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  • Why Did Obama Really Have to Talk About Israel on Thursday?: I've been musing about President Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East and North Africa for the past week: I like it, I like it not. And I still don't have a clue what to make of it after listening to him on Sunday as he addressed the influential ...Read More

  • Developments in Syria: Unrest in Syria poses fundamentally different foreign policy problems than Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.What will happen to the Middle East peace process if there's a change in government in Syria?How would Iran's influence in the region be affected?Read More

  • Obama’s dilemma in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is an exceptional ally of the United States where American values and interests collide, and where Washington’s sincerity in supporting democracy and human rights is open to question. The Human Rights Watch reported today that the Saud...Read More

  • Let’s stand up for the Bahraini Shiites: Sectarianism in the Middle East is grievous, pernicious and enveloped in denial. Two officials – Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, and Ambassador Shaikh Abdul-Aziz Al Khalifa, international media advis...Read More

  • Turkey's Influence in a Changing Middle East Is Limited: For the last few years Turkey has been trying to sell itself as the re-shaper of the Middle East. But now that the region is reshaping itself in dramatic and unexpected ways, the late, lame and confusing responses of Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdoga...Read More

  • Iran Is the Wild Card in the Arab Awakening, but What About Turkey?: Both Turkey and Iran play vital roles in bringing peace to their immediate neighborhoods -- and ideally, they'd also have a relationship with the West. Yet the crisis in Syria has put each of them in a difficult position. The regime of Bashar al-A...Read More

  • TURKISH IDENTITY IS STILL IN THE MAKING: The tug-of-war over Turkey’s identity has become a major topic of foreign policy debate over the past few years. To deny the obvious, that it is not accepted as a natural European power, and that its Middle Eastern blood weighs heavier in its current...Read More

  • How Does an "Arab Expat Peace Corps" Sound?: The Middle East is transforming so quickly that no one knows what the outcome will look like. One thing, however is clear: we are in a race against time -- rather a limited one -- to prevent the region's radicals from taking advantage of the changi...Read More

  • P.J.Crowley resigns as State Department Spokesman: Crowley deserves a great deal of praise for his bravity and integrity for not shying away from standing up for his principles and valuesRead More

  • Reform as wrenching as upheaval: The young revolutionaries of Egypt and Tunisia, after toppling Hosni Mubarak and Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali, have managed to cleanse government of their henchmen and are now starting on their police state enforcers. Yet, while their thirst for politic...Read More