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In: Donald Trump, Palestine

Will the Saudi offensive work? If it does, it will re-entrench the Arab dictatorship model that thrived for so long in the region. That may or not be the model that someone like Mahmoud Abbas prefers, but it is now the only wagon to which he can hitch his hopes. Trump has created the opportunity to see if that tactic will work. If it does, hopes for democracy will have suffered a serious defeat. If it fails, the recent revival of Iranian regime change in US policy circles shows we are not learning from defeats and mistakes.Continue Reading

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In: Gaza

Nothing about Israel’s actions justified Hamas’ crimes. The same is true in the reverse, however. Israel has every right to defend its citizens from these criminal attacks, and virtually no one debates that point. The question is whether the measures they took to do so were in accordance with the laws of war and whether the alarmingly high volume of civilian deaths, injuries and property damage was an unfortunate result of war or the result of a lack of proper care, willful or not, to try to avoid civilian casualties.Continue Reading

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In: US-Israel Lobby

the key will be to find ways to bolster the confidence of the Israeli public in a way Netanyahu cannot deny while preserving the Iran deal and trying to revive some hope for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This won’t be accomplished because AIPAC was weakened in the Iran nuclear fight. Instead, it can come about because progressive forces were strengthened and unified and found smart ways to counter a lobby that is both well-funded and very good at what it does.Continue Reading