Lebanon’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity were for decades violated by Syria, during the years of Syrian occupation: 1976 to 2005. After the occupation ended, the Assad regime in Syria continued to intervene in Lebanon, but less openly–for example by secretly arranging the murders a long series of Lebanese leaders and journalists who opposed Syrian interests. Read more »

What do Syrian rebels want? “The vast majority of Syrian opposition activists, according to a new, systematic survey of more than 1,000 of them, express relatively moderate views about Islamic issues. They also voice support for many key democratic values — and most look to the West and other democracies for inspiration and protection.” Read more »

In June 2009, President Obama addressed the Muslim world in a speech in Cairo.  About Israel, he said this:

America’s strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied. Read more »

President Obama is at the UN General Assembly today and the total number of foreign leaders with whom he is meeting is zero. These private meetings between two leaders are known as “bilats,” short for bilateral meetings, and they are critical to the success of American foreign policy. Read more »

The policy of the Obama administration toward China has been a failure. Secretary Clinton’s recent trip was a reminder of this, because it was filled with friction and achieved very little. Here is an account from the Los Angeles Times: Read more »

A recent story in the Washington Post suggested that the excitement in recent years about Turkish domination of the Middle East, neo-Ottomanism, and neo-imperialism is now coming to an end. Read more »

Is Egypt an ally of the United States?

Yesterday President Obama said “I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy.” Read more »

I commented this morning at the National Review web site on the attacks in Cairo and Benghazi.

My questions include, on Cairo: Why was police protection not provided until it was too late, given that the protests were planned and known in advance; Where is Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi? Why has he not gone on Egyptian TV to express outrage?  And at the American end, what did the State Department say to our embassies around the world, and particularly in the Islamic world, about risks and protective steps? Did State learn the lessons of the Danish cartoon crisis, or did it fall down on the job? Read more »

Palestinian president and PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will seek to upgrade the PLO’s status at the UN when the General Assembly meets this month.

Previous efforts to attain full UN membership were blocked by the United States in the Security Council. But the General Assembly can elevate the PLO’s status from “observer” to “non-member observer state.” This is the status the Vatican has, and others—such as Austria—have held this status in the past before joining the UN. Read more »