Rubin 2010-03-29 Has the Obama Administration, against U.S. interests, declared diplomatic war on Israel? Up to now my view has been that the U.S. government didn't want a crisis... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/03/ny-times-defends-obama Barry Rubin 2010-03-31 The New York Times has now crossed the line from being a grossly slanted newspaper in its Middle East coverage to being one so partisan, blinkered, and defensive as to lose its value altogether... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/president-obama Barry Rubin 2010-04-01 "President Obama! President Obama," said the aide in a cheery voice as he entered the Oval Office, "we just heard that Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to stop all construction in Jerusalem and give in to all your demands!" "That is wonderful news," chortled the chief... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/high-ranking Barry Rubin 2010-04-02 What could one sentence spoken by a high-ranking U.S. official prompt a brilliant pro-Western Arab intellectual to go ballistic and say the following: "How could America be governed and represented by such blazing idiocy... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/just-say-no Barry Rubin 2010-04-02 Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." A good Middle East equivalent, at least among the anti-democratic forces, would be: That which does not scare me makes me bolder... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/weatherman Jonathan Spyer 2010-04-04 Bob Dylan wrote that 'you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.' With great respect to Dylan, however, if you are truly looking to ascertain the direction of the winds in a particular place and time, it doesn't do any harm to listen to what the most experienced local weatherman is saying and to watch what he's doing. The small and dispersed Druse sect... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/biggest-con-game Barry Rubin 2010-04-07 A former senior Canadian diplomat, Robert Fowler, made the main foreign policy speech to the Liberal Party convention there. He voiced the most common myth about the contemporary Middle East. In fact, it is a myth now returning to favor in the United States... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/obama-administration-sanctions Barry Rubin 2010-04-08 For more than a year I have repeatedly pointed out that the Obama Administration's strategy of increasing the level of sanctions against Iran has been a mess. Deadlines set by the U.S. government for September... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/idea-of-obama Barry Rubin 2010-04-09 Is the U.S. government going to present its own comprehensive peace plan on the Israel-Palestinian issue? There is growing evidence it is thinking of doing such a thing... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/why-does-palestinian-authority Barry Rubin 2010-04-11 The Obama Administration doesn't understand this but it is signaling the Palestinian Authority (PA) that it can get away with anything, thus further dooming any hope for serious negotiations and perhaps leading to a restart of large-scale violence... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/two-best-arab-journalists Barry Rubin 2010-04-11 The two Arab journalists I most respect have written of the fear in Arabic-speaking countries about Iran's having nuclear weapons. They explain persuasively why a U.S. containment policy of reassuring Arab states and Israel against direct nuclear attack is totally inadequate... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/palestinian-leaders Barry Rubin 2010-04-13 With their unerring skill at erring, Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders are throwing away still another opportunity President Barack Obama is giving them. If Obama is the most pro-Palestinian president in history... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/us-engages-syria Barry Rubin 2010-04-14 It's completely predictable. In fact, I predicted it. The more U.S. policy engages Syria and stifles criticism of that dictatorship, the more confident (arrogant is a better word) Syria's regime becomes... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/president-obama-weak Barry Rubin 2010-04-14 A reader asks [my summary]: Why do you and so many people in the Arabic-speaking world view President Barack Obama as weak regarding Iran? After all, he doesn't want to go to war with Iran or support an Israeli attack... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/policy-sabotages-policy Barry Rubin 2010-04-15 U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Alejandro Wolff made a fairly good speech in the Security Council. But it contained the following remarkable section... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/three-cheers-congress Barry Rubin 2010-04-17 The U.S. Congress is back as a factor in U.S. foreign policy. Partly because the Obama Administration has pushed it too far to do unpopular things; partly because members are no longer in awe of the president's alleged invincibility and much-declined popularity... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/two-photos-express Barry Rubin 2010-04-18 Let's begin with what's most important. This may be the most important single point about the world's most important issue and, consequently, the most important thing I write during this decade... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/syria-sends-missiles Barry Rubin 2010-04-19 Once again, the Obama Administration has developed a new concept as an excuse for not taking action against a radical and aggressive action... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/only-thing-more Barry Rubin 2010-04-21 You might want to take a look at my review of a terrible book by Stephen Cohen. Read this book and you can imagine the kind of counsel they've been getting and why so much has gone wrong... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/yawn-iran-missiles Barry Rubin 2010-04-21 Iran may be able to build a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015, according to a new U.S. Department of Defense report... