Latest Article from Matthew RJ Brodsky

The Russia-Turkey Agreement on Idlib and its Impact on U.S. Policy in Syria

September 17, 2018  •  Perspectives with Ayman Sikseck / i24News

Does the latest agreement reached between Russia and Turkish over Idlib in Syria put an end to Assad's plan to launch an offensive and recapture the territory? Is it a temporary or permanent pause? What will it mean for the 3 million civilians caught up as pawns in the conflict? Matthew RJ Brodsky joins Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak of Tel Aviv University and former Kremlin advisor Alexander Nekrassov on i24News "Perspectives" with Ayman Sikseck to discuss the implications of the latest moves in Syria.

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Latest Article from Soeren Kern

Hungary Defiant in the Face of EU Censure

September 13, 2018  •  Gatestone Institute

The European Parliament has voted to pursue unprecedented disciplinary action against Hungary over alleged breaches of the European Union's "fundamental values." The EU has accused the Hungarian government of attacks against the media, minorities and the rule of law.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has denied the charges, and said they are a retaliation for his government's refusal to take in migrants from the Muslim world.

The censure represents another salvo in a showdown between pro- and anti-EU forces over populism and nationalism ahead of European Parliament elections in May 2019.

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Latest Article from Michael Freund

The lesson of the Oslo Accords

September 13, 2018  •  Jerusalem Post

Over the course of the past 70 years, Israel has committed its fair share of grave miscalculations, many of which continue to haunt the country and harm our national security. From the failure to annex Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, to the refusal to believe that Egypt would dare attack in 1973, and on to the inconclusive 2006 Second Lebanon War, the Jewish state's indecision has often proven to be costly in both blood and tears.

And yet, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords with the PLO this week, it is clear that even these blunders pale in comparison with the capricious capitulation that took place on the White House Lawn on September 13, 1993.

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Latest Article from Clifford May

Extremism and fragile states

September 11, 2018  •  The Washington Times

Last year, Congress asked the U.S. Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank, to develop "a comprehensive plan to prevent the underlying causes of extremism in fragile states in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and the Near East."

So the Institute of Peace organized a bipartisan task force — a veritable who's who of Washington's foreign policy elite, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and, as co-chairs, former Gov. Tom Kean and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, who headed the 9/11 Commission which investigated the circumstances that led to the attacks 17 years ago, and offered recommendations to avert future terrorist attacks.

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Latest Article from Asaf Romirowsky

Palestinians, You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee

September 7, 2018  •  The Wall Street Journal

Dramatic shifts are rare in American foreign policy. One undeniable example is the Trump administration's decision last week to cease funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main U.N. agency giving aid to Palestinians. At once a nearly 70-year-old Gordian knot has been cut, but what comes next?

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Latest Article from Jonathan Schanzer

Unlikely Allies, Israel and Egypt Face Joint Challenge in Gaza

September 7, 2018  •  Real Clear Defense

The winds of war are blowing in Gaza. The last several months have been replete with rocket barrages, drones, incendiary balloons and kites (flaming or containing explosives) flying into Israeli airspace, and border breaches. Israel is working on solutions, but it is also looking to find help from an unlikely ally: Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly earlier this month with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. A few days later, Egypt's intelligence chief, Abbas Kamal visited Israel as a guest of the Israeli National Security Advisor and probably also met Netanyahu. The conversations continue to focus on ways to tackle the crisis in Gaza – a territory that borders both countries.

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Latest Article from Judith Miller

The anonymous op-ed in the NY Times merited publication

September 6, 2018  •  Fox News

I worked at The New York Times for most of my career. I know the paper. The editorial section, which is separate from the news section, would not have published an anonymous op-ed without the consent of the publisher and a consensus among editorial page editors that the views expressed about President Trump needed to be heard.

But was that the right call?

The extraordinary column was published Wednesday, a day after initial excerpts emerged from Bob Woodward's new book, "Fear: Trump in the White House."

Some say the essay was the pathetic "me too" effort by The New York Times to match the scoops in Woodward's book published in The Washington Post.

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Latest Article from Ilan Berman

Understanding Putin's Paranoid Style

September 1, 2018  •  The National Interest

Just why is Vladimir Putin so popular? Practically since Russia's president first ascended to power in the last days of 1999, observers have puzzled over his broad base of support and enduring appeal, which has persisted despite needless and costly foreign entanglements and notwithstanding widespread and flagrant corruption in the Kremlin. The answer, one of Russia's leading opinion centers has concluded, has everything to do with a pervasive sense of cultural siege. According to the latest poll released by the Moscow-based Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), the results of which have been detailed in The Moscow Times, a majority of Russians now believe that their country is the target of a vast, organized conspiracy aimed at weakening Russia by subverting its society and culture.

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Latest Article from Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

The Think-Tanks Bark and the IRGC Moves On

July 13, 2018  •  Syria Comment

Discussions of U.S. policy on Syria mostly revolve around two things: counter-terrorism (i.e. combating the Islamic State and other Sunni jihadist groups) and counter-Iran, the latter of which has gained much more prominence since the Trump administration came to power.

Proposals on the counter-Iran angle from many think-tanks largely focus on a policy of containment and/or hurting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria. At the most ambitious, the policy aim is set at removing the IRGC entirely from Syria, which is similar to Israel's demands on the matter.

Policy recommendations that come about within these frameworks include:

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Latest Article from Henry I. Miller

California's Java Joke Is a Wakeup Call on Cancer Warnings
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is known to cherry-pick data to reach politically motivated findings

June 6, 2018  •  San Jose Mercury News

It's often said that California is a bellwether, a place where nationwide trends begin. For the sake of farmers, particularly those in poor countries where coffee is an economically important crop, let's hope not.

Last month a California judge ruled that because of the state's decades-old notorious Proposition 65, which has given rise to warnings about non-dangerous chemicals everywhere from supermarkets to libraries, coffee sellers must now post warnings about the possible cancer risk posed by a compound in coffee.

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Latest Article from Gary C. Gambill

No, It Wasn't Bolton Who Screwed up the North Korea Summit

May 29, 2018  •  The National Post

^{Originally published under the title "Who Screwed up the North Korea Summit? Hint: It Wasn't Bolton's Fault."}

In the wake of the collapse of a planned June 12 summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un last week, commentators have rushed to point the finger at National Security Advisor John Bolton.

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Latest Article from Jeff Jacoby

Amnesty for 'Dreamers' is in the GOP's finest tradition

May 27, 2018  •  The Boston Globe

A POLITICAL PRESSURE GROUP recently announced that it plans to spend upwards of a million dollars on a campaign to get Congress to pass legislation protecting immigrants who were brought illegally to the United States as children — the so-called "Dreamers" — from deportation. Last month, the group launched a TV ad to build support for a bill that would enact Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, into permanent law. Last week, it kicked off a direct-mail blitz, sending flyers to 100,000 households, applauding members of Congress who have come out for the bill. Among the members being singled out for praise are four House Democrats from New Mexico and California, along with Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.

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Latest Article from Tevi Troy

Learning to Like Ike
The strategic savvy of an underestimated leader

May 4, 2018  •  The Weekly Standard

Dwight Eisenhower appears to be having a moment. A popular president who was nevertheless looked down on by the media and the smart set in his time, Ike has grown in historical reputation and is now seen as one of our greatest presidents. Similarly, the 1950s have come down in popular perception as a dull time, but they were a time of peace, prosperity, and American success—and a period in which America made significant social progress.

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