Copyright 2012 Matthew RJ Brodsky Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:40:03 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Matthew RJ Brodsky :: Writings http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com rjbrodsky@gmail.com (Matthew RJ Brodsky) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/11103/wrong-assumptions-on-syria Wed, 1 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST Conventional wisdom in Washington and in European capitals is that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Asad is doomed. The protests that have spread across the country since March of 2011 and claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people appear to be... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10722/the-case-for-intervening-in-syria Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST With the conclusion of NATO's military operations in Libya, it is time for the White House to shift focus to the protests in Syria. Since Syrians took to the streets in March, the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has committed a growing list of... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10698/putting-the-squeeze-on-syria Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST Since the outbreak of state-sanctioned violence against Syrian protestors in mid-March, the White House has dithered on what to do about the masters of Damascus. Although President Obama called for the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, to "step aside" in... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/2011/11/obama-and-sarkozy-insulting-gaffe Wed, 9 Nov 2011 18:02:03 EST It was the insult heard around the world: Reports surfaced Monday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was overheard by reporters at last week's G20 Summit in Cannes telling President Obama he can no longer bear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10643/the-us-must-ratchet-up-pressure-on-syria Fri, 4 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST In August, President Obama finally called for Syria's leader, Bashar al-Assad, to "step aside". Yet, the White House has yet to adopt a strategy that would hasten the fall of the despotic regime in Damascus. The goal of US policy should be an end to the... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10637/reviewing-obama-un-record Thu, 3 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST Steve Sheffey's article, "President Obama and the United Nations," is full of praise for the current administration's approach to the United Nations and, more broadly, Obama's pro-Israel stance. The well-cited quotes Sheffey offers may be part of the... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10568/get-serious-on-iran Sun, 23 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST The Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies marks a significant escalation in Iran's confrontation with the West. However, it does not signify a change in Iranian tactics as it seeks... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/10309/are-we-safer Thu, 8 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST Today, the United States is safer than it was 10 years earlier, the day before the attacks of September 11, 2001. But we are not as safe as we could be. The 9/11 Commission concluded in its July 2004 report that the attacks revealed a failure in... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/9800/syria-the-world-almanac-of-islamism Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST OVERVIEW For the past five decades, Syria has used terrorist tactics to advance its goals internally and throughout the Middle East. The methods have varied according to needs and circumstances, however. In the past, Syria has used both its own agents... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/2011/05/losing-focus Thu, 26 May 2011 15:42:42 EST President Obama's decision to devote a third of his speech about the Middle East to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict last Thursday resulted in the verbal sparring match between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. And it remains the... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/9659/the-mistaken-focus-on-the-peace-process Tue, 24 May 2011 09:00:00 EST President Obama's major address on the Middle East last Thursday was supposed to highlight America's vision with regards to the unfolding Arab Spring. Yet that portion of the speech is now long forgotten, buried under the weight of his new and absurd... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/9636/a-preliminary-assessment-of-obama-speech-on Thu, 19 May 2011 09:00:00 EST In discussing his vision for the Middle East Thursday, President Obama said, "there will be times when our short-term interests don't align perfectly with our long-term vision for the region." A close reading of his speech reveals how big an... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/9634/mahmoud-abbas-and-the-persistence-of-palestinian Thu, 19 May 2011 09:00:00 EST In the week that President Obama makes a major new statement on US policy towards the Middle East, and prepares to meet Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, the New York Times provided Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas with a... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/2011/05/the-syrian-spring-is-a-gift-will-obama-open-it Thu, 12 May 2011 14:52:34 EST Barack Obama has been given the gift of the Syrian uprising but he apparently does not want to open it. One would think his foreign policy in the Middle East would have been adaptable to the recent "Arab Spring" in the region—that once the uprisings in... http://www.matthewrjbrodsky.com/9582/america-irresponsible-silence-on-syria Wed, 11 May 2011 09:00:00 EST When it comes to the "Arab Spring" in Syria, the silence and lack of leadership in Washington is stunning. Two months into the uprising, unconfirmed reports suggest that as many as 800 people have been killed with as many as 10,000 arrested. The...