A month after an unusual terror attack killed eight Israelis along a desert highway approaching the Red Sea, the incident remains shrouded in mystery, especially in Gaza, where Israeli officials insist the complex, military-style attack was orchestrated but where no group has taken responsibility. “Usually the problem is more than …
Middle East
Turkey Crisis: Unconditional U.S. Backing Has Helped Israel to Isolate Itself
Israel’s fallout with long-time ally Turkey is no isolated spat that will be repaired any time soon; it’s a dramatic illustration that no amount of U.S. backing can prevent the growing international isolation resulting from Israel’s handling of the Palestinian issue. Indeed, the unconditional nature of Washington’s backing may, in …
Israel and Turkey revive hostilities over the UN flotilla report
Well that ended well, didn’t it?
Fifteen months after Israeli commandos clashed with Turkish activists on the high seas, leaving nine civilians dead and Israel’s public image in further tatters, the United Nations report on what was popularly known as the Flotilla Fiasco has emerged. The Palmer Report, named for the former New …
What Does the Fall of Libya’s Gaddafi Portend for Syria’s Assad?
Et tu, Ayatullah? When even Iran publicly calls on President Bashar al-Assad to respond to the legitimate political grievances of his people, you know the Syrian regime is in a corner. Even Iran’s protege and Syrian client Hizballah, in neighboring Lebanon, appears to have recognized that the status quo in Damascus is untenable, and like …
Paris Conference On Libya’s Future Opens In Optimism (And Opportunism)
Though their military operation to defeat forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi is not quite over, Libya’s opposition leaders sealed their political and diplomatic victory in Paris Thursday during the international conference to map plans on Libya’s post-war economic and political reconstruction. Heading into the meeting of …
Is Libya a New Model of U.S. Intervention, or an Afghanistan Do-Over?
It’s easy to see how Libya offers a “new model” for American intervention abroad when comparing it with the ill-conceived invasion of Iraq in 2003, but the mission to overthrow the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has too much in common with the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan to mark it, at this stage, as the herald of a new era of …
In Israel, a U.S. candidate for president keeps it simple
By his own account, one of the knocks on Herman Cain as a candidate for president is his lack of foreign policy experience. He has succeeded in the business world, running Godfather’s Pizza, and hosts an Atlanta radio talk show. But his current trip to Israel is his first, and at a breakfast with reporters on Sunday, the Republican …
Q&A with Mahmud Nacua, Libyan Charge d’Affairs in London
Mahmud Nacua, 74, never expected to be an ambassador. Nor did he ever expect to step foot in Libya’s embassy in London, let alone run it. But that’s exactly where the former journalist for Arabic language papers Asharq Al-awsat and Alhayat, who spent two years in prison in Libya for his writings in the 1970s, finds himself – …
De-escalation Easier Said than Done in Gaza, As Each Side Picks Its Spots
It’s a peculiar cease-fire that sees 20 missiles and mortars launched in a single night, but that’s the kind of cease-fire in effect in the Gaza Strip, despite the professed efforts of the two major players, Israel and Hamas, to draw down hostilities. Neither side may want to see the conflict spiral into full-on battle, with Israeli …
With Gaddafi (Nearly) Gone Terrorism Victims Seek Justice, Or Compensation
Maria del Carmen Diaz was just 15 years old when terrorists in Tel Aviv’s Lod airport lobbed grenades at her Puerto Rican tour group on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, killing her aunt and severely wounding her. Six surgeries and 39 years of intense therapy later, she still gets nervous talking about the attack. “I couldn’t …
The Bloody History of London’s Infamous Libyan Embassy
Senussi el-Bijou and Muftah Abdelsamad spent the last 34 years protesting outside the Libyan embassy in London. Today, they can come and go as they please, honored guests of the building’s new management: the National Transitional Council. “It is thanks to these men, our elders, that we are here,” says Emad Elgaziwe, one of …
French Austerity Measures Also Cut Touted Sarkozy Reforms
As polls have persistently shown both leading candidates in France’s Socialist Party presidential primary beating conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in mock elections over the months, Elysée advisers have confidently predicted voters will again swing behind their champion en masse once he starts campaigning on his bilan—or, …
Despite Rebel Surge, Gaddafi’s Vindictive Resolve Endures
No one thought Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his hard-core supporters would go away easily, and more than 48 hours after rebel forces stormed the capital of Tripoli, that determination to dig in was still evident. But if few observers believe Gaddafi’s renewed efforts to prove his regime remains a force to reckon with can turn …