As the violence in the Middle East escalates, it is hard not to conclude that every player involved directly or indirectly has badly miscalculated. This conflict will not end by a restoration of the status quo ante. Israel will refuse to allow a replay of the last two weeks. This means tha

It has been said time and again that there is no logic or reason or rationale to the to the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This observation certainly seems to describe the lunacy of recent events and underscore as well the tragic madness of Hamas and other militant groups in be

In the search for a solution to the present impasse between Israel and Hamas, one has to establish what actually precipitated the crisis. The killing of two Israeli soldiers and the capture of Corporal Guilad Shalit in a daring attack on an Israeli military post has become a symbol of Pale

In the recent U.S. Senate debate over a timeframe for troop withdrawal from Iraq, both sides of the aisle seem to have missed the point. Neither the Republicans’ “stay the course” approach nor Senator John Kerry’s proposal to establish a specific time-table addresse

The news that Hamas and Fatah may conclude an agreement and avert not only more deadly clashes but reach a consensus on a national political agenda would be the best thing that can happen to the Palestinian people. Fed up with internal infighting, political disarray, corruption, and now, p

Although only two weeks have passed since the formation of the long-anticipated Iraqi government, all signs show that this “watershed event,” using President Bush’s own words, will be another episode with no real impact on Iraq’s future. Since the beginning of the o

The decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to engage all Palestinian factions in a national dialogue to stop the present internal discord from spinning out of control and to create a coherent national policy toward Israel has not been made a minute too soon. The challenge that Mr. Abbas prese

For the past five years the Bush administration has followed a failed policy toward Iran, leading to the current dangerous impasse. It is time for the administration to reassess its strategy, think out of the box, and enter into direct talks with Tehran. The goal would not simply be to defuse the pr

Any concerted effort by the Bush administration with the support of other regional powers in the Middle East to undermine Hamas and precipitate its early collapse will be counterproductive and extremely dangerous. A better option is to persuade Hamas, for its own good, to enforce a compreh