The Balkans: The Feast Feeding Russia’s And Turkey’s Hunger

Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra The political tension between Kosovo and Serbia is creating a perfect environment wherein Turkey and Russia can lure the two countries into their respective spheres of influence. High-ranking US and EU envoys are trying to resolve the long-standing dispute, urging Serbia and Kosovo to normalize relations when in fact it…

March 11, 2019 Read more

Sacrificing Greatness For Personal Ambition

An Open Letter to President Erdogan Over the past year, I had the opportunity to speak to many Turkish scholars and former government officials, the majority of whom left your country because they feared for their lives and their loved ones. The one question that kept on surfacing is why a leader like you—who has…

February 14, 2019 Read more

Truthful Reporting In The Balkans Is Life-Threatening

Alon Ben Meir and Arbana Xharra Kosovo investigative journalist Parim Olluri knew the assailants who physically attacked him two years ago in front of his house, while the police and other security institutions remained silent. “I sent names to the Kosovo Police as well as to the Prosecutor’s Office, but none of them took any…

February 6, 2019 Read more

The Taliban And The US: Accepting The Inevitable

The longest war in American history may come to an end following an agreement in principle between the US and the Taliban which was recently concluded in Doha. It is significant in that it is the first time the US and the Taliban negotiated face-to-face, the negotiations were made public, and the principle accord that…

January 31, 2019 Read more

The Betrayal Of Israel’s Historic Promise

Artwork by Michael Anderson and Sam Ben-Meir Over the past three decades I wrote more than two hundred articles about Israel, envisioning it to be a democratic state, independent and free, a champion of human rights, a force of unity for world Jewry, united in its citizenry, admired by its friends, envied by its detractors,…

January 23, 2019 Read more

Time To Dump Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to call for an early election, scheduled to take place on April 9, was really nothing short of another political stunt that Netanyahu has masterfully learned to employ when the time is right and he is reasonably assured of another victory. One would think, however, that after 10 continuous years…

January 17, 2019 Read more

Corruption In The Balkans Is Impeding EU Membership

By Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra The six Western Balkan countries —Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania, are “state captured” by corrupt politicians, linked with organized crime. These facts have been documented by various international reports, which are raising major concerns among EU officials on the enlargement process. These countries are expected…

January 9, 2019 Read more
Page 4 of 41234