The lunacy of the “red line” in Syria
President Barack Obama is facing criticism because he has backed off on his talk of a “red line” when it comes to Assad’s regime using chemical weapons against his own people now that there is…
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The Responsibility to Protect the Syrian People from Chemical Weapons
Recent media reports that Syrian government forces have loaded sarin nerve gas into aerial bombs mark a chilling escalation in Syria’s civil war that has raged for nearly two years and cost the lives of…
UN Recognizes Palestine: What Does it Mean?
On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted 138-9 to recognize the Palestinian territories as a “non-member observer state.” What does this actually mean? The vote is a sorely needed political victory for Mahmoud Abbas, the…
Recognizing Syria: Leadership from France
French President Francois Hollande has taken a bold step toward ending the slaughter in Syria by recognizing the newly formed National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the sole legitimate authority to govern…
Behind the Gaza Conflict: Hamas in the Context of International Law
The recent flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israelhas brought tragedy before our eyes, and the death toll will get worse if Israel follows through on its threat to invade the…
Think before you Shoot: The Reality of Military Intervention
Intervention in internal conflicts is a nasty business, often with many unforeseen consequences. Such intervention is frequently unsuccessful. Such intervention often fails because intervening troops have an inadequate mandate, their forces are not sufficiently armed,…
The Inverse Triangle of Jihad
Not all jihadists are created equal. Some have proven far more capable of adapting their strategies to fit the situation on the ground than others. Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas,…
Why there will be no peace in Palestine
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an example of a conflict without much hope for resolution. The Holy Land has been the site of vicious ethnic conflict for thousands of years, and the Israeli-Palestinian impasse is but…
Noam Chomsky distorts the truth (9/19/2010)
This was a review of a video interview given by Noam Chomsky to Democracy Now! You can see the interview for yourself at http://www.democracynow.org/2006/3/31/stream. After listening to this interview and reading the transcript, I was…
China, Railroads, and Iran (9/8/2010)
One thing I find extremely interesting is how China is trying to expand its ties to Iran. China is planning to expand its rail infrastructure to include a railway line to Iran. Aside from the…