Washington Watch Articles From 2015
A Christmas Lesson
There are two Christmas stories. There is the romanticized antiseptic tale that has taken hold in our popular culture. It is the "Silent Night"/"Oh! Little Town of Bethlehem" version
Trump and Co. Deepening the Divide on Arabs and Muslims
Donald Trump and his GOP colleagues have exposed the depth of the divide in attitudes over the role of American Muslims in US society. The results of a recent Zogby poll establish that the divide is more existential than merely rhetorical, and is more demographic than simply partisan.
Listening to Voices Across the Middle East: 2015
For the past five years, I've had the opportunity to conduct public opinion polls across the Middle East in order to provide content for policy discussions at the UAE's annual Sir Bani Yas Forum.
Another Mass Killing, More Hate
Just as there are so many unanswered questions about why Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, massacred 14 people at an office party in San Bernardino, California, there is so much that is tragically clear.
The Descent Into Madness, Part II
The roots of our nation's current descent into madness can be traced back to a series of unresolved catastrophic traumas Americans experienced during the Bush Administration.
We Have Gone Temporarily Mad, Again
It has been frightening to listen to the intolerant and near hysterical tone of the debate over admitting Syrian refugees into America.
Invisible Victims
Everyone made nice, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington last week. It was make up time. The Administration sought to demonstrate that despite, what the President referred to as their "minor difference" over the Iran deal, there were no remaining hard feelings.
Netanyahu’s Arrogance; Our Stupidity
"When I entered the Prime Minister's office for my second term, I was summoned to Washington.
Intolerance on Display
Intolerance, especially when it comes to issues involving the Middle East, is a destructive force that has distorted American politics and our policies, rendering us powerless to provide constructive leadership across the Arab World
Strangling Jerusalem
We have been witnessing an epidemic of violence in Jerusalem. There have been killings and near fatal attacks in Israel and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian lands, but it is Jerusalem that has been the epicenter of the violence
The Debate We Have, the Debate We Need
Since the end of the Vietnam War, every US president has been consumed with and defined by events in the Middle East
Responding to the Challenge of Russia in Syria
No one should have been surprised that Russia committed their military to the task of saving their ally in Syria from defeat.
An American Pope with a Challenge for America
I was privileged to have been in attendance at many of Pope Francis' Washington events this past week. What came through so very clearly is that Francis is an American pope with a profoundly American message.
Dangerous Fantasy and Reality in the Internal Republican Debate
Having lived in Washington for almost four decades, I thought I was beyond becoming outraged by politicians who made bizarre claims that distorted history and/or logic.
Remember Talk of a Bush-Clinton Match-up?
It wasn't that long ago that the pundits had the 2016 presidential contest pegged as a Clinton-Bush match-up. While that may still occur, I wouldn't place a bet on it.
Obama Won, So Did Netanyahu
For the past several weeks, considerable attention was paid to the number of Democratic senators announcing their support for the Iran deal. The number needed to insure that the deal would go through was 34.
“You Stink”
It was a stroke of genius that Lebanon's young protesters named their movement "You Stink".
Thank You Julian Bond
When Julian Bond died last week, every major news outlet featured tributes praising his more than five decades of leadership in the struggle for civil rights.
An Open Letter to: Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General Loretta Lynch
No American citizen should be subjected to the treatment that George Khoury and Habib Joudeh received when they arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel last month.
Finding a Way Forward for Syria
A flurry of recent bilateral and multilateral discussions involving Americans, Russians, Saudis, and others have provoked speculation that there may be a renewed push for negotiations to end the conflict in Syria.