Copyright 2010 Michael Rubin Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:40:01 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Michael Rubin :: Writings http://www.michaelrubin.org mrubin@aei.org (Michael Rubin) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.michaelrubin.org/7898/najaf-post-war-iraq Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST The last U.S. brigade combat team departed Iraq on Aug. 18. While President Obama says 50,000 U.S. troops will remain there through December 2011 to train the Iraqi army, in reality the U.S. units are focused more on packing up tons of equipment. This is... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7837/nukes-transform-iran Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST President Obama says Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons is "unacceptable," but he appears resigned to the eventuality that the Islamic Republic will build a bomb. Iranian leaders are defiant in the face of sanctions. On Aug. 8, for example, the Kayhan... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7639/turkey-ally-enemy Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST Traveling abroad on his first trip as president, Barack Obama tacked a visit to Turkey onto the tail end of a trip to Europe. "Some people have asked me if I chose to continue my travels to Ankara and Istanbul to send a message," he told the Turkish... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7633/iran-2025 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST The Iranian military will remain a pivotal force in 2025, even as it undergoes a significant change in its force posture and strategy. Engrained in Iranian identity is a self-perception of Iran as inheritor to a grand civilization and as a regional power... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7602/iran-containment Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shrugged off Wednesday's U.N. Security Council resolutions, saying they "resemble used napkins that need to be thrown to the garbage can." Diplomacy has hit a dead end: President Obama bargained away everything just... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7556/erdogan-turkey-not-friend Thu, 3 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST Speaking in the aftermath of Israel's botched raid on the Gaza flotilla, veteran American diplomat Aaron David Miller commented: "Overnight, the Israelis have boosted Hamas's stock; accelerated the international community's efforts to pressure and... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7534/sardasht-murder-public-relations Sun, 30 May 2010 09:00:00 EST June 4 will mark the month anniversary of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of 23-year-old Sardasht Osman, a student at Salahuddin University and a contributor to several independent Kurdish newspapers and websites. The Kurdistan Regional Government... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7407/dictatorship-or-democracy-in-iraqi-kurdistan Tue, 18 May 2010 09:00:00 EST The West is sympathetic to Iraqi Kurdistan. The region is more secure than the rest of Iraq. Kurds are hospitable. And the narrative of triumph from oppression is compelling. Foreigners who visit Kurdistan are awed by the region's progress. To cement the... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7301/sardasht-osman-pen-was-his-weapon Fri, 14 May 2010 09:00:00 EST On May 4, 23-year-old journalist Sardasht Osman was kidnapped from Salahuddin University in Erbil. Two days later, his body was found in Mosul bearing signs of torture and gunshot wounds. Like his journalist colleagues, Sardasht's pen was his weapon, and... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7548/the-ghosts-of-martyrs-square Fri, 1 May 2010 09:00:00 EST In February 14, 2005, a huge explosion rocked Beirut. Michael Young, a lifelong resident of the city and the opinion editor of the Daily Star, the country's chief English-language newspaper, felt the blast in his apartment two miles away. Rafiq Hariri,... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7192/is-making-nice-with-russia-a-mistake Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST Signing the new START treaty on April 8 to slash the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenal, President Obama declared, "I...came to office committed to 'resetting' relations between the United States and Russia, and I know that President Dmitry Medvedev shared... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7157/iran-obama-pours-fuel-on-the-fire Thu, 8 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST Containment and deterrence are both easier said than done. To treat containment or deterrence simply as a rhetorical alternative to military action without making the preparations to conduct military strikes is not only irresponsible, but can also... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7205/iran-the-case-for-regime-change Wed, 1 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST What to do about Iran, especially now that the international community can no longer deny the nuclear ambitions of the theocratic state that has implicitly promised to destroy Israel? It appears that hopes for a self-generated revolution from below... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7112/why-neoconservatism-was-and-is-right Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST George W. Bush left office with a public approval rating of just over one-third, tied with Jimmy Carter as the most unpopular president since Richard Nixon. Unpopular at home, Bush's tenure also saw anti-Americanism reach unprecedented levels. In... http://www.michaelrubin.org/7055/allawi-us-man-in-baghdad Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST Before Iraq's first election in January 2005, the Bush administration debated whether to support any particular candidate. The Central Intelligence Agency wanted to funnel $20 million to its longtime favorite Ayad Allawi, who was then serving as prime...