Free Republic

This is the first in a new series of analytical essays devoted to key issues in the Middle East. Michael Rubin, resident scholar at AEI, will be the primary author of the series, which will be available in Arabic. Disputes over Iran’s nuclear program have become a primary focus of not only White House attention, but of international concern as well. While the Bush administration initially let Berlin, London, and Paris--the so-called European Union Three--take the lead in negotiations with Tehran on May 31, 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered more direct U.S. involvement and a package of...

Airbrushing History [Michael Rubin] Saturday, August 05, 2006 A lot of officials imagine Iran to be some diplomatic problem that can be solved if only we found a magic formula of incentives and, failing that, more incentives. To understand the spirit of the society, it can be useful to see how it deals with its own history. Tehran’s strategy: Censor and re-write. The following is an Iranian news agency report of a conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of Iran’s constitutional revolution, itself influenced by the 1905 Russian Revolution. "IRNA, Aug. 5- Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel here on Saturday underlined the...

A U.S. injustice to an invaluable Iraqi. The murder of freelance journalist Steven Vincent a year ago today made international headlines. Vincent was in Basra, completing research on his second book. He broke the story about Shia death squads; ironically, this may be what led to his death at their hands. Vincent was special. Many journalists parachuted into Iraq, talked to a handful of established contacts, and spent more time in the Green Zone than out and about. Their accounts might have been best-sellers, but they were riddled with mistakes and superficiality. Vincent’s first book In the Red Zone, in...

All Talk and No Strategy: The limits of diplomacy by Michael Rubin Weekly Standard July 24, 2006 As Israeli warplanes pounded Lebanon last week, European leaders called for diplomacy. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan dispatched a three-member team to the region to urge all parties to exercise restraint. Even President George W. Bush said, "To help calm the situation, we've got diplomats in the region." Officials ritually promote diplomacy and dialogue, but absent an overarching strategy, these are no panacea. Indeed, diplomacy for diplomacy's sake can sometimes make matters worse. On April 9, 2000, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared that...

IN 2003, the Bush administration left the war in Afghanistan unfinished and moved on to overthrow Saddam Hussein. This grand diversion of military, intelligence and diplomatic resources not only jeopardized success in Afghanistan but also initiated the collapse of international support and respect for the United States. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, American and NATO forces are fighting a resurgent Taliban. Leaders like Mullah Muhammad Omar remain at large, and Osama bin Laden emerges regularly to threaten the West and inspire his followers. It is true that Afghanistan has taken historic steps toward democracy....

Bush's Promise to Defend Israel Against Iran July 07, 2006 Bitter Lemons International Michael Rubin Asked on February 1, 2006 whether the United States would protect Israel militarily against Iran, President George W. Bush left no doubt: "You bet, we'll defend Israel." To some realists, his statement was evidence that Israel had become a strategic liability to the United States. A few prominent Jewish leaders, worried that Jews might be blamed for any military conflict with Iran, urged Bush to tone down his statements pledging support for Israel. "We are basically telling the president: We appreciate it, we welcome it....

A federal grand jury in Denver has indicted four people on eight counts of arson for a series of eco-terrorism fires set at the Vail ski area in 1998. Those indicted are: Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, 29, Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, 28, Josephine Sunshine Overaker, 31, and Rebecca Jeanette Rubin, 33. Gerlach and Meyerhoff are presently in federal custody in Oregon, facing separate arson charges. The whereabouts of Overaker and Rubin are unknown. The Two Elks Lodge and other structures on Vail Mountain were burned to the ground on Oct. 19, 1998. Damage was estimated at $12 million. A group called the...

May 11, 2006, 6:02 a.m. I Was an Icelandic “War Criminal” Believe me, Secretary Rice, you don’t want to go soft on the International Criminal Court. By Michael Rubin I looked forward to returning to Iceland. It had been seven years since I last lectured there, and I remembered it as a beautiful, rugged country, great for hiking and swimming. I was scheduled to deliver four lectures on Iran, Iraq, and transformative diplomacy at the Universities of Iceland and Reykjavik, and at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Keflavik. This trip would not be so smooth. Word of trouble began...

A closed-door meeting of left-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was held on January 16, 2003, in Washington, D.C. to consider how to apply international financial pressure through a global tax on the U.S. Bruno Jetin, a representative of ATTAC France, spoke to the gathering and acknowledged in private conversation that his group works hand-in-glove with the French Communist Party and the "Socialist parties on the Left." A representative of the embassy of France in the U.S. was listed as a participant. ATTAC stands for the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens. The International ATTAC Movement...

