Jewish Day Schools Need Security Rethink — Now

Jewish Day Schools Need Security Rethink — Now The Forward The horrific murder of 20 small children and six adults at an elementary school in the quiet suburb of Newtown, Conn., was a jolting reminder of just how vulnerable our schools remain. Practically overnight, parents around the country demanded that schools significantly improve their security, and administrators began the process of deciding what changes needed to be made, how quickly they could be implemented and how to pay for them. In many ways, the Sandy Hook massacre was the 9/11 of the American school system. It was the unfortunate wakeup call that was needed to show that too many of our schools are wholly unprepared to deal with most types of major emergencies. Yet Sandy Hook Elementary School itself did have a relatively robust plan in place for dealing with active shooters and other emergencies. It was a plan that not only saved a lot of lives on that horrific December 14 morning, but was also significantly more advanced and drilled than what exists at most Jewish schools. Read more at: http://forward.com/articles/170151/jewish-day-schools-need-security-rethink-now/#ixzz2JT7TToDy

No Run-of-the-Mill Islamists

Hezbollah and Hamas have been capturing the world’s headlines for nearly 30 years. These two notorious organizations share more than just an enemy in Israel and an ally in Iran. Hezbollah has also served as a model for Hamas, with similar political structures, terrorist and military tactics, propaganda apparatuses and social welfare systems. Cooperation between the two organizations burgeoned in 1992, when Israel expelled more than 400 Palestinians to the southern Lebanese border, where they met with and learned from Hezbollah operatives. After intense international pressure, Israel eventually allowed those Palestinians to return to their homes. And when they did, they brought with them new lines of communication, further training, and a deadly new tactic: the suicide bomb. Since that time, both Hezbollah and Hamas have matured greatly. To call them just “terrorist organizations” does not do them or their victims justice; these are not your run-of-the-mill Islamist terrorists. Today the groups are major political players in Lebanon and Gaza, respectively. With help from Iran, Hezbollah in particular has influence and power projection in many regions around the world. Both organizations cunningly use their political, military and religious might to remain in control and to combat their domestic opponents... Click here to read the entire op-ed at The Forward

The Trouble with Syria

It's been over 16 months since the "Arab Spring" first reached the shores of Syria. 16 months of gun battles, defections and condemnations that have slowly loosened the iron grip of the ruling Assad regime. With heavy fighting in the capital of Damascus, and with much of the country now in the hands of opposition forces, it would appear as though one of the most authoritarian regimes on earth is on its way to total collapse. For many people around the world, that country's civil war might not appear to have particular significance for them. Yet the troubles in Syria could quickly escalate, causing very real consequences felt worldwide...

Click here to read the entire op-ed at the Huffington Post

How the Presidential Election Could Lead to an Israeli Strike on Iran

National elections have long caught the attention of both domestic and foreign populations, and nowhere has this been more evident than in U.S. presidential elections. The man or woman that Americans vote into office can have a significant impact on the policies of countries around the world. America's adversaries, in particular, have been aware of this reality for quite some time. Examples abound, and include Ayatollah Khomeini and Jimmy Carter, Nikita Khrushchev and JFK, Kim Jong Il and Bill Clinton, and of course, Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush. But rarely has an election played such a significant role in the policies of an American ally. For the first time in recent history, the presidential elections are playing a momentous role in the decision-making process of one of the United States' strongest allies, Israel.

Click here to read the entire op-ed.

Never Underestimate Israeli Ingenuity

As the battle of both words and deeds heats up between Iran and the west, some experts have begun to question whether Israel even truly has the capability to effectively strike Iran's nuclear facilities. A recent assessment by American defense officials, for example, outlined the difficulties that Israel's air force would have in conducting an attack on Iran. Other analysts have claimed that Israel is creating a disinformation campaign about its capabilities in order to deter its adversaries. The truth, however, is that Israeli ingenuity has proven itself time and again, with Israel's enemies consistently regretting when they have underestimated Israeli military capabilities.

Read the entire article here.

How Not to Withdraw from Afghanistan

Last week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated publicly for the first time that the United States would end combat operations in Afghanistan by mid-2013. While the defense secretary argued that U.S. forces would follow the model of the American withdrawal from Iraq, it seems more likely that it will repeat the mistakes made by the Soviets during their withdrawal from Afghanistan nearly 25 years ago. Let's be clear: deciding to withdraw from Afghanistan is not the problem. There are many legitimate arguments to be made for the U.S. to have pulled out of Afghanistan long ago -- such as after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. The main problem is the way in which the withdrawal is being conducted by the United States. Its activities will do nothing to advance the American role in Afghanistan or around the world. On the contrary, it may ultimately result in further coalition casualties, and embolden the Taliban, Iran, Pakistan, and al Qaeda.

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Happy Holidays: Time to Increase Our Operational Security

Operational security at the community level is a critical element that needs to be better addressed by both government entities and religious groups alike. While there are millions of worshipers filing into churches and synagogues over the holiday season, security is few and far between at these locations. Nobody knows their communities as well as the worshipers themselves, and even the largest police forces cannot protect every house of worship all of the time. It it critical for religious groups to partner with law enforcement in order to better monitor their communities, and work as trained eyes and ears for the police. Rather than leave it to vigilantism, government agencies should work to nurture responsible organizations.

