Cynicism as Foreign Policy: Obama’s Defense Secretary Speaks

President Obama seems to be estranged from his own foreign and military policy. American foreign policy should project strength, resolve and predictability. Sadly, as Robert Gates confirms, Obama reflects none of these.
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Even Mushroom Clouds Have Silver Linings

Troubling as America’s apparent declare-diplomatic-victory-and-get-out approach to squandering Iranian sanctions may be, it is making other countries scramble to adjust.  And that may prove useful, especially to Israel.   Iran and America may have inadvertently done more to advance Mideast peace than all previous peace plans, conferences and initiatives combined.  Continue reading

Obamacare Follies: Lessons For Israel

An administration which so easily lies to its own citizens to achieve domestic political ends cannot be trusted to act faithfully towards the citizens of other countries. Continue reading

Incitement Excitement–and the Bigger Underlying Problem

Focusing on incitement misses a more subtle, yet more fundamental part of the equation: the absence of contrary, counter-incitement Arab and Palestinian voices.  Where is the Palestinian Peace Now? The Arab Voice for Peace? P-Street? The Palestinian movement to boycott and divest from Palestinian entities until terror and violence against Israelis is ended? Continue reading

Mahmoud Abbas: First Obstacle to Peace

This column was originally published in American Thinker.

For reasons both financial (his $100 million fortune) and ideological, a genuine peace with a Jewish Israel is the last thing Mahmoud Abbas wants, and the last thing one should expect to emerge from current negotiations. 

Life is good for Mahmoud Abbas.  He is not about to mess it up by reaching a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel. Continue reading

Abe on the John Batchelor Show discussing his column “Barack Obama’s Commitment Problem”, September 19, 2013

Abe on the John Batchelor show 9/19/13 discussing his column “Barack Obama’s Commitment Problem” and the “red line” implications for the Israeli peace process

Barack Obama’s Commitment Problem

Obama’s waffling over the red line he himself painted cuts to the core of whether he can be relied upon to keep even his own commitments anywhere else–such as American peace process guarantees for Israel.  Would you buy a used peace plan from this man?

This column was first published in American Thinker  Continue reading

The “Strong Horse” Falters: the Egyptian Coup and the Challenge to Islamism

The failure to hold Egypt is cataclysmic for a movement which feeds off its own success.  The shattered sense of Muslim Brotherhood invincibility and inevitability poses a major problem for continued Islamist growth and popular support. The invincible strong horse just broke a leg. Continue reading

John McCaslin of America’s Morning News interviews Abe about Syria, August 29, 2013

John McCaslin of America’s Morning News interviews Abe about Syria on August 29, 2013

The Liberal Impulse, Iran, and The Great Moderate Hope

 Iran’s new president, Hassan Rohani, is just the latest brutal, dangerous leader inexplicably given the benefit of the doubt by so many liberal defenders of human rights, though no real doubt of his nature exists.  Why? Continue reading