Some might say that the spirit of the modern age, at least in the developed West, is all about an…
Browsing: Commentary
By taking an overcautious approach in Syria, the president has highlighted America’s failure to have an open discussion about the…
Written more than two thousand years ago, texts by ancient Greeks still have a major impact on the modern militaries…
U.S. officials concerned that Iran-Saudi conflict could undermine broader efforts in Middle East By JAY SOLOMON WASHINGTON—The sudden upheaval that shattered…
A real national commonwealth demands an authentic national narrative that recognizes the multiplicity of cultural, religious, and social foundations, but…
On Sunday evening, December 6, President Barack Obama attempted to assure Americans that he is applying the right array of…
‘Bare, Naked, Nude,’ a new exhibition recently opened at Istanbul’s Pera Museum, includes academic studies of 44 artists from different…
With the growth of the Islamic State have come voices for the United States and Western countries to engage with…
Lifelong language study can change a person. It enriches one’s life, especially if it is a relatively difficult language requiring…
Dozens of nuclear weapons are just miles from where Ankara shot down jet Geoff Wilson Turkey’s downing of a Russian…
Eldad Beck Waleed al-Husseini sat in Palestinian jail after daring to criticize radicals – but he says he is also…
William Armstrong – william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr Turkey’s newly elected government has given signals that it may move to address the grievances of…
Pope Benedict XVI lectured on faith and reason at the University of Regensburg in Germany in this Sept. 12, 2006,…
News about Syria has quickly replaced news about Ukraine in the Russian media, thanks to the Kremlin’s propaganda. “This…
Those who really love this land understand that it belongs to two peoples. Now, before it is too late, what…
Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund (unseen), the newly appointed leader of a breakaway faction of the…
Russia has greatly complicated an already-fraught situation by picking a fight with Syria’s majority Sunni rebels and tripping into other…
Only objective secularists can safeguard the holiness attributed to these sites, to preserve the holiness of humankind, and prevent bloodshed.…
Tony Barber in London Having spent seven years as Turkey’s president, and five years before that as prime minister and…
Introduction It comes as no surprise that the startling phenomenon of Islamic State (ISIS) propaganda has galvanized attention since the…
Feminists and frat boys, asexuals, groupies, and that quiet kid who sits in the front row. A weeklong survey of…
The Iranian regime’s anti-Western regional policy has become much more important to its identity than Islamic ideology, so confronting Tehran’s…
I spent early 2011 trying to ease tensions between Syria and its neighbors. I never predicted the brutality that would…
Forty-two years ago this week, Arab petroleum exporters banded together to impose an oil embargo on Western consumers in retaliation…
By Vanessa Ogle In the spring of 1891, Count Helmuth von Moltke rose to speak in the German parliament on…
The release of a special-committee report to the Majlis will be seized on by hardliners, who will continue to voice…
Our worst fears were realized on Wednesday, September 30th, 2015. Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, declared [through…
From Iraq to Lebanon, through Syria, with clear echoes into the Gulf, Yemen, and Egypt, the Arab political and cultural…
Two sharply opposed narratives are today in confrontation in the Arab world, notably in its Eastern flank. The first has…
On the refugee crisis The flow of refugees from Africa and the Middle East into Western Europe has provoked a…
William Armstrong william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr ‘National and State Identity in Turkey: The Transformation of the Republic’s Status in the International System’ by…
I’ve called attention to the writings on Syria of Amb. Fred Hof in several blog posts (here’s one). Hof, after…
If the Supreme Leader is able to continue his strategy of purposeful ambiguity by manipulating the media and parliament, the…
On the Catholic liturgical calendar, Aug. 6 is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, recalling a Biblical scene…
Recognizing the various spheres of influence in Syria and working with its neighbors to stabilize each piece of the puzzle…
Synopsis The Saudi military intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels has repercussions in the kingdom amid cracks appearing in the…
Reports of an American and Turkish agreement to close a sixty mile stretch of the Syria-Turkey border to the Islamic…
By James Morone In This Review One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America Kevin M. Kruse …
People: Next Agreement Is On Civil Rights by Fereshteh Ghazi In their celebration of the Vienna nuclear agreement reached between…
Knowing when Iran has violated the agreement is one thing; ensuring that there is a price for every transgression, no…
The deal with Iran is finally done. Given the stakes, it should be scrutinized. It makes sense to reserve judgment…
Even with a deal now signed, the Obama administration still has many tools for countering Iran’s menacing behavior across the…
Although Iran’s missile arsenal is conventionally armed, credible reports of links with its nuclear program underscore the need for limits…
An excellent « Public Statement on U.S. Policy Toward the Iran Nuclear Negotiations » – « Endorsed by a Bipartisan Group of American…
Prince Muhammad’s visit to Russia will increase speculation that Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States is changing. On June…
It was no joke for millions of Turks who queued in front of ballot boxes at early hours of the…
This article is followed by a response by Andrew F. March, along with Michael Walzer’s reply. To read the exchange,…
Ten years ago this week, our friend and colleague Samir Kassir was murdered outside his home, likely at the instigation…
Concern about the political direction of the Middle East has long ago replaced the optimism that briefly followed the 2010-11…
The outcome has dealt a blow to the AKP’s longstanding dominance and Erdogan’s goal of implementing a presidential system, with…