July 23, 2020

Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Neo-Mandate Solution

Secretary Kerry Meets With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (June 27, 2020).

War without end. That is what the Obama Administration promises the U.S., Israel, and the Palestinians. If the current Obama-Kerry plan for an Israel-Palestinian deal is implemented, scores of Americans would likely die. This was revealed recently by Secretary of State John Kerry, particularly in a speech at the Saban Forum. By the way, the Saban Forum Speech was made appropriately on December 7th, the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The former head of the Saban Center has … [Read more...]

Diplomacy and International Relations Are Mostly About “Harb” (War) and “Salaam” (Peace)

Last week on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked Fareed Zakaria a question: Did Zakaria think the death of Nelson Mandela might make international statesmen turn pacifistic and more concerned with people's welfare.  Zakaria said in a polite way, of course not. This exchange was extremely significant. Blitzer apparently thinks that the purpose of diplomacy is to avoid conflict. Zakaria knew that the world is run by power politics. I think that's the view of post-Cold War naivety–that the post-Cold War … [Read more...]

Why “Progress” Toward Israel-Palestinian “Peace” Is More Likely to Bring Regional Instability

barry-rubin

Secretary of State John Kerry has in his head every what-should-be-discredited cliché about the Middle East firmly ensconced in his head. Of course, he is not alone. I just briefed a European diplomat who came up with the exact formulation I’m going to deal with in a moment. What is disconcerting—though long familiar—is that Western policymakers hold so many ideas that are totally out of touch with reality. They do not allow these assumptions to be questioned. On the contrary, it is … [Read more...]

Syria: Obama Administration is Arming-and Training Militarily?-Radical Islamists

barry-rubin

In a new development, as indicated by statements from Secretary of State John Kerry and other sources, the Obama Administration is not only arming but now training Syrian rebels. We  know that the weapons are going to radical Islamists--both Muslim Brotherhood and smaller groups. We don't know from which groups these people now being trained militarily by the CIA in Jordan. It has been suggested that these are only Syrian army defectors who are thus likely not to be from radical Islamist … [Read more...]

Breaking News: President Obama to Visit Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan In March

President Obama and PM Netanyahu (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama will visit Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan in March. Political Analysis I’m not against this visit but I think it is a mistake on Obama’s part. Here’s why. While such a visit would resolve previous criticism that Obama never visited Israel as president, it is a mistake, especially given the timing, for a number of reasons. --Obama will have a new foreign policy team which won’t have much time to evaluate the situation and what it wants … [Read more...]