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The Uncertain Path Ahead in the Middle East
The traditional balance of power of the entire region is shifting. Saudi Arabia’s authority is based solely on its robust oil exports to the US, and thus its power is beginning to wane in face of America’s shale oil revolution and Iran's rapidly-increasing oil exports
Petrol Patronage
Hassan Rouhani’s election as President of Iran has generated great excitement in the West. But the new president is not the only actor who could stand to play an important role in resolving the ongoing crisis between Iran and the West.
Iran’s New Leader
Rouhani’s positive language should be scrutinized and taken seriously if the United States wants to establish greater legitimacy when dealing with the Middle Eastern issues. This may be a fruitful time when the U.S. could achieve its national objectives by carefully inviting Iran through diplomatic means instead of using the power of coercion, which it already has but with no apparent success.
With Arms Wide Open: The Threat of Iranian Arms Trafficking
Syria is not only a longtime ally of Iran; it is currently its only state ally in the region. Losing Assad means losing a key friend, but it also means losing the ability to funnel weapons to Lebanon and Palestine.
Oscars and Nukes
As the dance between Iran and the international powers-that-be rushes onward, we need to consider the viability of pursuing political agreements when social understanding is not only absent, but obstructive.
Sanctioning Progress
The short-term goal of halting Iran’s nuclear program can and should be coupled with the long term goal of fostering a more democratic, open Iran, if only because the sanctions that target those worth targeting and a diplomacy that offers Iran a path to legitimacy are ultimately the solutions to both these issues.
Obama and the Middle East: Round Two
Reworking the Strategy towards Iran. Netanyahu is becoming infamously impatient, and the reactors keep spinning (despite false claims to the contrary last week; I doubt we’ll ever really know what is actually going on in those nuclear plants). The current strategy cannot continue.
The Ultimate Gamble
Only progress on the basis of strength can weather the severe geopolitical and socioeconomic pressures that Iran faces. The only reasonable policy reformulations are those that ensure an internally strong state able to coordinate and direct the instruments of foreign and domestic policy at the level of state bureaucracies, especially in the realm of security.
David and Goliath
Benjamin Netanyahu’s rather literal interpretation the concept of a “red line” at the United Nations last month puzzled many, but it should draw as much worry as it draws laughter. It is no secret that Israel and the United States would prefer an Iran without nuclear weapons. Yet, the Obama administration’s disapproval of a unilateral Israeli strike and its lack of interest in initiating its own strike leave Israel in a rather awkward situation.
Putting Evil in Context
Within the story of the MEK lies the greater story of the ways in which the ideology and activity of a given entity can change, sometimes for worse and sometimes for better.
Iran Needs Feminist Sanctions
These “smart” sanctions have, in fact, done much to starve the very people they were supposed to protect.
Don't Worry Yet
Despite changing governance in the region, the United States will uphold its policies of the past three decades so long as it continues offering aid to the Egyptian military and the military respects its peace treaty with Israel.
Nuclear Disarmament is Still a Good Idea
The crux of Waltz’s argument is that “power begs to be balanced.” He suggests that “Israel’s nuclear monopoly has long fueled instability in the Middle East." I’m no fan of Israeli nukes, but I don’t think the warheads are the primary source of Israeli unpopularity.
Starting to Listen
Iran’s reaction to these talks has, time and again, proven that it is not what we are proposing that bothers them. What bothers them is that we are proposing anything at all.
P5 + 1 Meetings Accomplish Little
The discursive frameworks that the P5+1 talks are predicated on do not bode well for future negotiations. The West is a veritable echo chamber of calls for regime change in Iran and its actions to date demonstrate that it does not consider Iran an equal partner.
Desert in Bloom: Momentous Changes Sweeping the Middle East
It has long since become cliché to wax poetic about the momentous changes that are now sweeping the Middle East.
Living On a Thin Line
The United States and the other members of the P5+1 group (the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany) are entering “last chance” negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program in Istanbul this week.
Desert in Bloom: Shenouda, Sectarianism, and the Future
Over the weekend, Coptic Christians all over the world mourned the death of their Church’s leader, known as Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria.
Political Minutes: George Stephanopoulos
On Tuesday afternoon, TV journalist, political analyst, and best-selling author George Stephanopoulos participated in a question and answer session at Columbia University.
Desert in Bloom: The Tangled Web We Weave
The facile idea of a pure dichotomy of America and Israel against its enemies is too simplistic. Recalibrating this perspective is even more urgent now that its power is being applied to drive Israel and Iran toward a potentially disastrous war.