For whatever reason I began studying military issues when I was about seven. It was an odd choice for me, since I hate violence. When I saw my first plucked turkey, I became hysterical. My mother had to throw it away and give us peanut-butter sandwiches for Thanksgiving dinner. But studying war was useful in…
Arab League and Israeli plan for the Middle East goes forward
December 22, 2015
In June of this year, Saudi Arabia announced a seven-point plan for the Middle East. It’s incredibly risky and ambitious. The Saudis must always be taken seriously, so I knew that they’d thought this out. I couldn’t determine how in the world the Arab League would keep the region from going up in flames the…
Paper tiger revealed in Syria, say Israelis. Guess who?
December 20, 2015
I always loved the phrase “paper tiger.” The communist Chinese invented it to describe the US. My mother was a great fan of folded paper doodads. This is the sort of thing she did. In July of this year, I became convinced that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the Iranian nuclear deal—was an international…