Can a Scarred Muslim Nation Ever Get ‘Truth and Reconciliation’?
No one knows when or how Syria’s civil war will end. Nor Afghanistan’s fight against the Taliban. Nor Pakistan’s struggle against jihadis in its northwestern border region. Iran...
Sierra Leone
A Tale of Iran, Syria and a Busy Oil Tanker
Although sanctions have forced Iran to cut back dramatically on its shipping traffic, some Iranian-linked vessels continu...
Op-eds
Using Stronger Sanctions to Increase Negotiating Leverage With Iran
Six days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama declared that “if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” Over the 10...
Op-eds
As The West Lets Down Its Guard
The United States is now following Europe’s precedent of cutting military spending in the name of shoring up its economy.
Op-eds
Milestone in Partnership to Counter Terrorism in the Sahel
By Dr. J. Peter Pham Last Saturday, military personnel from the Unites States and thirteen African and European countries wrapped up a joint military exercise in the Malian capi...
Op-eds
Bad Faith Actor
In the pantheon of United Nations causes, Africa by many measures occupies a preeminent role. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has described “the African challenge” as “the highest...
Op-eds
Enabling Mugabe to Cling On
Last Friday was the twenty-eighth anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence, although the country's long-suffering people of the country might be forgiven for not exactly marking the occas...
Op-eds
Zimbabwe Zigzags Onto Another Rough Patch
The ongoing stand-off in Zimbabwe between incumbent President Robert Mugabe and the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, shows how much the political landscape can shift back and forth in t...
Op-eds
Securing Africa
On February 6, 2007, President George W. Bush launched a major evolution in American military posture when he formally announced that he had directed the Pentagon to establish a new unified...
Op-eds
Medellin (and Bush) v. Texas
So see if you can follow this. George W. Bush, the imperial president of left-wing lampoon, orders his National Security Agency to intercept enemy communications without judicial warrant...
Op-eds
The Battle for Libya: Implications for Africa
As battle lines crisscross between the rebels marching west to overthrow him and loyal military units taking the offensive against rebel-held towns in the eastern Libya, Colonel Muammar al-Qadhaf...
Op-eds
Iran’s Global Terrorist Reach
The United States became painfully aware of the threat posed by global jihadism after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Until that day, Iranian-backed terrorist networks, such as Hezbolla...
Op-eds
Ballots and Bullets: The Tale of the Two Somalias
Last week, Somalis marked the fiftieth anniversary of their achievement of independence from colonial rule. The contrasting manner in which two parts of the onetime Somali Democratic Republic obs...
Op-eds
Using Stronger Sanctions to Increase Negotiating Leverage With Iran
Six days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama declared that "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us." Over the 10 months since...
Op-eds
Guinea: In Search of a Soft Landing
Guinea cannot seem to catch a break. In 1958, it was the only French colony to opt for an immediate break with France rather than continued association with Paris leading to gradual inde...
Op-eds
Guinea: At the Edge of the Precipice
By Dr. Walid Phares When Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power the day before Christmas Eve last year following the death of longtime ruler General Lansana Conté, I wa...
Op-eds
Guinea Avoids the Deluge — At Least for Now
More than two years ago, I devoted a column in this series to the relatively obscure West African nation of Guinea which holds more than half of the world's reserves of bauxite (bauxite ore...
Op-eds
The Ripple Effect of High Oil Prices
The global economy depends on a superinfrastructure of air, land, and sea transportation networks to move basic goods, primary energy, and people across borders. The global manufacturing industry, particularly in Asia, has thrived due to the massive profits gleaned from items with a high price to weight ratio, such as food, clothing and information technology, that were transported cheaply all over the world. However, the volatile nature of oil prices has shaken the foundation of the transportation-oriented global economy, and sent ripple effects throughout numerous sectors.
Op-eds
Enabling Mugabe to Cling On
Last Friday was the twenty-eighth anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence, although the country's long-suffering people of the country might be forgiven for not exactly marking the occasion with dances in the streets. Sure, some 15,000 people were bussed to Gwanzura Stadium in the suburb of Highfield, southwest of Harare, to stomp their feet and chant "Ndibaba Vanogona" (Shona for "he is an able father") as President Robert Mugabe arrived to treat them to an hour-long harangue, to which the listeners dutifully responded with cries of "Down with the British!" But overall the mood seemed to have been succinctly captured by Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who, from the safety of his refuge abroad, noted that it was "the saddest Independence Day since our liberation from colonial rule." And while the responsibility for this tragedy reposes primarily with the Mugabe regime, some of the blame must be shared by its enablers abroad.
Op-eds
Protect the American Media — Whether They Deserve It or Not
It is a hard thing to defend the American media. Even when they are right and even when they badly need defending. In large part, that’s because press hypocrisy is so striking. Jou...