Israel Can’t Substitute for the U.S. in the Middle East
The Jewish state can protect its neighborhood, but the Persian Gulf needs a superpower’s attention.
Ottoman
Why Is there no Palestinian State?
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is intractable. One binational state is impossible, given that the two sides – Jews and Arabs -- have irreconcilable national projects. The two-state scenario has also proven elusive with Palestinians refusing to recognize Jewish nationhood.
Op-eds
Chile’s new president is a win for Iran
Last Sunday, Chileans elected Gabriel Boric, a young, former social justice student activist, as president.
Op-eds
Why Hamas fights
A new book sheds light on Israel’s wars with Gaza’s rulers
Op-eds
Spectacles of Tolerance: The Precarity of Turkey’s Religious Minorities in the Era of Neo-Ottoman Delusions
Excerpt Turkey watchers continue to debate whether neo-Ottomanism, an ideological proclivity to exalt and revive an imagined Ottoman past and its traditions of religio-political authority and domination,...
Op-eds
The Taliban call the shots
As America’s humiliation continues
Op-eds
Are We Headed Toward an Ignoble End in Afghanistan?
The question is less about when to leave and more about how to do so without further emboldening the Taliban.
Op-eds
Turkey Must Stop Meddling in Armenian Church Affairs
The Turkish government is imposing its political preferences when it comes to selecting the leaders of the country’s minority groups—and posing a threat to religious freedom.
Op-eds
Human Rights Situation in Turkey
Read the full testimony here.&n...
Congressional Testimonies
Reimagining a more realistic “peace process”
“The peace process” is the name we’ve given to decades of attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The reality: These diplomatic efforts have never made meaningful...
Op-eds
The war against history
“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” This, as you may recall, was the slogan of the totalitarian state imagined by Georg...
Op-eds
The Lessons of Armenia Should Not Be Lost
Displayed outside the Turkish embassy in Washington last week was a large banner reading: “Armenian Genocide is an Imperialist Lie.” That claim might be amusing were the subject not s...
Op-eds
Cool Istanbul
Demet Muftuoglu-Eseli is standing perilously close to the fire. The Turkish fashion mogul turned gallerist is hosting a gala dinner for “Istancool,” the annual arts and cultur...
Op-eds
Rouhani In Ankara: The Latest Sign Of Warming Iran-Turkey Ties
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Ankara today with a large delegation for his first state-level trip to Turkey. He met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah G...
Policy Briefs
The Great Collision
For most of those who were so hopeful when the Great Arab Revolt downed the dictator Hosni Mubarak two years ago, the travails of Egypt’s fledgling democracy have been depressing. Many in t...
Op-eds
Radioactive Regime
The list is long of Occidentals who’ve fallen for Persia. This isn’t surprising. Compared with Arab lands save Egypt, Iran has a longer history—Hegel described the Persians as &...
Op-eds
Jeane Kirkpatrick Goes to Tahrir Square — Two starkly Different Visions of the Arab Spring
Thirty-three years ago, Commentary magazine published an article by Jeane J. Kirkpatrick that stands as one of the most influential essays in the history of American foreign policy....
Op-eds
Why Rachel Corrie Went to Gaza
What the pro-Palestinian activist—whose death was just ruled an accident—shared with Lawrence of Arabia
Op-eds
Turkish Hissy Fits, Egyptian Mob Rule, and the Case Against a Palestinian UDI
This year, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank both declared that the Palestinian West Bank has all the financial tools needed to form a sovereign state — a gesture that Palestin...
Op-eds
The Syrian Challenge
The administration’s policy toward Syria is shaping up to be the greatest missed opportunity of Barack Obama’s presidency. His failure of vision and nerve, paired with an acute Republ...