In contemplating the horrifying reporting coming out of the Syrian conflict today and the equally tragic toll of the eight-plus year Iraq war, the world is likely witnessing the latest chapter in the long-running history of sectarian conflict in the region. The current battleground in this chapter is Syria and Iraq, and it sheds light […]

Commentary: The US should back Assad now, end the fighting, and set conditions for his departure and a democratic transition. There is a well-known maxim in American politics: a bad plan beats no plan. That surely has been proven the case in Syria. As The New York Times reported Nov. 8 in a sobering piece […]

The U.S., Russia and other parties engaged in the Syrian crisis meet in Geneva next month to again seek a peaceful solution to that heartrending crisis. While insisting that Bashar al-Assad must go, the U.S., its Western allies and the Gulf States never had a clear plan for Syria. It is time these governments get […]

It has been one of the world’s oddest but strongest and most enduring relationships: the world’s oldest democracy and world’s most unalloyed monarchy. The United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia kept communism out of the Middle East and, following the 9/11 tragedy, mounted joint efforts to rid the region of violent extremism. With […]

Commentary: Despite a show of courtesy, President Hassan Rouhani gives no sign of moderating Iran’s ideology. The United States and international news organizations have made much of the new Iranian president’s peace and friendship initiative, tactfully scripted to charm a hopeful media and American public. But the international community would be well advised to look […]