Don’t Worry About the Peace Treaty

by Paul R. Pillar via The National Interest As the Obama administration struggles to walk a fine policy line on Egypt that takes appropriate account of the diverse U.S. interests at stake, one subject that is often mentioned, but shouldn’t… Continue Reading

US on Israeli Settlements: A Policy Without A Policy

by Mitchell Plitnick Some days, it must be really difficult to be the State Department’s spokesperson. It doesn’t seem like a bad job to have at all, but on certain questions it’s impossible to not look like an idiot. A… Continue Reading

Israeli-Palestinian Talks: Why Now and To What End?

by Emile Nakhleh The recently restarted talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are the only peaceful political activity amidst on-going violence in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere in the Arab world. Neither Secretary of State… Continue Reading

Hiroshima, Nagasaki and “Bomb Iran”

by Marsha B. Cohen Last week marked the 68th anniversary of the WWII destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9) — the first and only deployment of nuclear weapons in human history. Within moments… Continue Reading

Mideast Peace Talks Get New Lease on Life

by Mitchell Plitnick via IPS News Six months of United States diplomatic efforts have finally restarted talks between Israelis and Palestinians, yet pessimism about their potential for success persists. On Monday, negotiators from both sides met in Washington for the… Continue Reading