Middle East & North Africa

The lesson of the greatest generation is “Don’t repeat the mistakes of the America First Committee,” and here we are.

After EgyptAir flight 804 fell out of the sky, I exhaled deeply with many Egyptians, sighing in familiar resignation, “Oh no, not again.”

From the Winter print edition

Last week’s startling confession by White House operative Ben Rhodes—that the Obama administration lied to the American people about its dealings with Iran to secure a nuclear agreement—not only confirms the perception of a mendacious and arrogant presidency. It exposes a feverish and even delusional frame of mind: an uncompromising revulsion for war that has undermined American security and invited a cascade of extremism, violence, and human suffering.

Whatever the defects of Sykes-Picot, the century since the agreement proves the problems of the Middle East are not simply cartographical

Everything about Israel was, and is, draped in layers of irony and paradox. Israel is a Jewish state. It is also a secular democracy. Israel is the resurrected form of an ancient polity that disappeared two millennia ago; it is also a modern, economically-vibrant society that embraces progress in astonishing ways.

Yom Ha’atzmaut marks the return of the Jewish people to national sovereignty after 2,000 years in exile. It’s a way of expressing solidarity with, and a Jewish connection to, the land and the State of Israel.

From the Winter, 2016 Print Edition

In the chaotic and often violent aftermath of the Arab Spring, the Sultanate of Oman has moved to a different beat, distinguishing itself as a peacemaker and mediator in comparison to its neighboring Arab states.