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By Barry Rubin
August 27, 2010
In the controversy over the "Ground Zero" mosque in New York and other issues, Muslims are often asked if they condemn terrorism, Iran, or Hamas and other revolutionary Islamist groups, along with other questions. The idea is to determine whether they are moderates or radicals...
Keywords: Middle East Politics, Understanding the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 24, 2010
The current debate over the roots of Islamist revolution, clashes in the Middle East, and conflicts between forces in that region and the West involves two critical issues of interpretation...
Keywords: Understanding the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 21, 2010
The U.S. announcement inviting Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for direct talks shows quite clearly, though unintentionally, why the talks will fail...
Keywords: Israel-Palestinian Issues, U.S. Policy on the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 20, 2010
The big story of the moment is the announcement that there will soon be direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Perhaps, but for the moment Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has merely issued of an invitation to come and talk. Generally, such an invitation would only be issued when both sides have accepted and all the details are nailed down...
Keywords: Israel-Palestinian Issues, U.S. Policy on the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 17, 2010
I simply cannot comprehend why so many in the West refuse to see that Arabs can be revolutionaries. It is remarkable that so many who claim to be experts don't incorporate the idea that Arabs, like other peoples, might dislike their existing societies or be motivated by ideologies claiming to be the blueprints for utopias...
Keywords: Middle East Politics, Understanding the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 14, 2010
History will record that Lebanon was integrated into the Iran-Syria empire in early August 2010. Here are some of the stories that mark that turning point, and also show how Western willingness to make concessions and eagerness to avoid confrontation are interpreted by moderates as a signal or surrender and radicals as an invitation to advance further...
Keywords: Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
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By Barry Rubin
August 14, 2010
Forget about The Onion, The National Lampoon, Mad Magazine, and Saturday Night Live (sorry for all those American cultural references). When it comes to satire nobody can beat a New York Times editorial...
Keywords: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 14, 2010
What will be the next developments regarding U.S.-Israel relations and the Israel-Palestinian "peace process," and Israeli politics. It's possible to make some good predictions, or at least to present the most likely scenarios...
Keywords: Israel, Israel-Palestinian Issues, Palestinians, U.S. Policy on the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 10, 2010
This is one of those stories about the Middle East that is totally amazing but not the least bit surprising. What, you ask, do I mean? From the standpoint of the way the region is portrayed in the West this information is incredible but if you understand the area it is exactly what you'd expect...
Keywords: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Regional, U.S. Policy on the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East
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By Barry Rubin
August 8, 2010
As the waitress whose family had come from Ethiopia put the pizza on the table at the Tel Aviv restaurant, I contemplated the ridiculous misuse of "race" as a factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Regardless of skin color, we belong not only to the same country by way of citizenship but also to the same nation and people in a very profound way that isn't true for countries that are merely geographical entities.
Keywords: Israel, Palestinians, Regional