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

Israel’s momentous withdrawal from Gaza and the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, while substantially reducing the level of violence in the past eight months, have not produced the hoped-for momentum to propel the peace process forward. The two parties have rem

The increasing number of clashes between U.S. and Syrian forces raises serious questions about the Bush administration’s intentions and the wisdom of its actions. It appears that this escalation on the American side is dictated not entirely by the urgency over the infiltration of for

If there is a strategy behind Egypt’s rejection of normalization of relations with Israel, it would reasonably follow to ask what underlies it and then whether the desired ends have been achieved after nearly three decades of relentless campaign against normalization. But whatever th

More than any other time in the past few decades, Turkey can play a pivotal role in advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and become a major political and economic force in the Middle East. Unlike the European nations and even the United States, Turkey enjoys good relations with