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Syria: From Schadenfreude to an out-of-control crisis
By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — All of Syria’s five neighboring countries sensed a quiet pleasure in seeing the rebellion against the Damascus dictatorship start two years ago. Many observers,...
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Syria’s future: Israel favors fragmentation while Saudis want reliable...
By Brian M Downing The Syrian rebellion is bringing new security concerns to many countries, especially Israel. Under the Assads, Syria had been cowed by Israeli military superiority. Syria’s future,...
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The eternal campaigner’s pit stop in the not-so-sacred Holy Land
By Sol W. Sanders So now we know what President Obama’s trip to Israel was all about: There was more than a little puzzlement. He had waited through almost five years of his first Administration to...
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Arab Spring and Easter hope, but mainly fear
By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The winds of change continue to swirl throughout the Middle East as the region enters the third year of the socio/political phenomenon optimistically dubbed as the...
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Some good news about Israel and what Obama said about it
By Norman Bailey Amid all the euphoria about President Obama’s visit to Israel, modified by the realization that Netanyahu’s apology to Turkish prime minister Erdogan under pressure from Obama (and...
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Can the world, and Israel, afford a lost generation?
By Norman Bailey The current issue of “The Economist” has a cover picture of people being discharged into a trash dump, with the headline “Generation Jobless” and the subtitle “The Global Rise of Youth...
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War with Iran, it appears, can wait
By Norman Bailey It is increasingly apparent that there is no appetite in either the United States or Israel at this time to go to war with Iran by attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Massive...
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Creative diplomacy needed as conflict in Syria threatens its neighbors
By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Decrying a rising death toll and an escalation of violence, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called yet again for progress towards a political transition to...
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The game of chicken over Syria with dangerous consequences
By Sol W. Sanders That loud noise you hear now coming out of the Middle East is the sound of a frighteningly dangerous game of chicken between Russia and Israel [and inferentially the U.S.]. Last...
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Memo to Sec. Kerry: The emerging Middle East matrix is less hostile to Israel
By Norman Bailey The Iran of the Shah was friendly to Israel, but the theocracy that overthrew it is not. The Turkey of the Ataturk secularists was friendly to Israel, but the Turkey of the Islamists...
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War as a win-win option for Egypt’s down-and-out regime
By Alexander Maistrovoy Military adventure is often the best option for a despotic regime undergoing a fiasco. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. / Reuters “The people crave destruction of Israel!”...
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In the eye of a growing regional storm, Israel’s founding principles continue...
By Norman Bailey A mere two and a half years ago the Middle East and North Africa were organized in the following categories: Democracies: Israel and Turkey Traditional monarchies: The gulf states,...
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Arc of chaos in the Middle East, as the world yawns
By Norman Bailey Recently much has been made of the so-called “Arc of Shi’ism”, from Lebanon to Iran, through Syria and Iraq. Rioting in Instanbul. / AFP I submit that what is more significant is the...
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Vladimir Putin’s chess move in Syria, with an eye to the region at large
By Brian M Downing Shortly after Vladimir Putin and Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to seek a negotiated settlement to the Syrian civil war, the Russian president bolstered his support for the...
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Syrian endgame: Diplomacy, for once, may be the only option
By John J. Metzler PARIS — Spiraling sectarian violence, expanding regional destabilization, and the looming danger of proxy conflict between the United States and Russia, are among the dangers in the...
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Israel need not follow Obama’s lead in ignoring China’ cyber-theft and...
By Norman Bailey The dysfunctional U.S. Congress is dithering about passing the so-called “shield law”, designed to protect the American power system from electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack, despite...
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Egypt ousts its Muslim Brotherhood leader in a victory for freedom: Now the...
By Norman Bailey The Egyptian army has ousted the elected Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi. Gigantic anti-Morsi demonstrations forced the hand of the armed forces. An interim, secular,...
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Technology trumps ideology in Egypt: Time for decompression and dialogue
By John J. Metzler BENNINGTON, VT — Tumultuous events have swept Egypt as a passionate, but polarized, population took to the streets to press for political change or to support the elected but...
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Saudi and Israeli strategic interests in post-Morsi Egypt
By Brian M Downing Over the last few years, Saudi Arabia and Israel have been aligned on critical matters. The two powers are engaged in attacking Iran and its nuclear capacity, ousting the Assad...
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Do Americans recall past ‘forgotten wars’ and do they even care about ones to...
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — The United States has been throwing around millions and billions and trillions for so many lost causes, unjust causes and dumb causes that it’s hardly...
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