Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I just don't understand how Kerry or Obama or anybody else thought Assad was going to change.
If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, its influence and that of Hamas and Hezbollah are strengthened.
Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are.
Gadhafi's vicious regime has left Libya far worse than he found it on the day of his coup in 1969.
Obama isn't good off the cuff, especially when challenged; he is far better with a prepared speech.
The United States should encourage Israel to take further steps to improve the Palestinian economy.
When freedom of the press is threatened, the United States should be leading efforts to protect it.
The threat that Syria might transfer more advanced weapons to Hezbollah has existed for a long time.
During most of the Bush administration, human rights and democracy in Egypt were on the front burner.
Persecution of Christians is growing around the world, and Congress needs to pay more attention to it.
For 22 years, Bandar bin Sultan was Saudi Arabia's influential, irrepressible ambassador in Washington.
Palestine, as Icelanders see it, includes the Western Wall of the Second Temple, Judaism's holiest site.
First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.
There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.
Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require.
Barack Obama's military triumphs will come neither in long wars nor even short ones, but in a series of raids.
On June 19, 1981, a vigorously healthy Justice Potter Stewart resigned from the Supreme Court at the age of 66.
It's time to bury the unreal, failed 'realism' of those who have long thought that dictators brought stability.
There's always Tunisia. Amid the smoking ruins of the Middle East, there is that one encouraging success story.
The debate over same sex 'marriage' has engaged the heartfelt feelings and convictions of millions of Americans.
In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13 times.
Huge numbers of embassy cables are labeled 'unclassified' or 'limited official use' and deal with mundane matters.
Dubai must crack down on rampant smuggling, and the U.A.E. federal government has significantly stepped up pressure.
The Sandinistas are a tough bunch of guys, with a fabulous amount of Soviet Bloc equipment and Soviet Bloc advisers.
Obama is like the kid brother whose only standard for judging his own achievements is the records his big brother set.
The truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas depends, above all, on the borders between Egypt, Gaza and Israel.
You can easily see why the experience of Jews would be helpful if you're looking to get action on religious persecution.
Libya as a country is a relatively new concept. The period of Libya as a modern nation really starts after World War II.
Immanuel Kant famously claimed that 'he who wills the ends wills the means,' but he never spent much time in Washington.
Cheney's memoir is not about 9/11, or solely about Bush's administration, but about his entire life and political career.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned, it seems, to direct the Middle East policy of the Obama administration.
Olmert made a proposal on the governing of Jerusalem that I do not believe his cabinet or the Knesset would have accepted.
The courage of the Syrian protesters is remarkable, for they face prison, torture, or death every time they lift a banner.
The Fayyad cabinet may well be the best the Palestinians ever get. But whatever its good qualities, there is no democracy.
Like all forms of collective security, multilateral sanctions require a unanimity rarely achieved in international politics.
Times change. Cable news and the Internet alone have transformed the way outreach to the American people can be accomplished.
On taking office in 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama put Israeli settlements at the center of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
One good way of measuring the mood in Israel is just how alert or relaxed the guards at every restaurant entrance appear to be.
American power remains today what it was in the Second World War and the Cold War: the greatest force for freedom in the world.
Every Arab 'republic' has been a republic of fear, but only Saddam Hussein's Iraq surpassed the Assads' Syria in number of victims.
We need to understand that an open society and free speech and press... really are the best weapons against al Qaeda and extremism.
Enlightened despots are mythical creatures; real despots seem more interested in stealing money or installing their sons after them.
The Sandinistas are dedicated Communists, and if they are going to make a compromise with democracy, it's going to be under pressure.
The U.A.E. is a firm ally of the United States and deserves better treatment than it received in the Dubai Ports World fiasco in 2006.
As the Palestinian leadership never seems to pay any penalty for its words, America's seriousness about the peace process is in doubt.
Arab states continue to send the Palestinians gifts of extravagant rhetoric and countless Arab League resolutions - but not much cash.
While all Alawites fear vengeance against their entire community should Assad fall, there are varying degrees of loyalty to the Assads.
The Egyptian military and the government of Israel have long had a common interest in maintaining order and fighting terrorism in Sinai.
The anchors of the Arab consensus have long been Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and both are now weakened forces in Arab politics and diplomacy.
Terrorism exploded after the Camp David talks broke down in 2000 because the Palestinians' leader at the time, Yasser Arafat, supported it.