Skirmishes on the Indian front
DELHI -- What do you make of this month's attacks on Pathankot Air Force Station and Bacha Khan University? My guess is you don't know -- you've heard next to nothing about either. Published January 26, 2016
Clifford D. May
Articles by Clifford D. May
The threat to America's national existence
President Obama judged the Islamic State the "JV team," boasted that he'd set al Qaeda "on its heels" and implemented successful counterterrorism policies in Yemen. He insists that both the nuclear deal and the hostages-for-felons swap he concluded with Iran's rulers are triumphs of diplomacy. Published January 19, 2016
Erdogan and the meaning of Hitler
It's one of those questions political science majors debate over too many beers at the college pub: Which is better, a parliamentary system or a government headed by a powerful chief executive? Published January 5, 2016
Boys in the Brotherhood
Among Western leaders these days, truth-telling is hardly habitual. So I feel compelled to give credit where credit is due: to British Prime Minister David Cameron for speaking frankly about the Muslim Brotherhood. Published December 29, 2015
The early returns on Obama's Iran deal
Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opened a hearing last week with these candid, if not immortal, words: "I think the agreement is off to a really terrible start." Published December 22, 2015
Perfect submission possible
Michel Houellebecq is a sardonic and iconoclastic French novelist, winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt, and subject of considerable controversy in Europe these days. He deserves to be controversial here in the United States as well. Published December 15, 2015
Divided we fall
"Divide and conquer" describes an age-old military concept: If your enemies are fighting among themselves, they can't effectively battle you. Phillip II of Macedon, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were among those who employed this tactic to defeat more powerful forces. Would-be conquerors of the 21st century are lucky: Their enemies can't agree about anything -- not even which barbarians are at the gate. Published December 8, 2015
Unexpected miracle in the Holy Land
Thirty years ago, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, an Egyptian politician and diplomat who would go on to become United Nations secretary-general in 1992, warned of Middle Eastern wars to come. His prediction was correct, but he was wrong about the cause. What should have worried him was the rise of extremist movements within the Islamic world. What worried him instead was water. Published December 1, 2015
Memo to presidential campaign advisers
This memorandum is addressed to the brave souls advising presidential candidates. As you know, the recent terrorist attacks in France -- and in Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel -- have altered the political landscape. With less than a year to go before the 2016 election, the landscape may stay altered even if there are no more attacks -- and that seems unlikely. Published November 24, 2015
Forget Paris
For almost two generations, since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, self-proclaimed jihadis have been fighting to re-establish Islamic supremacy and domination in the world. Leaders of the nations they have been targeting have regarded them as a problem -- but mostly not as dangerous enemies who must be decisively defeated. Published November 17, 2015
A suggestion for the Islamic State book club
After a long week of slitting throats, smashing antiquities and raping infidel slave girls, how do the Islamic State's barbarians unwind? Some, apparently, discuss the finer points of history. Published November 10, 2015
An unhappy United Nations birthday
Did it escape your attention that last month was the 70th birthday of the United Nations? Did you miss the opportunity to celebrate by following Elyx on an "exciting 70-day (virtual) trip around the world to shine light on the U.N.'s work"? Published November 3, 2015
Jobless and desperate Palestinians
A few years ago, Daniel Birnbaum, an Israeli businessman, had an odd idea: "I decided I wanted to employ Palestinians." Published October 27, 2015
Cutthroats of the Holy Land
JERUSALEM -- Over the years, Israelis have had to defend themselves from foreign armies, suicide bombers and missiles. Over recent weeks, they've been confronting a new threat: young Palestinians wielding butcher knives. Published October 20, 2015
Why Turkey is now a target and a tinderbox
"We will manage the wave of change in the Middle East. Just as we have an ideal in our minds about Turkey, we have an ideal of a new Middle East." Published October 13, 2015
Argentine murder mystery
When heads of state gather, as they did for the United Nations General Assembly last week, you have a choice: Tune out or prepare to be bathed in blather, boilerplate and blatant lies. Published October 6, 2015
Putin's progress
Not long after the implosion of the Soviet Union, I attended a conference in Moscow. The topic: how Russia would evolve in the post-communist era about to begin. Most participants were confident and optimistic. A few of us Americans -- not so much. Published September 29, 2015
Why Republican presidential candidates support Israel
So last week during the Republican debate, hundreds of thousands of people read your tweets lambasting four of the candidates -- Gov. Chris Christie, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz -- for expressing their strong support for Israel. Published September 22, 2015
The exodus to Europe's promised lands
Hundreds of thousands of migrants are leaving the Middle East, heading to what they see as the promised lands of Europe and, if possible, America. Notice where they are not going. Published September 15, 2015
The deadly danger of appeasing Iran
"Appeasement" gets a bad rap but, strictly speaking, the word implies nothing more than an attempt to make peace. If aggrieved adversaries can be pacified by reasonable concessions, what's wrong with that? Published September 15, 2015
