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
Published Columns
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
What Everyone “Knows”–Solving The Israeli-Palestinian Dispute
This column was originally published in American Thinker.
Preview: Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, absent major changes, is arguably the single most counterproductive act imaginable for long-lasting peace. There is no greater obstacle to peace than the perpetual temptation to launch another war against Israel from such lopsided lines.
An entire country, nine miles wide? A bicycle could easily cross it in 30 minutes — and a rocket in a matter of seconds. Nine miles is less than the distance from Barack Obama’s Chicago home to Wrigley Field. It’s the distance from New York’s George Washington Bridge to the Holland Tunnel. It’s 1½ times around the Central Park loop.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Stop Blaming Israel And America For Fayyad’s Fall
This column was originally published in The Daily Beast.
Popular as he was in international aid circles and New York Times (and Daily Beast) op-eds—and even among Israelis—Fayyad had no democratic Palestinian constituency to speak of. As Archie Bunker once said of then-President Gerald Ford, “He’s doing a great job for a guy nobody voted for.”
Who lost Salam Fayyad? The resignation-dismissal of the respected Palestinian Prime Minister has provoked plenty of finger-pointing. Continue reading
Kerry Squanders Obama’s Good Work In Israel
This piece was originally published in The Daily Beast.
President Obama said all the right things in his Middle East visit; John Kerry has quickly undone his good work. Continue reading
The Israeli Election Winner is… William F. Buckley!
This column was originally published in The American Thinker.
“There is a future” (Yesh Atid) is not a bad name for this party with no past: every one of the newly elected MKs is new to national politics. Israel has taken a step toward citizen government.
Explaining Israeli election results to an American audience is always a challenge. But this time, that challenge is compounded by having to explain the explanations. Even by famously contentious Israeli standards, interpretations of the results are all over the map. Continue reading
Neocons, Realists…Now Meet Obama’s Foreign Policy Surrealists
This column was originally published in The Times of Israel.
How else does one describe Kerry, Brennan and Hagel, who so breezily substitute a wishful alternate reality for the obvious, menacing threats to America and the West? Foreign policy is easy once one imagines away the threats. Unfortunately, these surrealists are taking charge of foreign policy and defense of America, not of Fantasy Island.
For some time, American foreign policy has been dominated by two camps. The neoconservatives advocate an idealistic, assertive promotion of liberty, democracy and American interests, including through military means. They are opposed by the self-described “realists” who advocate a pragmatic, realpolitik approach, focusing on power and material considerations.
The realists criticize the neocons for dreaming too big and overextending American power. The neocons criticize the realists for being amoral, disloyal to allies and Machiavellian. Both see the dangers facing America and the world with clear vision; they disagree in their approach to addressing those challenges.
So, where on the spectrum does one place President Obama’s new foreign policy team? Continue reading
Another country heard from: Abe Katsman weighs in 