Columns

"...in all probability...., the U.S. will vote "no" on a resolution to recognize a Palestinian state; Israel will seek retribution against the "uppity" Palestinians by adding new settlements and placing new pressures on the occupied lands; Congress will then call for a suspension of aid; and the Arab World will be enraged....There will be consequences, because Palestine matters and Arab opinions matter. And in the context of the Arab Spring, they matter more than ever."

"The world breathed a sigh of relief when Barack Obama took the oath of office in 2009. They had great hopes that he would change direction, restoring America's image. But the challenges have been greater than the efforts of one President. Facing stiff partisan opposition at home and weak support from his own party, that often cowered in the face of attacks, the President was unable to close Guantanamo, reintroduce fundamental principles like due process, and judicial oversight, change direction in the conduct of Middle East foreign policies, and restore civility to our domestic political discourse....The net result is that ten years after 9/11, we look back at a painful decade of loss, and look forward to real challenges that we must address."

If we look a little deeper, we realize that the Royal reversion has precious little to do with respecting the past or rediscovering a distant military pride… It has everything to do with bastardizing the past.

"While it is true that the Arab World is changing, the change we need begins here at home, in our understanding of and our approach to this critical region of the world. And this we know won't happen unless we are organized to play a role in helping to shape the national debate in 2012....This is going to be a different election. Just how different it will be depends, in part, on how organized and engaged we are."

"This highlights, more than anything, the GOP's dilemma: in a year they desperately want to win and feel they can win, their base has moved so far to the right, that they may end up choosing a candidate whose views do not reflect America's mainstream, and who is, therefore, unelectable."

"The Arab League should make it clear that the Assad regime has lost whatever legitimacy it once claimed in the Arab World and promptly suspend its membership in the organization, declaring that the regime has forfeited the right to play a role in Syria's and the region's future. While this step will not, by itself, bring about either an end to the violence or pave the way for a managed transition of power, it will further isolate and expose the regime. And because the current opposition is not ready to take control of the country, the Arab League could join with Turkey in convening a conference of Syrian stakeholders to help prepare them for transition, offering to provide the resources and hands-on support for this transition. It is especially important that in convening this conference an effort be made to involve all segments of Syrian society, creating a national dialogue that will assure religious and ethnic minorities that their rights as equal citizens in the Syria of tomorrow are secure."

"What is both tragic and irritating is the way Republicans have reacted in the face of both self-inflicted wounds...they greeted the Standard and Poor's downgrade, not as an indictment of their intransigence, but as a club they could use to beat the President. In doing this they ignored the fact that 80% of the current debt faced by the U.S. was the result of the failed policies they had embraced during the Bush years (tax cuts that drained the Treasury of needed revenues, two costly wars, and an unfunded prescription drug plan that had been designed to benefit pharmaceutical companies more than senior citizens). Here too, their response was to propose more tax cuts and more war digging deeper the holes they had already dug....If America is to reestablish confidence, either in its financial stability or its ability to demonstrate constructive leadership in the search for peace, this dysfunction must end. A dramatic change in direction is desperately needed."

"It's always easier to pick the numbers with which you agree, and ignore the ones with which you don't agree or to simply try to discredit the poll in toto. But the danger in both approaches is that they ignore reality—and the reality here is one that demands attention. When over 4,000 Arabs from Morocco to the Arab Gulf States are asked their views about critical issues of importance to the region and to peace, it is important that they be heard and understood. For too long, Arabs have been ignored. Polling opens a window, letting Arab voices be heard. There is a danger in ignoring what they are saying."