It's never a good idea to extrapolate a trend from just a couple of data points, but the downing of Kogalymavia Flight 9832 a couple of weeks ago and the Paris attack on Friday (assuming that ISIS was behind both) may illustrate a shift in ISIS's tactics away from insurgent warfare and toward international terrorism. … Continue reading Progress never comes without cost
Category: world affairs
Cannibalizing the Past
I really don't have much to say about Benjamin Netanyahu's latest kerfuffle, the one where he intimated that (an apparently reluctant) Adolf Hitler was talked into exterminating the Jews (all he wanted to do was expel them from Europe) by Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during the 1920s and most of the … Continue reading Cannibalizing the Past
Starting from Basic Principles
Writing that piece about Libya put me in mind of a piece I flagged months ago but never did anything with. "First, Do No Harm" is the title of the second piece I thought of on Friday, a 2010 essay from analyst David Reiff in The New Republic. Reiff also went from being a liberal/humanitarian … Continue reading Starting from Basic Principles
Minding the Minders
The UN makes a very big deal out of its role in protecting human rights around the world. Don't take my word for it; take theirs: The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN's founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the … Continue reading Minding the Minders
The Joys of Empire
I suppose it's time to write something about Robert Kaplan's awful "Imperialism is Actually Good" hot take from Foreign Policy a couple of weeks ago. First I need to confess something. Every time I read a piece like Kaplan's (or like Graeme Wood's "ISIS is really very Islamic" piece from March, though in that case … Continue reading The Joys of Empire
Are the “Sudairi Seven” consolidating power?
Earlier today, or late last night if you're in the US, we all received a pretty big announcement out of Saudi Arabia: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz sacked his younger half-brother as crown prince and appointed his nephew, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as the new heir apparent, state television said....King Salman also appointed … Continue reading Are the “Sudairi Seven” consolidating power?
The reformer who didn’t really reform anything
There seems to be a theme in the early eulogizing of Saudi King Abdullah b. Abdulaziz, who died yesterday at the age of 90, give or take. See if you can pick out what it is: Yes, Abdullah was a reformer, which may come as a surprise to some of you at home, but not … Continue reading The reformer who didn’t really reform anything
Sykes-Picot Still Confounds
Hey, I've moved! If you enjoy this post you can find more of my writing at Foreign Exchanges, a Substack newsletter covering a variety of topics in history and foreign affairs. Check it out today and become a subscriber! Jennifer Thea Gordon at National Interest has what is actually not a bad piece challenging the … Continue reading Sykes-Picot Still Confounds
What Is a Caliphate and Should You Be Terrified of It?
Apparently ISIS isn't ISIS anymore. Or ISIL, either. I mean, feel free to keep calling it those things, but the group itself is now just going by "The Islamic State" (IS), or al-Dawlat al-Islamiyah in Arabic. This move clarifies all the questions people have been asking about the group's name, from whether it's better to … Continue reading What Is a Caliphate and Should You Be Terrified of It?
What is a “Man of Peace,” anyway?
Hey, I've moved! If you enjoy this post you can find more of my writing at Foreign Exchanges, a Substack newsletter covering a variety of topics in history and foreign affairs. Check it out today and become a subscriber! The outpouring of “man of peace” eulogies after Ariel Sharon’s death on January 11 got me … Continue reading What is a “Man of Peace,” anyway?
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 