A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) General James Jones, a high-level American envoy to Israel-Palestine, is preparing to release a report that is extremely critical of Israel’s activities in the West Bank. According to Haaretz, Jones was appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after the Annapolis Conference in order to “draft a strategic plan to facilitate stabilization of the security situation, as a necessary accompaniment...

Another indication that Washington is reconsidering the wisdom of its don’t-talk-to-your-enemies policy: For the second time this week, a senior American official will meet with representatives of a Middle Eastern country that the US has sought to isolate diplomatically. David Welch, US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is set to speak with Riad Daoudi, the Syrian Foreign Ministry’s legal counselor and lead Syrian negotiator for the ongoing indirect talks with Israel,...

Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once famously stated that there is “no such thing as a Palestinian people.” Was she right? In what way can one judge the legitimacy of a claim to nationhood?

To most observers, the sheer number of torture allegations, the diversity of the inmates who allege such abuse, and the overlapping techniques that are commonly described is, in sum, a pretty good indication that American intelligence isn’t always collected the way it used to be. James Taranto, writing at the Wall Street Journal, doesn’t quite see it that way; in his online column, he rehashes one of the most oft-repeated talking points of the Guantanamo debate: that detainees’ claims of...

A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) The Israeli press is dominated by coverage of today’s prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah. By an overwhelming vote, the Israeli Cabinet recently agreed to hand over several prisoners – including the infamous militant Samir Kuntar – in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. Opinion columns in the leading English-language dailies are almost equally split on the wisdom of this decision...

With a local population of just 200,000, and located unobtrusively off the coast of Saudi Arabia, you would think that Qatar would have trouble getting attention in the Middle East. But the opposite has been true. Since the small Gulf state launched the Al-Jazeera channel, back in 1996, they’ve often found themselves with a prime-time spot on the news — and not just because they run the region’s most popular media network. Numerous governments in the Arab world have publicly cut...

Joshua Foust and I have co-written an op-ed that is published in today’s edition of the Christian Science Monitor. The subject is Western myths about the Pakistani tribal region. Here’s a taste: Given the growing reach of FATA-affiliated militants, it is becoming clear that developments in the [Pakistani] tribal areas are central to NATO’s success in Afghanistan, as well as an important factor in the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan and the security of both Europe and the United...

During the 1980s, the Saudi government encouraged Islamic militants to fight against the Soviets in the Afghan War. They even subsidized their flights. Their efforts, in part, came back to haunt them when several former mujahideen built a small but powerful movement that would soon threaten the existence of the monarchy. (I’m talking about al-Qaeda, of course.) The Saudis have since become somewhat more cautious. With a population that’s largely under the age of 30, and with a war raging...

A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) A new poll has affirmed the centrality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the worldview of most Middle Easterners. “According to the study, 88 percent of Egyptians rank it among the top three most important issues [facing the region], while 100 percent of Jordanians do the same. In addition, 99 percent of Lebanese rank this issue as one of the top three.” (Haaretz) Strikingly, the poll also asked...

Blogger “MDC,” who works as a defense analyst by day, has the best write-up I’ve seen yet on Iran’s recent movement towards a suspension of its enrichment program. The context, the roadblocks, and the reasons why are all considered. A must-read.

Over at the Wall Street Journal, reporter Neil King Jr details the internal debates in Saudi Arabia over oil production. With the price now skyrocketing past $140 dollars a barrel, some Saudi officials are starting to sweat. Intuitively, you’d think it would be the opposite. Higher prices lead to greater revenue, right? Yet historically, Saudi Arabia has been the leader of the OPEC block pushing for mid-range oil prices. They have resisted driving the price through the roof, much to the irritation...

Analyst Barnett Rubin has an eye-opening assessment of developments in Afghanistan. Well worth the read. He notes that despite optimistic accounts from the likes of Ann Marlowe and David Ignatius, the Department of Defense recently revealed that attacks have risen 40% in eastern Afghanistan over the last year. Even Khost province, what some have called the “crown jewel in the American counterinsurgency,” isn’t quite the peaceful Switzerland that it’s been made it out to be....

Is American support for Israel really a catalyst for terrorism? Should the United States engage with “moderate” Islamists? Is al-Qaeda facing an internal rebellion? Shamless plug here: Analyst Matt Eckel, who also writes for Foreign Policy Watch, has conducted an illuminating interview with Bernard Finel, a former Associate Professor at the National War College and a senior fellow at the American Security Project. Can’t say I agree with all of the conclusions, but their discussion...

