Monday January 30, 2012
ABU DHABI, UAE: I've just finished teaching a three week January term course at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus (NYUAD). I've had the great fortune to teach before at some wonderful schools across the U.S. But this, for me, was a special experience, the result of the unique mix of students who had been brought together in this one place. Read More »
Monday January 23, 2012
I am writing this from Dubai one day before South Carolina voters go to the polls. While it might have been nice had I been able to wait until late Saturday night when the votes were counted, with deadlines being deadlines, I must write now. In a way, though, it doesn't matter, since the particular observations I want to make aren't dependent on the outcome. Read More »
Tuesday January 17, 2012
I listened attentively to Syrian President Bashar al Assad's most recent speech in which he berated the Arab League's intervention to help stem the violence currently racking his country. Claiming that he was listening to his countrymen and speaking for them and that his regime was the standard-bearer of "Arabism,” al Assad denounced the League as not representing true Arab sentiment. For obvious reasons, we can't poll in Syria right now, but as the past ten months of mass protests and the unremitting and largely regime-sponsored violence have made clear, al Assad may speak for some, but certainly not all Syrians. Read More »
Monday January 09, 2012
Amidst all the fuss about President Obama's sagging poll numbers, the struggling U.S. economy, and "who's up and who's down" in the Republican presidential primary contest, American University Professor Allan Lichtman has issued his "sure fire" prediction for the outcome of the November, 2012 election. Read More »
Tuesday January 03, 2012
Watching Tea Party radicals triumph over reasoned compromise in the Congress and Republican party candidates drive themselves rightward off the road in an effort to appeal to their increasingly hardline base reminds me of the adage we learned as children: it is dangerous to play with fire, not only because you run the risk of the blaze burning out of control, but also because you, yourself, can become the flame's first victim. Read More »
Monday December 26, 2011
The dust left in the wake of U.S. forces departing from Iraq had barely settled when Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki intensified his crackdown against Sunni Arab leaders, deepening the country’s sectarian divide. While American leaders may speak glowingly of Iraq's new democracy, all evidence points to serious problems on the road ahead. This can be discerned both from events on the ground and also from the results of our most recent poll of Iraqi public opinion. Read More »
Monday December 19, 2011
Nine months into the “Arab Spring,” we surveyed public opinion in seven Arab countries and Iran, asking over 6,000 respondents about their primary political concerns and their degree of satisfaction with the pace of change taking place in their countries. What we found was that an "Arab Spring" effect had occurred, with reform and rights issues now being perceived as political priorities in most countries. Read More »
Monday December 12, 2011
On December 7, 2012, six Republican candidates for President (Rep. Ron Paul was not invited) appeared before the Republican Jewish Coalition (NRC) to campaign for Christian votes. There are Jewish Republicans, to be sure, but not enough to make a difference in this primary contest. No, the real prize that drew the candidates to the NRC event were the 40% of GOP primary voters who are declared "born-again" Christians who fervently believe that Israel can do no wrong and that it is their religious duty to support any and all Israeli policies as a prerequisite to hasten the "Day of Judgment". Read More »
Monday December 05, 2011
In just one year, relations between the United States and Turkey have moved from tension to cooperation. This was the focus of remarks by a Turkish journalist speaking at the opening session at the second convention of the Turkic American Alliance. After reviewing the differences in the bilateral relationship, then and now, he asked rather pointedly, "What happened to account for this change and where will it lead us?" Read More »
Monday November 28, 2011
With the date for US forces to be fully withdrawn from Iraq fast approaching, it is important to remind ourselves how we got into that long and deadly war in the first place, to recognize that this conflict is far from over, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for the horrors they created during the past eight years. Read More »
Monday November 21, 2011
Shortly after Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, I was invited to a dinner at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. in honor of Ray Lahoud. Lahoud had just been named as Secretary of Transportation, and the Embassy was proud that the grandson of Lebanese immigrants had been named to serve in the new President's cabinet. It was, in many ways, a special night that captured the mood of Washington in early 2009. Read More »
