The president is being asked by the Pentagon to provide U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS in Syria. If the president is wise, he will run as fast as he can the other way. There are four potential traps here: The cost in American lives; The … [Read more...] about US Ground Troops for Syria: A Really Bad Idea
Kurds
A Solution for Syria?
Left: Kurdish Areas in Syria A respected Turkish journalist, Mahmut Borzarslan has told about an important Russian initiative to broker a deal to set up an autonomous entity in Syria for the Syrian Kurds. Borzarslan’s article was translated from the … [Read more...] about A Solution for Syria?
Obama’s Syrian Legacy*
It would be hard to exaggerate the mess in the Middle East that Pres. Barack Obama is leaving his successor. While the five-year Syrian civil war continues unabated, pitting different armed groups against each other with their foreign sponsors, … [Read more...] about Obama’s Syrian Legacy*
The Turks are Back*
Almost a century after the Turks evacuated the Arab Middle East at the end of World War I, they are back. Not just with bombing or artillery fire, but a full-scale, old-fashioned invasion of Syria. This, just after dismissing or jailing a very large … [Read more...] about The Turks are Back*
Israel’s Kurdish Conundrum*
Israel may soon be forced to choose between the Turks and the Kurds. In this week's column, I will compare and contrast two developments of great significance for Israel's regional future: the Kurdish question and the development of the offshore … [Read more...] about Israel’s Kurdish Conundrum*
Protected-Christians in Muslim lands*
Bethlehem’s Christian Arab leaders lobbied Israel against transferring the city to the Palestinian Authority. Thus, in 1993, on the eve of signing the Oslo Accord, the Christian mayor of Bethlehem, Elias Freij, urged Israel’s Prime Minister Rabin to … [Read more...] about Protected-Christians in Muslim lands*
Syria Ceasefire Will Not Defeat ISIS
The United States and Russia brokered ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and few of the fighting groups is scheduled for February 27, 2016, 00:00 local time. While Washington described the agreement as yet another major diplomatic … [Read more...] about Syria Ceasefire Will Not Defeat ISIS
The Syrian Threat to Israel*
Left: Map of Syrian Civil war/ Global conflict in Syria - liveuamap, February 22, 2016 There are more than two dozen state and non-state actors battling over the prostrate body of what used to be Syria, one of the artificial entities carved out in … [Read more...] about The Syrian Threat to Israel*
A Century after Sykes-Picot: Strategic and Geopolitical Aspects*
"The instability and the uncertainty that characterize the current state of affairs is best exploited, as mentioned before, by the most prominent enemies from the Radical Islamic camp – both Iran and its surrogates and the Sunni Radicals." The … [Read more...] about A Century after Sykes-Picot: Strategic and Geopolitical Aspects*
Key factor in sharply-improved Putin-Netanyahu strategic ties? The Obama White House
Left: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Sept. 21, 2015 / EPA Israeli-Russian strategic cooperation already good was markedly improving in early October 2015. The primary impediment … [Read more...] about Key factor in sharply-improved Putin-Netanyahu strategic ties? The Obama White House