A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) There are indications that, just days after the agreement was reached, the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas may be on the verge of collapse. Islamic Jihad has threatened to continue shooting rockets at Israel; over the past few days, several Qassams fired by the militant group have landed in Sderot. The attacks have prompted Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to block the entrance of additional goods into...

That’s, at least, what former presidential advisor Thomas Evans boldly called for in a recent op-ed for The New York Times. But you have to wonder what the consequences of such an action might be…and whether or not we can just sue ourselves out of this crisis.

Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, known as “Dr Fadl,” is the subject of a must-read piece by author Lawrence Wright in The New Yorker. One of the most prominent jihadists – the man who literally wrote the ideological playbook for terrorists – al-Sharif recently had an unexpected epiphany. In a move that sparked intense debate in the jihadi world, al-Sharif came out last year with a “clarification” of his prior works, explicitly renouncing the attacks of September 11th and publicly rejecting most...

More interest in alternative fuels, the demise of the SUV industry, higher food prices — these are some of the outcomes that are likely to result from the rising cost of oil. Newsweek puts forth an additional scenario, and it’s well worth chewing on: …there’s concern that as higher oil prices force many Asian economies to reduce or even cut their generous fuel subsidies, growth will slow sharply, and there could be social unrest as the world’s poorest become more desperate....

A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) At 6AM this morning, a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Hamas. Unfortunately, the agreement is extremely fragile. In a worrying sign, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has threatened to call off the ceasefire accord if even one Qassam rocket lands in Israel. Given the fractured nature of Gaza’s militant groups, Livni’s statement suggests that the prospects for a long-term calm are...

And so, just when it looked as though the E.U. countries might be able to end their half-decade-long confused march toward constitutional reform and get back to the business of, you know, governing, voters in Ireland threw a wrench into the gears by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum last Thursday.

A regular feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) A new poll has revealed that a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians are highly disillusioned with the current round of peace negotiations. As Haaretz reports, “55 percent of Israeli respondents and 68 percent of the Palestinian respondents think U.S.-backed talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are going nowhere and should be shelved.” Also worth noting...

It’s an unorthodox alliance. George Shultz (Secretary of State during the Reagan administration), Henry Kissinger (Nixon’s National Security Advisor), William Perry (Clinton’s second Secretary of Defense), and Sam Nunn (former Senator from Georgia) have united around a common cause: The complete disarmament of the world’s nuclear arsenal.

I try not to make it a habit of responding to every op-ed piece that lashes out at Obama’s willingness to negotiate with foreign adversaries, but I can’t resist this time. The latest offending article is written by Mr. Karl Rove, for the Wall Street Journal, in which he attacks the Democratic nominee-to-be for the recent parallels that he has drawn between his own stance and that of Ronald Reagan’s. During his AIPAC speech last week, Rove writes, Obama sounded out a new defense...

Blogger Matt Eckel writes about a disturbing shift in Italian politics: Anyone taking a passing glance at European political trends in the past few months might be prompted to ask, along with Alex Harrowell, ‘what’s going on in Italy?’ Harrowell amplifies the considerable angst expressed by the Guardian’s Martin Jacques over some of the cultural touchstones that accompanied recent Italian elections. Rome, which has not had a conservative mayor since Italian fascism collapsed...

A biweekly feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press. 1.) A day after clinching the Democratic nomination, Senator Barack Obama spoke at the annual AIPAC conference (an organization that the Jerusalem Post, in a recent editorial, oddly characterized as “quintessentially American.”) Perhaps hoping to allay fears of not being sufficiently pro-Israeli, Obama promised strong support for Israel in the coming decade — to the tune of $30 billion dollars....

Call me disgusted, furious, and terribly disappointed. Senator Obama, it seems, is off to a sad start. His first major speech as the Democrats’ nominee-to-be was made yesterday before the hard-line Israel lobby, AIPAC, a group that has consistently put its foot in the way of Palestinian-Israeli peace. And Obama, sounding more like a sleazy politician than a candidate of change, gave them exactly what they wanted: hawkish rhetoric towards Iran and, most astoundingly, a promise to ensure that...