Monday November 14, 2011
This presidential election couldn't have come at a worse time for America and the Arab World. Since candidates are more focused on politics than on sound policy, critical issues will not receive the thoughtfulness they require. Read More »
Monday November 07, 2011
The hysteria on display in Washington over UNESCO's vote to include Palestine as a member of the world body, though largely a manufactured effort, was, nevertheless, irritating and a sad commentary on the dysfunctional nature of U.S. politics. Read More »
Monday October 31, 2011
Several months back, when the Arab League suspended Libya's membership and passed a resolution supporting a "no-fly zone" over the country; it appeared to be a one-off affair. Muammar Qadhafi had worked hard, for decades, to make himself a regional pariah. His bizarre behavior, his reign of terror, and his absurd policy pronouncements had long outraged and embarrassed many across the Arab World. Read More »
Monday October 24, 2011
In 1981, my brother, John Zogby, ran for Mayor of Utica, New York. Like other factory towns across New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-Western states, Utica was in decline. The factories that had employed tens of thousands had closed and gone south. With the loss of these jobs, the city was in the beginning of a steep decline. Read More »
Monday October 17, 2011
This Presidential election is beginning to look a lot like the contest of 1996, which saw a battered Bill Clinton win a second term in office by defeating Republican Senator Bob Dole. There are differences, to be sure, but the similarities are striking. Read More »
Tuesday October 11, 2011
Having spent time this week in both New Hampshire and Iowa, the states featuring the first presidential nominating contests of 2012, and having been in Michigan the week before, I am getting the feeling that this has all the makings of a very strange election. Foremost among the reasons for this is the fact that the country is in a deep funk. The numbers tell it all. Read More »
Monday October 03, 2011
Back when I was in Catholic elementary school and in the Boy Scouts, we would often be enlisted to participate in fund-raising drives that had us going door-to-door in our neighborhoods collecting money for various charities or causes (school or church related projects, scouting trips, etc). Engaging in this exercise, year after year, taught us some lessons about human behavior. Read More »
Monday September 26, 2011
This was a disturbing and dangerous week at the United Nations. After all the drama leading up to this session of the General Assembly, we come away with three troubling facts clearly established: the Palestinians, despite a valiant effort, are no closer to a state; the Israelis are more isolated, yet more emboldened than before; while the United States emerges from the week weaker and less trusted as a world leader. Read More »
Monday September 19, 2011
It took mass demonstrations followed by the take-over of their embassy in Egypt last week for some in Israel to wake up to the fact that the Palestinian issue remains a flash point for Arab public opinion. The U.S. Congress and policy-makers in Washington, on the other hand, appear to remain oblivious to this rather obvious reality. Read More »
RT @jensalan: #Egypt sends 43 NGO workers to trial over funds – bans them from travel @aaiusa http://t.co/NcJxQlfO
about 6 hours, 13 minutes ago.
RT @jensalan: #Egypt Will Try 19 Americans on Criminal Charges http://t.co/cPlVIRlr including #SamLahood @aaiusa @ajstream
about 6 hours, 37 minutes ago.
#Egypt sends 43 NGO workers to trial over funds – bans them from travel @aaiusa http://t.co/NcJxQlfO
about 6 hours, 37 minutes ago.
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 18
Be Part of the Change!ABU DHABI, UAE: I've just finished teaching a three week January term course at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus (NYUAD). I've had the great fortune to teach before at some wonderful schools across the U.S. But this, for me, was a special experience, the result of the unique mix of students who had been brought together in this one place. Read More »
Air Date: 12/29/2011
Rob Malley, Middle East and North Africa Program Director at the International Crisis Group; Amb. Hussein Hassouna, Chief Representative of the League of Arab States to the United States; Lara Friedman, Director of Policy and Government Relations for Americans for Peace Now. Read More »
The subcommittee's meeting today to explore whether there are risk factors or preincident indicators of terrorist activity identified by intelligence and law enforcement organizations to enable them in thwarting attacks while preserving -- let me repeat that -- preserving individuals' right to privacy and civil liberties. Read More »
