The nation-state is a relatively new idea -- scholars generally trace it back to the 17th century. It has its flaws, but has anyone come up with a better approach to world order? A nation-state enjoys sovereignty over its territory. Territories are separated by borders. Securing those borders may require barriers and controlled points of entry. Published May 16, 2017
"Hamas Drops Call for Israel's Destruction," headlined The Wall Street Journal last week. The New York Times told its readers: "Hamas Moderates Talk on Israel." And the United Kingdom's The Guardian concluded that Hamas had produced a document likely to "ease peace process." Published May 9, 2017
"I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom." So said President George W. Bush in 2004. Leave for another day the debate over whether such a belief is more hopeful than realistic. What we do know: Tyrants and terrorists around the world are persecuting, torturing and slaughtering those whose hearts do desire freedom -- even the most basic. Published May 2, 2017
Sometimes international law is ambiguous. Sometimes not. When it comes to murdering civilians and using chemical weapons to get the job done, there are no gray areas, no fuzzy lines, no mitigating circumstances. Published April 25, 2017
On the grounds of the Turkish Embassy facing Massachusetts Ave. in Washington, D.C. is a statue of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, father of the Republic of Turkey, the nation-state he built from the rubble of the defeated Ottoman Empire and Islamic caliphate. Published April 18, 2017
If you're still unsure about whether President Trump did the right thing when he launched 59 cruise missiles at Syria's Shayrat air base last week, consider the alternative. Published April 11, 2017
Whatever happened to Charlie Hebdo? For years, the French satirical magazine threw spit balls at polite society. Its writers and cartoonists particularly delighted in ridiculing religions and pieties. Some people found that amusing and thought-provoking. Others were appalled and offended. Such is life in a free country. Published April 4, 2017
"The Kafir's Blood Is Halal For You, So Shed it." That's just one of the catchier headlines in a recent issue of Rumiyah, a slick online magazine published by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. Published March 28, 2017
America can do anything but America can't do everything, at least not within a four-year time frame. That suggests that the American president -- any American president -- needs to prioritize. Published March 21, 2017
Pakistan was meant to be a model, an example for other nations to emulate. It was founded after World War II, as the sun was setting on the British Empire and India was preparing for independence. India's Muslims, though glad to see the end of the Raj, were apprehensive about becoming a minority in a Hindu-majority land. Published March 14, 2017
This palm-fringed oasis in the Jordan Valley has been continuously inhabited for 10,000 years. That justifies it billing itself as the "oldest city in the world." Published March 7, 2017
Intellectuals of the left and those influenced by them judge the United States and certain European nations as uniquely guilty of imperialism, colonialism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia -- the list goes on. Published February 28, 2017
Saudi Arabia is changing. When government officials here tell you that, you take it with an oversized grain of salt. But when Saudi human rights activists say the same, you pay attention. Published February 21, 2017
Al Qaeda does not value diversity and it's not an equal opportunity employer. The same can be said of the Islamic State. And when the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran want to commit an act of terrorism -- the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, to take just one example -- they are likely to give the assignment to members of Hezbollah, a radical Islamic group of the Shia persuasion. They are highly unlikely to recruit Unitarians, Mormons or Baha'i. Published February 7, 2017
This may come as a shock: It's possible, not likely but possible, that a committee of officials from the Defense, State and Justice Departments, as well as the National Security Council, will conduct a review of the disproportionate funding the United States provides to the United Nations and, hold onto your hats, come to the conclusion that American taxpayers should spend less on an organization that is inefficient, corrupt and inimical to American interests. Published January 31, 2017
In an inaugural address that was more purposeful than poetic, President Trump last Friday vowed to "unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth." I hope we can agree, across party and ideological lines, that those are worthwhile objectives. Published January 24, 2017
Death, where is thy sting? For Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, it certainly didn't come from the mainstream media. Published January 17, 2017
Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee was mischievous. Did it change the outcome of the 2016 elections? No evidence suggests that and the intelligence community isn't claiming that. Published January 10, 2017
It's apparent that Donald Trump was -- to employ a neologism coined by President George W. Bush 16 years ago -- misunderestimated. But those who gave odds that he couldn't transform from a successful businessman into a successful politician are now betting he can't transform from a successful politician into a successful statesman. Published January 3, 2017
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is, as its name suggests, an organization committed to jihad — against Israel most urgently, though not exclusively. So when the U.N. Security Council on Friday passed a resolution condemning Israel, PIJ spokesman Dawood Shihab was pleased. He called it a "victory." He wasn't wrong. Published December 27, 2016
