On June 2, 2009, a janitor in an office building in New Brunswick, N.J., noticed what he thought was terrorist-related literature and sophisticated surveillance equipment in an office he had been assigned to clean. He told his boss, who called the local police, who...
The Ghost and the Machine
Fazillah, age 25, lives in Maidan Shar, the central city of Afghanistan’s Wardak province. She married about six years ago and gave birth to a son, Aymal, who just turned 5 without a father. Fazillah tells her son, Aymal, that his father was killed by an American...
Israeli Poll on Iran Undercuts Netanyahu on Eve of Major Meet
On the eve of a critical set of meetings between top U.S. and Israeli officials, a new survey finds little backing among the Israeli public for a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities without Washington's approval. According to the poll, released at a...
Iraq Reveals War Casualty Count as 20 More Iraqis Are Killed
How the US Fanned the Flames in Afghanistan
Is it all over but the (anti-American) shouting — and the killing? Are the exits finally coming into view? Sometimes, in a moment, the fog lifts, the clouds shift, and you can finally see the landscape ahead with startling clarity. In Afghanistan, Washington may be...
The ‘Trust Gap’
I had to laugh when I read the Associated Press piece on Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak’s message to a series of visiting US officials: “Israeli officials say they won’t warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian...
10 Reasons to Keep an Eye on AIPAC
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the country. On March 4-6, AIPAC will hold its annual policy conference in Washington, D.C. The speakers include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S....
Running Against Islam
Every political season has its hot-button issues. There’s race, abortion, lunar colonies. But the hottest hot-button issue these days, judging from comments by Republican presidential hopefuls as well as what happened during the 2010 midterm elections, is Islam. Islam...
Energy Protectionism Is Not Good Policy
U.S. policymakers and pundits continue to treat energy as a “strategic” commodity, which is just a way of justifying inefficient government meddling in the industry sector. Before the 1973 Middle East oil crisis, the federal government tried to keep oil prices high to...
Growing Pessimism on Afghanistan After Quran Burning
While top officials in the Barack Obama administration insist that U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is working, the violent aftermath of last week's apparently inadvertent burning of copies of the Quran at a military base is fueling growing pessimism about the U.S. and...


