Lots of people have been duped by the Qataris. I was one of them.

For years, I watched as the Qataris spent billions of dollars in Gaza, a territory from which the Israelis had withdrawn in 2005 and which Hamas – a designated terrorist organization committed to the extermination of Israel – took over two years later.

But, I reasoned, surely the Qataris don't want their expensive buildings rubbled. And if their investments improve life for Gazans, couldn't that diminish Hamas's enthusiasm for jihad? And won't the Qataris counsel Hamas not to start wars likely to end catastrophically for Gazans?

I was naïve.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Clifford May

This past Saturday, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire after hostilities flared between the two countries in the wake of an attack by Islamic terrorists who murdered 26 Indians in cold blood on April 22.

India, the world's largest democracy, once again found itself the target of terrorist elements nurtured across the border in Pakistan. This is not merely a regional skirmish. It is part of a global struggle between the free world and the forces of fanaticism.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Michael Freund

The Department of Justice (DOJ) last month took a potentially giant step in the effort to combat the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas by asserting that UNRWA, unlike other UN agencies, is not immune from U.S. criminal and civil law. The decision may not just open the door for victims of October 7 to sue UNRWA for damages, it may enable the Treasury Department to impose terrorism sanctions and shut down a significant terror-financing threat.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Jonathan Schanzer

Two weeks ago, a judge ordered the release of a 34-year-old named Mohsen Mahdawi, a graduate student detained weeks earlier by Department of Homeland Security agents in Vermont. The usual suspects, including pundits, professors, and our self-appointed intellectual and moral betters, celebrated Mahdawi's newfound freedom, arguing that detaining him—during his naturalization interview, no less—was an egregious overreach and that the Trump administration had no good case to make against Mahdawi. It was such a perfect storm of virtue signaling, complete with Mahdawi himself delivering a defiant speech from the courthouse steps, that the facts, as they usually do in such cases, were drowned out by the sound and fury.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Asaf Romirowsky

These are difficult days for Ukraine. More than three years into Russia's war of aggression, the country faces redoubled resolve from Moscow, as the Kremlin pushes to maximize its gains ahead of any possible settlement. It is also weathering flagging enthusiasm from Washington, where the Trump administration has adopted a decidedly skeptical stance toward Kyiv's continued fight. This has confronted the Ukrainian government with the prospect that — despite Europe's ongoing pledges of support — it will be forced to confront Russian aggression with less backing from the United States. But in this grim calculus, Kyiv possesses a trump card. The past three years of war have seen Ukraine's brave defenders make massive military advancements, as battlefield necessity has become the mother of invention. In the process, Ukraine has singlehandedly managed to change the shape of modern warfare.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Ilan Berman

As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struggles with internal dissension and questions about his handling of classified information, he joins a long line of Pentagon chiefs who had to fight for their positions. Looking back at their experiences may be instructive to both him and President Donald Trump in determining whether he survives the ordeal.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Tevi Troy

President Donald J. Trump failed to achieve his often repeated preelection vow to end Russia's war against Ukraine "in 24 hours," but the 47th president still accomplished something extraordinary.

In less than three months, he called into question the security architecture that not only has deterred Russian aggression, but also kept Europe relatively peaceful and prosperous for over 75 years through 14 different administrations, including his own first term.

The U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance of 31 European nations plus Canada, has been the backbone of Europe's defense since its creation in the ashes of World War II 80 years ago.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Judith Miller

The Biden administration's decision to cut off weapons supplies to Israel during the war in Gaza has raised concerns that the Jewish state is overly dependent on the United States for its security. Washington has supplied Israel with more than 10,000 tons of munitions since October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis. However, the White House has threatened to suspend further arms transfers to restrain the Israeli military by conditioning how American armaments can be used against Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian- backed terrorist proxy in Lebanon.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Soeren Kern

I can't believe we're having this discussion in September 2023, just as the fall respiratory virus season commences and we're experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, but the politicizers of COVID won't let up. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) this week introduced legislation that "would prohibit any federal official, including the President, from issuing mask mandates applying to domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools."

There was also the ill-timed article by John Tierney in City Journal on August 27th claiming that "maskaholics are incorrigible" and everyone should reject masks because "we're rational."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Henry I. Miller M.D.

While the ongoing protests in Syria's southern province of al-Suwayda' against the Syrian government and its policies are noteworthy, the tribal uprising in the eastern countryside of the eastern province of Dayr al-Zur against the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is arguably of greater significance, as it amounts to an actual armed revolt that has posed a serious challenge to the SDF's authority over the area- an authority that was only established because of the American-led campaign against the Islamic State. In turn the revolt raises very serious issues about U.S. policy in the region and the supposed ongoing American mission to ensure the "enduring defeat" of the Islamic State.

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts from Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi