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Can we say this administration has a bias against Israel? Israel can make no more concessions for peace. She gave up Gaza, and as a thank you, Hezbollah has been launching rockets for years. It makes no sense for Israel to surrender to her enemies as that would be genocide. For additional concessions would not make a difference to Hezbollah, Iran, Al Qaeda, Hamas or ISIS. They would continue their terrorist assault until there were no Jews left. After all, these are the same groups working so hard in Europe to make certain there are no Christians left. The global...

Now all the pieces are in place. The only outstanding question mark was put to rest this past week as Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected Prime Minister of Israel. Apparently the Israeli electorate was not interested in making Palestine a “two state” as long as the Palestinians credo was much like Iran’s “Total annihilation of the Israelites”. There are moments in history when the forces of nature swirl in such a way that events take control beyond the powers of mortal man. In the late 17 and early 1800’s, the world shuddered as tumultuous events seemed to be intertwined. The American...

WASHINGTON — The White House is stepping up its antagonism toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite his victory in this week’s elections, signaling that it is in no rush to repair a historic rift between the United States and Israel. The sharpened tone indicates that the Obama administration may be re-evaluating its relationship with its closest ally in the Middle East, having lost patience with Mr. Netanyahu in the closing days of an election campaign in which he spotlighted deep disagreements with President Obama over a Palestinian state and a nuclear deal with Iran. “You reach a tipping point,” said...

Mark Steyn, columnist and author of “The Undocumented Mark Steyn,” argued that “everybody” in the Middle East “despises” President Obama on Thursday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show.”

President Obama spoke to French President Francois Hollande on Friday to discuss the nuclear talks with Iran, which have reportedly hit a snag over the question of easing sanctions. The two leaders discussed the nuclear negotiations, as well as the conflict in Ukraine, according to the White House. “The presidents reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a long term comprehensive deal that fully and verifiably addresses the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, while noting that Iran must take steps to resolve several remaining issues,” the White House said in a statement. A round of talks in Switzerland concluded Friday...

Legislation requiring congressional review of any Iran nuclear deal will get the 67 Senate votes needed to overcome a presidential veto, Sen. Bob Corker predicted Friday. The Tennessee Republican said despite “drama” around the issue in recent weeks, he believes his legislation will be successful. “I believe ultimately we will have a veto-proof majority to make that happen,” Corker said during a speech at the Republican National Lawyers Association’s 2015 National Policy Conference. The Foreign Relations Committee is expected to mark up Corker's bill next month, after a deadline for negotiators to reach a framework for a final deal. The...

Is it the Republicans in the Senate who are the problem and not the Islamic Republic of Iran’s on-going pursuit of being able to massacre hundreds of thousands if not millions of people at the push of a button? Who’s motivations should make us more wary? I can certainly see questioning the appropriateness of the Senate sending a separate message to a hostile nation while negotiations are in progress.Why would they do this; do they simply hate the President personally and want to undermine him for political gain -- as is being implied by his supporters -- or do they...

The recent beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian workers in Libya by Islamic State (IS) affiliates prompted a conversation with Joseph Hakim, President of the International Christian Union (ICU), an umbrella organization that seeks to secure the wellbeing and survival of Middle Eastern Christians. Hakim is a Lebanese-born Orthodox Christian and a proud American.

The old time Kremlinolgists often parsed the detailed biographies of key personnel, especially those newly appointed, to gauge the direction in which policy was moving. For the real news was often not in the banner headlines but in the footnotes. Now those same skills can come in handy in Washington. Today the White House announced the appointment of Robert Malley to replace Phil Gordon as .”Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region. Today, National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice announced that Philip Gordon, Special Assistant to the President...

In this episode, Uncommon Knowledge is honored to have retired four-star General James Mattis. General Mattis retired from the Marine Corps as a full general in 2013, where he served as the eleventh commander of the United States Central Command. He also served as the commander for NATO supreme allied transformation, and as commander of the United States Joint Forces Command. Mattis is now an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow fellow at the Hoover Institution.

At a super-secret conservative confab last week a long-time friend and ally said that after 30 years of giving lectures and speeches to conservative groups there was only one event where he could show his true colors, and it wasn’t the one we were attending.

