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The Upcoming Battle Over Iran

January 26, 2015  •  The Huffington Post

Despite President Obama's State of the Union assertion that the U.S. has halted progress of Iran's nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of nuclear material, Iran has advanced on each core area of their overall program. Further extensions of the talks provide Iran with additional bargaining chips and concrete achievements while America's leverage diminishes. Nevertheless, the bad deal reportedly being considered by the White House is worse than no deal all all. Given the wide gap between the U.S. and Israeli leader's positions on what constitutes an acceptable deal, the stage is set for another politically acrimonious episode in the American-Israeli relationship when Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Congress in March.

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Anti-Semitism and the Crisis in Ukraine
The Donetsk leaflet demanding Jews register fits a pattern of pro-Russian disinformation about Kiev loyalists

April 19, 2014  •  The Times of Israel

Amidst the fury of finger pointing and propaganda surrounding the crisis in Ukraine, the familiar specter of anti-Semitism has resurfaced with a leaflet in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk calling on Jews to register. It is happening in Russian-controlled portions of Ukraine. It is not general Ukrainian anti-Semitism; it is Russian in origin. This tracks with deepening anti-Semitism within Russia itself and the rising tide of anti-Semitism across Europe and the world. If there is something about the situation in Ukraine that sets off alarm bells in the collective Jewish memory, it is with good reason. This episode should serve as a wake-up call to the world. If "never again" is supposed to mean something, we need to mobilize to prevent this type of activity—which, as history has demonstrated, is usually a precursor for much worse things to come.

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Syria - World Almanac of Islamism (2012)

2013  •  The American Foreign Policy Council's World Almanac of Islamism

ISLAMIST ACTIVITY

There are two distinct capacities into which Islamist organizations fall in Syria: state supported and opposition oriented. Syria is rather unique in this respect, as although the ruling regime under the Assad family has been stringently Ba'athist (secular) and has fiercely opposed Islamist groups like the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (SMB), it has also employed radical Salafi and Shi'a Islamist groups to promote state interests abroad.

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What makes US-Israeli intelligence co-operation 'exceptional'?
Israel and the US face shared threats in the Middle East. NSA intel-sharing is no less legitimate than with 'Five Eyes' partners

September 13, 2013  •  The Guardian

It didn't take long for media outlets to single out Israel, as a result of the cascade of secret documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Certain commentators jump on board and conclude Israel's guilt first and then shape the narrative to support that claim, conveniently leaving out any evidence against the theory.

According to the Guardian's report about a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) between the NSA and Israel's Signit agency, (ISNU), the "NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel". This has been interpreted as meaning that the NSA routinely shares raw intelligence data it gathers with Israel, without removing information about US citizens.

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Obama's Shot Across Syria's Bow
A half-hearted strike could do more harm than good

September 2, 2013  •  The Washington Times

Having decided upon a military response to the latest chemical-weapons attack in Syria, President Obama should take care to calibrate the mission to suit his objective. According to the parameters delineated by the president, he now seeks congressional approval to employ an expensive and empty tactic, a gesture designed to send a message rather than alter behavior or the balance of power. While there are some possible benefits to pursuing the punishment option, the limited action Mr. Obama is now considering will likely do more harm to American interests than good, while achieving none of his stated objectives.

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