The egregious violation of freedom of the press in Turkey has reached a mammoth proportion that places Turkey among the most oppressive nations for journalists. It is sadder than sad that the US and the EU, who champion free press as one of the main pillars of democracy, have largely left Turkey’s President Erdogan free…

The Iraqi Kurds’ referendum that was conducted several weeks ago won an overwhelming majority in favor of independence, but was rejected by much of the international community, especially by the US and the Iraqi government. Self-determination, however, is unstoppable because it is a core of human rights. No power can indefinitely prevent any group from…

The Trump administration’s proposals on the annual budget, the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and restructuring of the tax system all point to a sad and even tragic conclusion. The poor will be poorer, dilapidated towns will continue to crumble, and crime will rise; but worst of all, our underprivileged…

The Trump administration’s approach to the Iran deal is problematic as it is taken out of the context of the multiple conflicts raging throughout the Middle East, the extent to which Iran is involved, and the role it can play in resolving them, including the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon. The question is,…

The current efforts to reconcile between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas will be doomed to fail just like several previous attempts, unless both sides agree to resolve three major obstacles—a united strategy to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fate of Hamas’ cache of weapons, and the Palestinians’ future government—that have…

The concern that Iran will pursue the development of nuclear weapons once the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal expires in ten years is legitimate. But addressing these concerns cannot be achieved by nullifying the current agreement, which would only strengthen Iran’s resolve to acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, the US and its allies…

Dear Mr. President, I have been in your country scores of times and developed close and friendly relations with many Turks from all walks of life, who all took pride in the incredible progress Turkey made under your leadership. During your first ten years as prime minister, you transformed Turkey economically, socially, and politically, and…

The Iraqi Kurdish referendum vote for independence, scheduled for September 25, is more than likely to pass by an overwhelming majority of the Kurdish population. Sadly, however, not a single country (with the exception of Israel) expressed its support for the Kurds’ impending historic decision to finally realize their decades-old dream of establishing a state…

We do not need President Trump to tell us that he can make America great again. America is already great. The problem is that we are squandering our greatness by pursuing foreign and domestic policies that debase our moral authority and the values that made America great in the first place. We must change course,…