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/west-should-use Jonathan Spyer 2010-04-22 The summoning by the United States of Syrian Deputy Chief of Mission Zouheir Jabbour for a review of Syrian arms transfers to Hizbullah is the latest evidence of the serious basis to the recent tensions in the north... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/bill-clinton-explains Barry Rubin 2010-04-23 It’s truly amazing what some people say about the Middle East without anyone noticing the inaccuracies and contradictions. An interview former President Bill Clinton gave to the ABC news program "This Week" is a wonderful example of this situation... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/tale-of-two Jonathan Spyer 2010-04-24 Four years after the Hamas victory in elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, and three years since the movement’s successful coup in Gaza, the split in the Palestinian national movement has an increasing look of permanence about it. This has major implications for the currently frozen diplomatic process... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/04/general-jones-joke Barry Rubin 2010-04-27 Today's public culture focuses a lot more on categorization than though processes. The immediate question that arises after various incidents is whether or not they meet the criterion of categorizing something as objectionable rather than considering what it actually tells us. So it is with the joke General Jones, national security advisor to President Barack Obama. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/04/us-israel-crisis Barry Rubin 2010-04-27 Something very interesting is happening very quietly. The Obama Administration appears to have forgotten about its quarrel with Israel, in part because it is being reported with increasing reliability that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has quietly agreed to suspend all construction in eastern or northern Jerusalem outside the 1967 lines. http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/05/israel-pa-indirect-talks Barry Rubin 2010-05-04 The question of the day is whether the Israel-Palestinian Authority (PA) indirect talks will make progress in the "peace process" or result in failure. One wonders at this point how many naive people believe that peace is at hand, and how many misled people think that the lack of peace is Israel's fault. http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/intelligence-community-brainwashed Barry Rubin 2010-05-05 When I first heard the story that President Barack Obama was barring from national security documents the use of terms like "Islamism," "Islamic fundamentalist," "Islamic radicalism," or any reference of any connection between Islam and terrorist or revolutionary groups; al-Qaida, Hamas, and Hizballah; Iran's regime or al-Qaida, I said to myself, oh that's nothing new. That kind of policy started under Bush... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/05/obama-supply-israel Barry Rubin 2010-05-09 I have repeatedly pointed out that as of now the Obama Administration has never put any material pressure on Israel. There are wild rumors and irresponsible materials floating around to the contrary. They aren't true... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/ahmadinejad-grand-strategy Barry Rubin 2010-05-11 Would the Iranian government hand nuclear weapons to a terrorist group or fire off nuclear-tipped missiles itself? http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/moscow-stabs-us Barry Rubin 2010-05-14 If America's Middle East position collapses in the forest will anyone hear it? The answer is either: apparently no, or just barely. As I've predicted Russia is coming back into the region and it is going to play a very bad role... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/iran-helps-qaida Barry Rubin 2010-05-15 Here's a story that should mark the pivotal moment in U.S. foreign policy. It should be on the lips of every White House and State Department official. It should fundamentally transform the nature of Obama Administration foreign policy... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/obama-me-disaster Barry Rubin 2010-05-18 Every day I wake up hoping to have good news to report about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. There are some positive things - regarding U.S.-Israel bilateral relations - but other than that it is hard to find anything but failure and incompetence... http://www.gloria-center.org/publications/muslim-brotherhood.html Barry Rubin 2010-05-25 http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/us-sanctions-proposal Barry Rubin 2010-05-25 The new sanctions proposed by the U.S. government, and reportedly accepted by the other permanent members of the UN Security Council-Britain, China, France, and Russia-will make it harder for Iran to get arms and slightly more difficult for it to get foreign investment... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/05/me-2010-assessment Barry Rubin 2010-05-25 Why am I writing so much about U.S. policy and less about developments within the region itself lately? Because in a real sense not that much is happening right now in the region. A colleague remarked to me today that the world's political weather is set by the U.S. president. This seems very true right now... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/bill-clinton-explains Barry Rubin 2010-05-28 Bill Clinton, former U.S. president, spoke at Yale University and said some interesting things. There is a positive side to his remarks about international affairs - especially in terms of good intentions... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/05/bibi-meets-barack Barry Rubin 2010-05-29 Why was Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu suddenly invited to meet with President Barack Obama next week? There are three very different reasons... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/05/behind-the-axis Jonathan Spyer 2010-05-29 North Korean spokesmen reacted furiously last week to claims by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman that Pyongyang is supplying weapons technology to Iran and Syria. Representatives of the regime of Kim Jong-Il described Lieberman as an "imbecile." The official Korean Central News Agency in a memorable phrase accused the foreign minister... