News Abroad

What’s Wrong with Calling ISIS Medieval?

by Yoav J. Tenembaum

What’s wrong is that it’s an insult to the Middle Ages. It also lets us off the hook.

2 Things We Should Stop Doing If We Want to Avoid War with Russia

by Walter G. Moss

We need less hubris, name calling and applying simplistic “historical lessons.”

Get Used to Hearing About Uighurs and Other Minorities in China's Borderlands.    They're in an Angry Mood.

by David Eimer

It's not just Tibetans who feel aggrieved.  China's many minorities are restive.

This Is What Happened to the Last Person Who Claimed the Caliphate. It Didn't End Well for Him. There’s a Lesson in that.

by Conor Meleady

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will be no more successful in winning the support of the Muslim world than Husayn of Mecca, the last person to claim the caliph's mantle.

Shia and Sunni Have Been at Each Other’s Throats for a Thousand Years? Architecture Shows this Isn’t True.

by Stephennie Mulder

What Architecture Can Tell Us about the Sectarian History of Islam

Gaza: How We Got Here ... The Struggle for Palestine (1947-1973)

by William R. Polk

A masterful account of the history of the Middle East crisis that has dominated headlines for decades. 

The Sad Reason We Don't Know More About Ebola

by Pearl Duncan

It’s been said that one of the reasons the Ebola virus went out of control, undetected, is because so little attention is paid to Africa. Not only is little attention paid to issues in current Africa, but very little is known about African history.

“But Is It Good for the Jews?”

by Lawrence Davidson

If you are over fifty and were raised in a Jewish household, you either heard this question explicitly asked numerous times or were subtly encouraged to think the question to yourself.

Worrying about ISIS Makes Sense. Bombing Does Not. What We Need to Do Is Take Advantage of the Fact that a Majority in the Middle East Don't Like ISIS

by Chris Wilson

"It is time to face facts: if you want to stop terror, deprive it of the conditions that allow it to thrive and fall on the side of justice for the people of the region as the policy is pursued."

Now that the Guns in Gaza Have Been Silenced, a Moment for Peace Has Arrived. Seriously.

by Alon Ben-Meir

"I am happy to be accused of having pipedreams time and again. But it is unforgivable to let over 2,100 Palestinians (including nearly 500 children) and 69 Israelis die in vain."

The Real Lessons of 1914

by Ralph Seliger

What we should learn from World War I is not to engage in quixotic military crusades, nor to mount wars of choice in the face of overwhelming international opposition.

This Is What Working for Peace Looks Like

by William Lambers

They called it The Little Marshall Plan. It worked. It should inspire us. We need it now.

The American Cult of Bombing

by William Astore

Why you should expect more bombs to be dropped everywhere.

Why the World Should Listen to Pope Francis

by Lawrence S. Wittner

It’s time―indeed, long past time―for governments to strengthen the United Nations and, as Pope Francis has reminded us, to respect its authority as the voice of the world community.

How Ferguson Is Playing in the Rest of the World

by Aaron Brown

During the Cold War, the United States was often criticized abroad for its inability to deal with the issue of Civil Rights--and now we are once again.

Intervention? It's more like Ceaseless Escalation.

by Elliott Colla

The architects of the invasion sought to remake Iraqi society and they did.

Channeling George: Regaining the Initiative

by Thomas Fleming

What George Washington might tell us we should do about the mess we face in foreign policy.  

Gaza: How We Got Here ... The Deep Cause of War

by William R. Polk

"Allow me to show how the events of today were preordained and how patterns of action have been repeated year after year."

It's Deja Vu All Over Again in Iraq

by Juan Cole

Obama’s hope that the so-called “Islamic State” can be stopped by US air power is likely forlorn. The IS is a guerrilla force, not a conventional army.

A Letter to My Fellow Jews

by Andrew Meyer

Without Palestine, eventually there will be no Israel.