Tag : Middle East
The paucity of hope
Nothing seems to be safe in Egypt these days. Political opponents of the military leadership are the chief targets for the attacks, attacks that include live fire from security forces. They are not alone: The seething rampages have spread to Christian churches, the media, foreigners, those held in custody, and even to the corpses waitingRead moreJohn Kerry reels them in
Secretary of State John Kerry has the Israelis and Palestinians talking again. In the context of all that is happening in the Middle East, that qualifies as a positive. Kerry does not give up. That has been well documented before. While many see the Israeli-Palestinian issue as a morass, Kerry believes the United States doesRead moreJohn Kerry soldiers on
The first time I wrote a story about John Kerry, in 1986, he got very angry. So did his press person. It was, to paraphrase Richard Blaine, the start of a beautiful professional friendship. It has now been almost three decades since that story and the professional relationship took off, grew strong and beneficial toRead moreAs we thought. Not.
We are now deep into year two of the Arab world convulsions. Not one country across the North African-Middle East arc is settled. Even where it sounds quiet it is not. Two years from the first cry of freedom, very few things are how the outside world predicted. As Egyptians vote for their president inRead moreBad moon rising again, this time over Syria
There were many dangers faced by reporters during the four-year Bosnia war. Gunfire. Freezing. Food poisoning. Checkpoints manned by drugged out crazies. Yet one fear stood out, and it was usually away from the fighting. That was going to Zenica, a city in the central part of the area controlled by the Bosnian government. TheRead moreBen’s Words of Advice
The American Revolution and the broad romantic view of U.S. democracy have often provided inspiration and guidance to those seeking democracy in their own nations – and for good reason. The amazing set of circumstances that made the American Revolution spark and then succeed, the lofty words of human rights that fueled the new governmentRead moreDancing With Wolves
You hear many words of wisdom traveling through the Mideast, all which offer insightful pondering to events past and present. Watching the tragic escalation of events in Syria and the failing efforts to bring the fighting to a close bring to mind words often spoken by the Kurds of the region, who are well-versed inRead moreNo Scarves. No Solution
The world has found a way to strike back at Syrian President Bashar Assad: they have slapped travel sanctions on his London-born wife, Asma, to thwart her addiction to luxury shopping. One year into Assad’s churning assault against various opposition groups, stopping his wife from shoping in Europe is one of the few things theRead moreThe NATO Moment of Truth Faces the Arab League
It took NATO 46 years and eight months before it intervened with military force to protect innocent civilians from harm and manage a conflict on its periphery. Can we truly expect the Arab League to move any quicker in dealing with problems in its neighborhood? Probably not. When NATO finally heeded the call from thoseRead more