I have just returned from a week-long trip to Israel and Palestine during which I met with many Israeli and Palestinian officials, intellectuals, and ordinary people. This article is the first in a series of articles written with the hope of shedding some new light on many conflicting issu

No one has a lock on patriotism. This, however, has not stopped the administration from using it as a whip to lash out at the integrity of those who disagree with its disastrous and, by now, senseless war in Iraq. Yet the truth is that those who are against or in favor of a troop withdrawa

By now the world has gotten used to the fact that following every heinous terrorist attack, be it in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt or London, public officials first issue a rash of condemnations. Next come the adoption of some new security measures, terrorism “experts” appeari

Free elections do not constitute democracy and when they precede the building of democratic institutions, they are more likely to produce instability and upheaval, especially in countries previously governed by authoritarian regimes. This explains why the United States should first assist

While the call this past week by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to “wipe Israel off the map,” should not come as total surprise, it could suggest a dangerous shift in Iran’s policy toward Israel. In any case, such a grotesque breach of international conduct by Mr. Ahm

The recent suicide bombings in London stunned not only the British but people in other European counties and elsewhere. I, for one, perhaps like many other observers who have followed how al Qaida has evolved since its defeat in Afghanistan, was not in the least surprised. Among other impo

Nearly four years have passed since 9/11 and yet hatred toward America, especially in the Muslim and Arab world has intensified, so much so that tens of thousands, propelled by these feelings, are not just motivated to kill indiscriminately but die without hesitation. A number of reasons can prov

For the United States not to urgently adopt a sound energy-independence policy would be tantamount to a national travesty. The increasing dependence on oil does not simply undermine America’s economic health, it could seriously threaten national security. There is no greater legacy that Pre

Intellectuals have traditionally forged ahead as a force of social and political change, rejecting the oversimplifications, empty slogans, and sweeping generalizations that are the domain of the propagandist. Intellectuals act as the surveyors of past and present generations, and through clear th