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/sympathy-for-the-devil Barry Rubin 2010-06-01 Is it so hard to guess the name? Is it so difficult to understand the nature of the game? Apparently so. "Israeli assault complicates efforts to improve relationship with U.S.," says the Washington Post. "Israeli Raid Exacerbates Regional Tensions and Threatens Peace Process," claims a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Scotsman, not interested in the details, called it a "massacre..." http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/islamist-extremists-hit-israeli-soldiers-with-iron-bars Barry Rubin 2010-06-04 "Oh no! Israel stopped a ship near Gaza, the militants attacked the troops, and nine were killed. Our policy is untenable and we better give in." --President Barack Obama, 2010? I hope the above turns out to be an exaggeration... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/flotilla-was-a-jihadist-attack Barry Rubin 2010-06-04 Bulent Yildirim, the main organizer of the Gaza Flotilla, explained at a Hamas rally in Gaza that the operation was no humanitarian effort but part of a global Jihad to overthrow governments and install Islamist dictatorships. He made no secret of that fact, as shown in the MEMRI translation and video... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/turkish-regime-changes-sides Barry Rubin 2010-06-06 Why have Israel-Turkey relations gone from alliance to what seems to be the verge of war? The foolish think that the breakdown is due to the recent Gaza flotilla crisis. The merely naive attribute the collapse to the December 2008-January 2009 Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/06/un-choice-to-head-flotilla-investigation Barry Rubin 2010-06-07 Why is New Zealand's former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer the UN's choice to head the international investigation of Israel's confrontation with the Jihadi flotilla militants? Because he'll make it look fair while finding Israel guilty. Not that he's highly biased personally... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/clash-of-perceptions-picture Barry Rubin 2010-06-07 What if two groups are in conflict and have a completely different way of looking at the world, thus often misperceiving each other? Many Westerners say nowadays that their societies misunderstand the Middle East... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/what-motivates-israeli-policy Barry Rubin 2010-06-08 Vice-President Joe Biden has visited Cairo. Do you think his summit with President Husni Mubarak could be useful for solving the Gaza crisis? Is Egypt a strong voice inside Palestinian world? No, in fact the Egyptians have given up in disgust as they have failed... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/05/new-article-central-europe-jews-israel Barry Rubin 2010-06-08 This article discusses historical and contemporary relations between Jews, Israel, and Central Europe, explaining how historical issues need to be settled by recognizing each other's historical experience and suffering along with comprehending how much we have in common today... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/major-new-development-flotilla-story Barry Rubin 2010-06-09 I've written about how the Gaza flotilla issue and stirring up a hysterical hatred of Israel is playing a role in internal Turkish politics as the government tries to use this demagoguery to continue eroding Turkish democracy and to win the next election... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/06/obama-doesnt-understand-israel-or-islamism Barry Rubin 2010-06-10 President Barack Obama has announced an additional $400 million in aid for housing, school construction and business development in Gaza and West Bank in his meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/anticlimax-iran-sanctions-at-last Barry Rubin 2010-06-10 After more than 16 months in office, the Obama Administration has gotten through the UN a new set of sanctions on Iran. In theory, this should be a moment of great triumph for the U.S. government and yet there is something curiously anticlimactic about it... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/06/misunderstood-statement-of-mahmoud Barry Rubin 2010-06-11 A great deal was made of a statement by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to a closed meeting of Jews in Washington that there is a historical tie between Jews and the land of...well let's leave the name a blank for the moment... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/new-york-times-needs-my-help Barry Rubin 2010-06-12 The New York Times is a vast and wealthy organization with highly paid reporters and news bureaus around the world. Unfortunately, however, it seems to need a little help in gathering the news. In an editorial, the newspaper has held forth with the following sentence... http://www.gloria-center.org/blog/2010/06/good-news-on-flotilla-investigation-bad Barry Rubin 2010-06-12 According to Haaretz, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed that Israel will investigate the Gaza flotilla issue itself and that an international investigation will be opposed at this time by the United States... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/the-big-lie-israel-delegitimization-threat Barry Rubin 2010-06-13 Golda Meir, Israel's prime minister, once memorably said, "Better a bad press than a good epitaph." In the Western world, where a cushioned elite increasingly mistakes headlines or academic studies for the real world, the difference between the material world and words is often lost... http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/06/an-open-letter-to-turkish-friends Barry Rubin 2010-06-13 We in Israel very much regret the loss of life that has taken place. We did not seek this confrontation and we are not saying that we are completely right, have handled everything correctly, or have not made mistakes. But in a spirit of friendship these issues can be discussed and worked out in the best manner. We also remember the time of the earthquake in Turkey and the spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding that