Washington Watch Articles From 2005
KING FAHD AND SAUDI FRIENDSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES
The first of my many visits to Saudi Arabia was in 1981. Therefore, for most of the time that I have known the Kingdom and its people, Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was king and a friend of the United States.
TANCREDO:“STUPID, BRAZEN, AND UNCIVLIZED”
By even suggesting that Mecca could be bombed in retaliation for a terrorist attack, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has made the world a more dangerous place.
THE DIFFERENCE
There are important differences between the Arab and broader Muslim immigrant experience in Europe and that of the Arab American and American Muslim communities in the United States.
THE SUPREME COURT ANDWASHINGTON’S HOT SUMMER
These are hot sticky days in Washington and the summer sun isn’t the only reason the city is simmering. Domestic partisan issues have taken center stage and will most probably be all consuming for the next several months.
THE DANGERS OF INCITEMENT
Should the truth matter in politics? And should we be concerned about the rancor that characterizes our political discourse? The answer to both is decidedly, “Yes.
THE DANGERS OF INCITEMENT
Should the truth matter in politics? And should we be concerned about the rancor that characterizes our political discourse? The answer to both is decidedly, “Yes.
BUSH: FIGHTING THE IRAQ WAR AT HOME
This war was supposed to have gone so differently. By now it is clear that the infantile fantasy of its architects (“shock and awe,” “a cake walk,” “flowers at our feet,” “six months and out,” and “the spreading of democracy throughout the Middle East”) did not pan out.
SENATOR DURBIN DEFENDS AMERICA’S VALUES
In recent weeks, controversy has mounted over the treatment meted out to detainees at U.S. facilities in Guantanamo Bay and other locations around the world.
DEMOCRACY’S DIFFICULT DAYS
The danger that the USA Patriot Act poses to our democracy is not only a function of the sweeping powers it has given law enforcement, but the very manner the bill was passed and the way Congress is now being pushed to renew it.
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) “Conference on Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Intolerance” convened this past week in Cordoba, Spain.
ABU MAZEN IS RIGHT: FREEDOM, TOO, IS NEEDED
There was a striking exchange of contrasting views that took place during the Rose Garden event with President George W. Bush and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
WORDS AND DEEDS
Palestinians have every reason to be pleased with President Bush’s Rose Garden remarks to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
AS AIPAC MEETS
Despite recent controversy, the thousands of pro-Israel activists gathering at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference will find official Washington appearing to be as receptive as ever to the organization and its cause
AS AIPAC MEETS
Despite recent controversy, the thousands of pro-Israel activists gathering at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference will find official Washington appearing to be as receptive as ever to the organization and its cause.
UNDERSTANDING HISTORY AND THE PATH TO PEACE MAKING
I had been speaking of the role that “losing control of their history” had played in defining the Palestinian psyche during the last century, when a somewhat aggravated Israeli in the audience challenged my assessment.
WHAT ADC AND AAI WILL CELEBRATE
This year, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the Arab American Institute (AAI) celebrate their 25th and 20th respective anniversaries.
PREPARING FOR ABBAS’S VISIT
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (“Abu Mazen”) is liked, but is not known, here in the US. This situation poses some challenges and presents some opportunities which the Palestinian leader ought to address as he prepares for his upcoming American visit.
POLL SHOWS BASES FOR UNITY IN LEBANON
Despite deep differences, which continue to divide the so-called “opposition” and “loyalist” movements in Lebanon, there are some important areas of agreement that could form the basis for national unity and democratic reform in that country.
SHARON AND BUSH WIN AT CRAWFORD
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is a master strategist. US President George Bush is a master tactician. The two met this week and both accomplished their respective objectives.
THE POPE AND THE WORLD: THEN AND NOW
When the Roman Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals meets next week to select a new leader for the world’s more than one billion Catholics, they will begin their deliberations by considering the needs of their Church and the situation of Catholics in the world.