Israel, the US and the Palestinians: A Recipe for Failure

by Mitchell Plitnick When it comes to Israel and the Palestinians, it’s never foolish to be a pessimist. About fourteen months ago, when John Kerry began his quixotic task of driving the two parties toward a final agreement to end… Continue Reading

New Einhorn Report on Final Iran Deal Focuses Debate

by Jim Lobe Robert Einhorn, who served as the State Department’s special advisor on non-proliferation and arms control under President Barack Obama until less than a year ago, has issued an important report, “Preventing a Nuclear-Armed Iran: Requirements for a… Continue Reading

Tragedy and Perfidy: The Figure of Mahmoud Abbas

by Mitchell Plitnick Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with US President Barack Obama this week, following in the footsteps of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the month. But unlike Netanyahu, Abbas is a much less heralded or… Continue Reading

The Mixed Message of the Senate Letter On the Iran Nuclear Talks

by Daryl G. Kimball Clearly, Congress has an important role in implementing any comprehensive, final-phase agreement between the P5+1 and Iran to “ensureIran’s nuclear programme will be exclusively peaceful.” Those talks are now underway in Vienna. In that role, members of the Senate… Continue Reading

Bibi’s Epic Fail

by Mitchell Plitnick Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States has ended in an unprecedented failure. On the Palestinian front, the Iranian front and the domestic US front, Netanyahu’s efforts last week ran badly aground. Let’s review… Continue Reading