Middle East
January 22, 2013 — Scott Johnson
In what Middle East country do Arabs enjoy the greatest civil liberties? That is a question worthy of the investigation of the Middle East correspondents of the New York Times, the Washington Post and others who bring us the news from the region. Freedom House conducts a widely respected annual survey that goes a long way toward answering the question. It has just released its 2013 report, explaining its methodology,
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January 6, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote that the “Arab Spring” is coming to Iraq. Perhaps I should have said that it has already arrived. As Reuters reports: Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of Sunnis have staged demonstrations, and in Anbar province they have blocked a highway to Syria in a show of anger against Maliki, whom they accuse of marginalizing their community and monopolizing power. The discontent is real, but
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January 5, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Does the turbulence in the Middle East contain a unifying theme, and if so what is it? A year and a half ago, many would have identified the quest for democracy as the commonality. Today, not so much. For me, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood ties together events in several Middle Eastern countries, most notably Egypt and Syria. But it has no direct relevance to Iran, a vital player
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December 28, 2012 — Scott Johnson
It hurts. It’s painful. It didn’t have to be done, but I’m grateful that Barry Rubin has undertaken a close reading of one of Thomas Friedman’s recent profusions of inanity. Rubin begins with an apt quotation from Bob Dylan and then says in his own words: The entertainment director on the ship of fools that constitutes so much mainstream analysis of the Middle East—I refer, of course, to Thomas Friedman—has
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December 18, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
The Muslim Brotherhood is a virulently anti-Western Islamist outfit committed to the destruction of Israel. Its history of engaging in and supporting terrorism is beyond dispute. President Obama backs the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He backed it, for example, when the military tried to stand up against Mohamed Morsi, the Brotherhood man who heads the Egyptian government, and when he made Morsi look like the hero of Hamas’ recent mini-victory
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December 14, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Chuck Hagel is now thought to be the front-runner for Secretary of Defense. He would be an extremely poor choice. For one thing, he is overly averse to sending U.S. forces into harm’s way. Skepticism about doing so is healthy, of course. But Hagel’s overreaction to the Iraq war seems to have made him so reluctant to support the deployment of troops to battle that his job performance might well
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December 10, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
President Obama has led from behind on nearly every major foreign policy issue except Israel-Palestine. But now, according to Peter Beinart, Obama plans to lead from behind in that area too. Specifically, says Beinart, Obama will be little involved with the “peace process,” and instead will sit back and watch pressure mount on Israel from the “international community.” Faced with international isolation, Netanyahu supposedly will shift course and embrace the
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December 10, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Last month’s confrontation between Israel and Hamas, and its resolution through an agreement, has reinforced the fiction, long perpetuated by left-liberal policy analysts and journalists, that Hamas can be viewed as relatively moderate. The notion is that, with its governing responsibilities in Gaza, Hamas has become more “responsible.” Behind this fiction lies the view that Hamas should be considered Israel’s emerging “peace partner.” I call this fantasy the “mainstreaming” of
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December 5, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Tom Friedman isn’t the New York Times’s worst columnist, but he may be the most fatuous, as his latest column illustrates. He starts by noting that he recently attended a synagogue in southern Turkey, for which I applaud him. He continues: How could it be that I could go to synagogue in Turkey on Saturday while on Friday, just across the Orontes River in Syria, I had visited with Sunni
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December 5, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Ireland, Finland, and Egypt are the latest countries to “summon” Israeli ambassadors for discussions on Israeli settlement expansion plans. They join Brazil, Australia, Spain, France, Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. I understand that, as a matter of protocol, an ambassador must show up when summoned. But is it okay for the ambassador to wear a bag over his head? The Egyptian government told Israel’s ambassador that the building of new housing
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November 30, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official, recently said that the day after Palestine gains recognition as a nonmember state at the United Nations, “Life will not be the same.” Erekat was right. The New York Times reports: As the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the Palestinians’ status Thursday night, Israel took steps toward building housing in a controversial area of East Jerusalem known as E1, where Jewish
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November 29, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
I’m a fan of Lee Smith. However, I was not persuaded by his argument that Israel won and Hamas lost their latest confrontation. Smith acknowledges that Hamas claims victory and that many Israelis concur with Hamas on this point. In fact, initial opinion polling showed a majority of Israelis dissatisfied with the outcome of the confrontation. But Smith contends that both sides have it wrong. Hamas’ proclamation of victory should
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November 29, 2012 — Scott Johnson
I wrote about the photograph of BBC Arabic editor Jihad Masharawi holding the shrouded body of his 11-month-old son in posts here, here and here. The photograph depicted Masharawi outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The young Masharawi’s death was attributed to an Israeli air strike. The photograph went viral on the second day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, being featured on the Web and in newspapers around
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November 27, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Reuters reports on what some may see as a touching display of gratitude: “Gazans say ‘Thank you Iran’ after Israel conflagration.” Gazans offered very public thanks to Iran on Tuesday for helping them in this month’s fight against Israel, when Iranian-made missiles were fired out of the Palestinian enclave towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. “Thank you Iran”, said large billboards on three major road junctions in the Gaza Strip –
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November 26, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I argued that one of President Obama’s objectives in brokering a deal that enhances Hamas’ status was to enhance Hamas’ status. I noted that leftists in America and Europe have, for some time, viewed Hamas as the authentic representataive of Palestinians and, accordingly, have attempted to portray the terrorist outfit as “moderate.” Obama’s tilt towards Hamas, it seems to me, is a manifestation of this view. With that tilt,
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November 25, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
With unusual candor, the Washington Post declares in its top headline that “Hamas’ tactics garner support” and that “Palestinians see path to victory through fighting.” This strengthening of Hamas is the entirely predictable consequence of the cease fire that the Obama administration worked to impose on Israel. Because Hamas waged war against Israel and the Israelis backed down, it is (to quote) the Post “the commonly held view in both
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November 23, 2012 — John Hinderaker
As Paul noted earlier today, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi followed up his supposed diplomatic triumph in Gaza by claiming new, more or less dictatorial powers. Morsi’s announcement was greeted with outrage by many Egyptians, some of whom took to the streets: [A]nti-Morsi demonstrators set fire to Muslim Brotherhood offices in cities across Egypt on Friday. As enraged demonstrators torched Muslim Brotherhood offices in several Egyptian cities, a defiant Egyptian President
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