Dealing with Iran Considering nows and thens. April 25, 2006 Q&A by Kathryn Jean Lopez Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos is the title of a recent academic contribution from Patrick Clawson and Michael Rubin. NRO Editor Kathryn Lopez took its existence as an excuse to check in with Rubin about what's going on in Iran and what historical perspective we should keep in mind in the coming months. Kathryn Jean Lopez: What's so eternal about Iran? Does "Eternal Iran" mean we can't win? Michael Rubin: Iran's history goes back millennia. It is important to recognize the historical patterns that shape...

MIAMI -- Lionel Tate's lawyer said Monday that his client will not follow his legal advice and he has filed a motion to withdraw as the teen's attorney stating irreconcilable differences between them. Ellis Rubin, Tate's attorney, would not give specific reasons for his decision. ``He will not follow my legal advice,'' Rubin said. ``I tried to reconcile our differences this morning and he refused.'' Rubin said he filed the motion Friday in Broward County Circuit Court.

If John Kerry becomes President he will find himself on the horns of a dilemma - which close friend to ditch when he chooses a new Secretary of State. According to today's Washington Post, Kerry would pick his national security team within a few weeks after winning the White House and two of his closest friends, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) or Richard Holbrooke reportedly want the job of running the State Department.

10. “bell hooks” Born Gloria Watkins, spells new name in lower case. Has written, “It is difficult not to hear in standard English always the sound of slaughter and conquest” and “I am writing this essay sitting beside an anonymous white male that I long to murder.” hooks is a distinguished professor of English at City College in New York. 9. Amiri Baraka Born Everett Leroy Jones in 1934, adopted current name after converting to Islam in 1968. Former poet laureate of New Jersey. Has written: “… the white woman understands that only in the rape sequence [by a black...

On January 20, 2005, George W. Bush outlined the goal of his second term. "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," he said. "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you." Less than a year later, the Bush doctrine is dead, the victim not of outside circumstances, but rather...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary September 23, 2005 President Presents Medal of Honor to Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin The East Room President's Remarks view 2:45 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Laura and I welcome you to the White House. This is a special occasion for our nation. We're here to pay tribute to a soldier with an extraordinary devotion to his brothers in arms, and an unshakeable love for his adopted homeland of America. Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin's many acts of courage during the Korean War saved the lives of hundreds of his fellow soldiers. In the...

After long campaign, Jewish veteran will finally be honored by U.S. military LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14 (JTA) — On Sept. 23, as Tibor Rubin enters the White House, generals will stand at rigid attention, President Bush will rise, and then he’ll drape the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for gallantry in combat, around the neck of the 76-year old Holocaust survivor and Korean War veteran. Rubin and a legion of supporters have waited almost 55 years for this moment of triumph of camaraderie and persistence over bureaucratic lethargy and the prejudice that embittered the lives of so many...

The paradox of the year is why so many Americans tell pollsters they feel bad about an economy that's been so good, with solid job growth and corporate profits, rising wages and home prices, and a huge decline in the budget deficit. Perhaps one reason is because the media keep saying the economy stinks. That's the conclusion of... the Media Research Center, which finds that so far this year 62% of the news stories on the Big Three TV networks have portrayed the U.S. economy in negative fashion. The "negative full length TV news stories on the economy outnumbered positive...

Last year Tom Brokaw bought a Montana "dude ranch" with several others, including Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, actor Michael Keaton, one of the other partners, revealed on Wednesday's Late Show with David Letterman. The February issue of Sunset magazine reported the purchase and how the buyers turned the ranch into a private fishing camp, but didn't mention Rubin's involvement: "Last spring...an out-of-state partnership including former anchorman Tom Brokaw and actor Michael Keaton purchased a 640-acre ranch for a reported $8 million, creating a private hunting and fishing preserve." Back on the May 12, 1999 NBC Nightly News, the...

Two items: [1] From Laurie Mylroie's "Iraq News" Newsletter - Tue, 17 May 2005 20:03:39 -0400 Subject: Michael Rubin, Prior Isikoff Use of Faulty Source From the list of Michael Rubin, previously at DoD and now at AEI (May 17, 2005): This was not the first time Michael Isikoff has used faulty or fabricated sources. In reporting the myth that Doug Feith’s office created its own intelligence unit, he relied on Karen Kwiatkowski, who associated with the Lyndon LaRouche movement. Kwiatkowski said on tape that she was Isikoff’s chief source. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s Report on the U.S....

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR London IN the days since President Bush announced the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, to lead the World Bank, some Democrats and Europeans have not been shy about expressing their concerns. For example, Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, said the choice was "hard to understand." Responding to the nomination, a German development minister told The Financial Times, "We are not exactly seeing floods of enthusiasm across old Europe." Along with the selection of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, the nomination of Mr. Wolfowitz has raised fears that Mr. Bush is...