Optimists cite what they see as key differences between the failed January ceasefire and today. While accurate, neither necessarily foreshadows rapid progress. With the last Israeli hostages living and dead to be released from Hamas captivity imminently, there is every reason for them and their families to celebrate and for everyone to hope for a […]
READ MORE.Donald Trump proclaimed (https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-closest-weve-ever-come-full-text-of-trump-netanyahu-statements-on-deal-to-end-gaza-war/) that his Middle East peace plan marked “a big, big day, a beautiful day, potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.” Four days later, Hamas said it was prepared to release all remaining hostages to Israel.(https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/world/middleeast/hamas-trump-gaza-deal.html) Trump responded(https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/03/hamas-gaza-peace-ceasefire-deal/) that Hamas had shown “they are ready for a lasting peace,” […]
READ MORE.Recent reports that the Trump administration is withholding roughly $400 million of military assistance to Taiwan are deeply disturbing. Although the White House maintains no final decisions have been made, the pause is eerily similar to Trump’s summer 2019 withholding of security assistance to Ukraine, for reasons entirely unrelated to Kyiv’s defense needs. China’s threat […]
READ MORE.Russia’s recent breach of Polish airspace may be Donald Trump’s last chance to show resolute opposition to Moscow’s assaults against Ukraine. But the stakes aren’t limited to the European battlefront. America must also make clear to China and others that unprovoked aggression against U.S. friends and allies beyond Europe is equally unacceptable. For peace and […]
READ MORE.Lebanon today faces the existential question of whether it can emerge from decades of war and destruction, or whether it will again be consumed by civil conflict and terrorist domination. Its chance to return to “normalcy” is because of Israel’s strikes against Iran and its Middle Eastern terrorist proxies, following Hamas’s barbaric October 7 attack. Hezbollah had […]
READ MORE.In its typically authoritarian way, China (or, more accurately, its Communist Party) is commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end with a big military parade on September 3. The whole gang will be there to celebrate with Xi Jinping; Vladimir Putin and Kim Jung Un lead the guest list, but most Western nations […]
READ MORE.As Israel’s Gaza campaign against Hamas intensifies, the levels of Middle Eastern political rhetoric have also risen. Prominent Israeli political leaders proclaim their support for a ”Greater Israel,” a slogan perhaps as old as the modern Jewish state itself. Arab leaders, and many others outside the region, continue to insist on a “two-state solution,” another […]
READ MORE.Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy today is no more coherent than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office. Collapsing in confusion, haste, and the absence of any discernible meeting of the minds among Ukraine, Russia, several European countries, and America, Trump’s negotiations may be in their last throes(https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/23/trump-ukraine-frustration/), […]
READ MORE.Vladimir Putin led Russia out of international isolation on Friday, striding down a red carpet to greet an applauding Donald Trump. He accepted a ride with President Trump in “the Beast,” and one-on-one applied his KGB training to restart one of Moscow’s most effective influence operations ever. After the Alaska summit, Mr. Putin could legitimately […]
READ MORE.Friday’s Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is not shaping up well for Ukraine. Every indication is that Trump believes he and his (once again) good friend Putin will conjure some land swaps and bring peace. Of course, the land in question will be bits and pieces of Ukraine’s territory, not Russia’s, with Moscow probably […]
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