Barry Rubin
US outsources its responsibility to end Syrian crisis
The Obama Administration has left it to the UN, many of whose members are pro-Assad, to end the bloodbath in Syria. That’s not the right thing to do
Few love Obama any more, but he may still win poll
If Barack Obama wins, he will be elected by those who decide to stay home on polling day because they find Mitt Romney not conservative enough for their vote
Islamist regimes pose greater threat
Democracy is a nice idea, but if it is merely a fig leaf for the creation of new fundamentalist regimes it is not good either in strategic terms or for the people. If a country doesn’t have institutions in place, elections can be counter-productive
For the Left, snobbery has become fashionable
Despite the pose of the heroic intellectual speaking the truth to those who are in power, the fact is that most of them depend on paper credentials than on proven achievement. They won’t do anything to break with fashionable consensus
The ghastly, cruel face of Islamist terrorism
Radicalism is being passed on to the third generation through Islamic schools, mosques and indoctrination at home. In effect, France and other countries are turning themselves into permanently unstable bi-national states. That’s dangerous
Strike against Iran is a real possibility
There are major dangers involved in attacking Iranian nuclear installations. A war with Iran should only happen as a last resort. But that fateful day could come sooner than later, and the world must prepare itself for the eventuality
Egypt braces for an Islamist President
The Muslim Brotherhood may have declared that it will not stake its claim to the country's presidential post, but the Islamists are not out of the race. With the help of the Brotherhood and the Army, they stand a good chance
Islamism fails to paper over Shia-Sunni divide
In the Gaza Strip there’s a civil war within Hamas. In the West Bank, there’s nobody to replace PLO boss Mahmoud Abbas. Whither Palestine?
Watching from the margins not an option
The Obama Administration is caught in a bind. With Russia and China vetoing a resolution in the UN on the Syrian crisis, it is wary of launching any unilateral action. Yet, it cannot remain oblivious to the cascading violence in Syria
When ‘experts’ in US hold forth on Asian affairs
Getting the context of ‘nakba' wrong is just one of the many blunders that some so-called experts have made through their writings in the media in the US
