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Middle East

Trump Chooses Diplomacy Over War

Donald Trump is keeping the world guessing concerning his attitude toward direct U.S. military participation in Israel’s current war with Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, hopes the American president will join Israel in destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities, particularly the heavily fortified site in Fordow. But it looks like Netanyahu will be waiting, perhaps […]

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Middle East

Israel Achieves The Upper Hand In The War With Iran

Within the space of nearly a week, Israel, in one of its most audacious shows of military might, has achieved the upper hand in its preemptive war with Iran, its strongest and most defiant foe. But Israel’s achievements have come at a cost. More than 300 Iranian ballistic missiles have battered Israel, having demolished residential […]

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Middle East

Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Have Wreaked Havoc In Israel

On June 14, a day after Israel launched a preemptive attack on Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined Israel’s twin goals as eliminating Iran’s nuclear program and depleting its stock of ballistic missiles. Israel’s preoccupation with eradicating Iran’s maze of nuclear facilities requires no elaboration. The issue has virtually obsessed Netanyahu for years now and […]

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Middle East

Israel Strikes Iran In A Long-Anticipated Attack

Israel, having launched Operation Rising Lion, its long-anticipated preemptive attack on Iran, has opened a stunning new chapter in its bruising confrontation with its deadliest enemy. The regional Mideast war that the United States tried to head off after Hamas’ attack against Israel in 2023 may have begun. Starting around 3 a.m. on June 13, […]

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Middle East

Old Wine In New Bottles

Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the famous Arab proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” to its outer limits. The Israeli prime minister recently acknowledged that Israel has been working with Palestinian clans in the Gaza Strip antagonistic to Hamas as part of its efforts to defeat it. In disclosing that Israel has “activated” […]

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Middle East

The Freedom Flotilla Publicity Stunt

It was a slick publicity stunt from start to finish. The week-long voyage of the Madleen ended abruptly and abjectly in the early hours of June 9 when Israeli soldiers boarded the vessel and towed it to the port of Ashdod. The Madleen, a yacht with ten activists and two journalists aboard, set sail from […]

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Middle East

The Pro-Palestinian Movement Takes A Hit

The killing of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. last week has focused renewed attention on the pro-Palestinian movement in the United States. Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, who were engaged to be married, were fatally shot by Elias Rodriquez, a 31-year-old anti-Israel activist from Chicago. […]

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Middle East

Israel And Syria Could Be On The Cusp Of A New Era

Syria, Israel’s northern neighbor, has been antagonistic toward Israel since its birth as a nation in 1948. It would be fair to say that Syria, often called the beating heart of Arab nationalism, has been one of Israel’s fiercest, most indomitable enemies. All this could change in the future if Israel plays its cards right […]

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Middle East

Canada Signs A Half-Baked Statement On Gaza

A joint statement issued by Canada, Britain and France on May 19 regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians comes across as partially half-baked and in need of clarification. Signed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President […]

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Middle East

A New Chapter in U.S.-Syria Relations

It was a stunning and defining moment in the annals of the United States’ mercurial relationship with Syria. On May 13, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to lift all economic sanctions on Syria, a formerly radical Arab state that is still emerging from the chaos of the sudden collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s […]