Victoria’s Secret: Israel’s High Hand on the High Seas

Victoria’s secret is that, like the previous interceptions like those of and the Karine A, its interception comes at a time when Israel is being urged to move forward in the peace process and doesn’t want to. But it is also radically reinterpreting international law, particularly the Laws of Armed Conflict and the Law of the Sea. Continue Reading

New BBC Poll: Iran Unloved, But Not Isolated

BBC poll data indicates that 25% percent of Egyptian respondents view Iran favorably, nearly the same number as view U.S. influence as positive (26%). Nearly equal numbers of Turkish respondents approve of the influence of the U.S. (35%) and Iran (36%). Half of those polled, in countries long regarded as the staunchest Middle East allies of both the U.S. and of Israel–50% in Egypt, 49% in Turkey– expressed negativity about U.S. influence, with only 32% of Egyptians and 45% of Turks worried about Iran. Continue Reading

Recess Appointments and The Politics of Diplomacy

All four of the ambassadors who received recess appointments from President Obama were considered fully qualified by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who approved their nominations and sent them to the full Senate for confirmation. All have been kept from taking up their diplomatic posts on by unilateral actions on the part of one or two senators, who prevented their appointments from reaching the Senate floor for the votes that almost certainly would have confirmed them. Continue Reading

Ali Gharib discusses Daily Talking Points, etc., on Antiwar Radio

Ali was on Antiwar Radio last Friday discussing LobeLog’s Daily Talking Points, Marsha Cohen’s piece on how Israel put Iran into the “Axis of Evil” after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Jennifer Rubin’s belligerence at Commentary, her rantings on… Continue Reading

UnPACking AIPAC’s White House Slam, Israeli style

While AIPAC is adamant that the Obama administration is at fault for the current crisis in US-Israeli relations, Israelis across the political spectrum are much more inclined to blame their own leadership and political bureaucrats. Continue Reading