While national security and foreign policy did not play a role in the November 2018 mid-term Congressional election, the outcome of the election will impact President Trump’s maneuverability in the arenas of foreign policy, national and homeland security. While the power of the newly-elected, Democratic-controlled House will be substantially neutralized…
Expressions of grief, shock and solidarity came from all corners Saturday and Sunday as a horrified nation learned about a Jew-hating gunman’s attack on a historic Pittsburgh synagogue. Eleven Jews were killed because they were Jews, gathered for Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue. Four Pittsburgh law enforcement…
The recent reopening of a border crossing between Israel and Syria holds the hope of stability as the Syrian war draws to a close. But if Iran, Hizballah, and allied radical Shi’ite militias have their way, Syria will be hijacked and turned into a radical Iranian power projection base. Any…
While Iraq delivers staunchly pro-Palestinian talk, a 2017 Iraqi law has reversed Saddam Hussein’s pro-Palestinian policy, depriving Palestinians (including those born in Iraq) of free education, healthcare, travel documents and employment in state institutions. While Jordan calls for sweeping Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, and while the Hashemite regime has absorbed…
One of our staffers made a mistake on social media Monday involving the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). When CAIR pointed it out, he acknowledged the error and deleted the inaccurate post. But that wasn’t good enough. CAIR likened his position working for IPT Executive Director Steven Emerson to being…
The evolution of President Trump’s stance on the Palestinian issue reflects extrication from conventional wisdom, which was embraced by his predecessors and the establishment of the State Department, academia and the media, while systematically crashed against the rocks of Middle East reality. In contrast to his predecessors, Trump and his…
Former CIA Director John Brennan wants Americans to view him as a victim of President Trump’s alleged effort to “suppress freedom of speech & punish critics.” President Trump ordered Brennan’s clearance stripped in July, a decision announced on Aug. 15. “It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking…
President Obama called Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s president, one of his five favorite foreign leaders. President Trump has taken a different posture on Turkey. On Friday, August 10, he tweeted that “our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” Since Erdogan’s re-election in June, the Turkish lira has fallen from 4.6 Turkish lira…
As the United States and its coalition partners continue to squeeze ISIS out of its remaining territory in Iraq and Syria, more and more foreign fighters are returning to their home countries. This migration from the battlefield to the hometown is causing great concern among Western counterterrorism authorities. The question…
It seemed fitting, even at the time, that the vast carnage of World War II was finally ended by a weapon of such enormous destructive power that it altered mankind’s concept of the very nature of war. Today, cyber weapons are as disruptive a technology as the atomic bomb, requiring…
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC), on the one hand, and human rights, on the other hand, constitute a classic oxymoron, as underlined by the country-membership of the Council. Moreover, since its establishment in 2006, and just like its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the HRC has been…
Israel’s domestic intelligence agency chief Nadav Argaman last week released sobering figures on the scope of the ongoing terrorist threat facing Israelis. The figures that make it clear that the relative quiet routine in Israeli cities is deceptive, and that this quiet rests completely on counter-terrorist efforts, which almost defy…