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com •Reports indicate Egypt, Italy, Russia planning military action in Libya •Egypt court declares Hamas to be a terrorist organization •Egypt and Turkey may try to create a ‘Sunni front’ with Saudi Arabia Various unconfirmed reports are emerging indicating that there may be joint international action planned in Libya as early as next week. Egypt is already conducting air strikes against ISIS-linked targets in Derna, close to where Egyptian Coptics were massacred recently,... Al-Jazeera television reports that the Italian navy is getting ready to carry off sophisticated military drills off the coast of Libya as...

Lost in much of the reporting about CPAC is that almost all of the likely presidential candidates—really, all of them, with the exception of Rand Paul—seemed to place themselves at the Reaganite hawkish-internationalist end of the foreign policy spectrum. The much-heralded return of Republican isolationism or anti-interventionism wasn’t much in evidence, except during Rand Paul's half hour on the stage. The other candidates all criticized President Obama for his foreign policy weakness and timidity, and made the case for greater American strength and resolve. Of course, most of the speakers didn't go into great detail, especially on the question of...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The emerging U.S.-led deal that would allow Iran to enrich uranium at a limited rate, with the restrictions easing over time, poses a “great danger” to the Western world and Israel from a “messianic, apocalyptic” nation, Israel’s defense minister declared Monday. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon made the comments as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against the wishes of President Obama, prepares for a trip to Washington next week to explain in an address to both houses of Congress why he is against the negotiations. As WND reported, the prime minister’s aides have claimed Israel...

Can President Obama sell an Iran deal at home? If his negotiators strike an agreement next month, we already know that it will be far from ideal: Rather than eradicating Iran’s nuclear-weapons potential, as once was hoped, a pact would seek to control Iran’s activities for some limited number of years. Such a deal might be defensible on the grounds that it is better than any alternative, given that most experts believe a military “solution” would be at best temporary and possibly counterproductive. But making that kind of lesser-evil defense would be challenging in any circumstances. Three conditions will make...

A group of 23 liberal House Democrats urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress next month. In the letter spearheaded by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the lawmakers argued that Netanyahu was being used as a "political tool" against President Obama. "As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concern that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president," they wrote. Netanyahu's March 3 address will be just two weeks before the Israeli elections and...

Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Thursday called on Middle Eastern leaders to stand up to "violent extremism" and stop proxy wars that fuel the rise of terror groups. "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie," he told the final day of a conference on combatting extremism. "And all of us, regardless of our faith, have a responsibility to reject it." Obama challenged Middle Eastern powers to stop actions that he claimed have stoked the rise of Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and others. Fighting between Sunnis and Shia "will only end when...

PARIS -- While surfing the Internet on Valentine's Day, I came across a love story so poignant that I just have to share it with you. I'm taking really hot and heavy -- as in actual fire. I noticed a banner advertisement for an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April called the "Kingdom Future Energy Summit," complete with a stunning image of what appears to be an ashen finger catching fire as it reaches out to touch a stream of oil. Ouch. It's the kind of image that you might expect neo-hippies to daydream between trips to the recycling...

[snip] Conclusion - The evidence we have assembled and reviewed suggests there is little direct connection between poverty, education and participation in terrorism and politically motivated violence. Indeed, the available evidence indicates that, compared with the relevant population, participants in Hezbollah’s militant wing in the late 1980s and early 1990s were at least as likely to come from economically advantaged families and have a relatively high level of education as they were to come from impoverished families without educational opportunities. We should caution, however, that the evidence we have considered is tentative due to data limitations. In addition, our focus...

Seeking war power authority for three years, President Barack Obama is setting up the prospect that his successor will become the third American president in a row overseeing U.S. military forces grappling with turmoil in the Middle East. Passing on an active military mission in the region would be an unexpected and unwanted legacy for Obama, a president who once appeared poised to fulfill his campaign pledge to end U.S.-led conflicts in the region. […] The president has long said the campaign against the Islamic State militants would be lengthy, suggesting it could extend beyond his presidency. But his authorization...