Read the rest of the article here.

Fall of the Qaddafi Regime: A Brief Analysis

On October 20, 2011, the former strongman of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was captured and killed in his hometown of Sirte. The "King of Kings" of Africa, who had ruled the oil-rich North African country with an iron fist for over four decades and had an ego that made other megalomaniacs look humble, was no more.

Read the rest of the analysis here...

Negotiating With Terrorists

The world has just witnessed yet another historic, lopsided prisoner exchange between Israel and a terrorist organization. When Hamas abducted Gilad Shalit back in June of 2006, it followed in the footsteps of Hezbollah and numerous Palestinian groups that had successfully kidnapped and traded Israelis, dead or alive, in return for the fulfillment of their own interests. The Shalit deal resulted in the release of over 1000 Palestinian Arabs, including hundreds with "blood on their hands" that were implicated in some of Israel's worst terrorist attacks. Despite Israeli, American, and other Western claims to the contrary, states regularly engage in negotiations with terrorists.

Read the rest in The Huffington Post

Withdrawing From Afghanistan

Pressure is growing for the United States to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. The assassination of Osama bin Laden gave President Obama a passing but welcome reprieve from criticism and low poll ratings, yet it also led to a growing chorus of Americans who are urging the administration to pull out large numbers of U.S. forces from the region.

Read more in The Huffington Post

Withdrawing Honorably from Iraq

"You have offered us independence; we never asked for it, nor dreamed of such a thing 'til you put the idea into our heads. For hundreds of years, we have lived in a state as far removed from independence as it is possible to conceive; now [that] we have asked for it, you imprison us." Those were the words uttered by an Iraqi sheikh, not in 2011, but around 1920, when the mighty British Empire ruled his land. A rebellion had erupted, and the British government came under considerable pressure from its own population to withdraw. Although order was ultimately restored, the message remained: find a way out of Iraq...

Read more in The Huffington Post

The Syrian Anomaly

Across the Middle East today the "Arab Spring" appears to be in full bloom...

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Japan May Have Another Nuclear Crisis to Worry About in North Korea

This is a dangerous - and distracted - world we live in. Few countries are more likely to take advantage of this reality than North Korea.

Read more in The Huffington Post

Where Are the Arab Offers of Aid to Japan?

The massive earthquake, numerous tsunamis, and subsequent nuclear troubles to hit Japan will no doubt go down in history as one of the world’s worst disasters to hit a country this century ...
Read More in The Algemeiner

Lack of US Policy in the Middle East is Leading to its Decline in Power

American power is on the decline and nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East today.

Read more in The Huffington Post

Another Middle East War on the Horizon

A new war in the Middle East is looming on the horizon--one that could create a fundamental shift in the region, and whose repercussions would be felt around the world ...
Read More in The Huffington Post

The Lesser of Two Evils

Only in the Middle East can you find a terrorist convicted of five counts of murder courted by Israelis and Palestinians alike ...
Read More in The Jerusalem Post

Watch Out for an Iranian Backlash

Considering how Iran's domestic shake-up caught everyone off guard, Western states should be prepared for what the regime might do next ...
Read More in The Christian Science Monitor

Technology Rules the Day Again in Iranian Uprising

With all the talk of the "twitter revolution" and the role that technology is playing in the recent uprisings, one would think that technology is being used in revolutions for the first time ...
Read More in The Huffington Post

Religious Divisions in Iran's Leadership -- More than Meets the Eye

Deep fissures are showing as never before on a clerical style of government that has struggled for so long to paint itself as one united, single voice for Iran ...
Read more in The Huffington Post

The Hypocrisy of Columbia’s Israeli Divestment Campaign

The truth is that certain groups are attempting to turn one of the most complicated foreign policy issues in recent history into a black-and-white campaign, wherein Israel is the sole wrongdoer...
Read More in The Columbia Spectator

Lessons Learned from the 2006 War Being Implemented in Gaza

On Saturday morning the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a massive military attack on Hamas personnel and infrastructure in its equivalent to America's "shock and awe" (PDF) campaign ...
Read More in The Huffington Post

Iran, Israel, Syria and Hezbollah—Here Comes More Conflict

As Americans inch closer to a new administration, President-elect Obama and his staff will have more critical foreign policy decisions to make than any of his recent predecessors ...
Read More in the Ohio Jewish Chronicle

China and Russia Reap the Benefits of Sanctions

Talks with Iran have reached another impasse. The Islamic regime recently rejected yet another package of incentives that the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany put together in an effort to coax Tehran from ending its nuclear enrichment program ...
Read More in The International Herald Tribune

Chinese, Russian Stall Tactics on Iran

Talks with Iran have reached another impasse. The Islamic regime recently rejected yet another package of incentives that the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany put together in an effort to coax Tehran from ending its nuclear enrichment program ...
Read More in The Boston Globe

What is 'Israel-Palestine'?

It’s common to hear the term “Israel-Palestine” when referring to either Israel or the Palestinian Territories, particularly in academic circles ...
Read More in Human Events

Hezbollah is Angry: A Time for Vigilance

IMAD MUGHNIYEH, one of the most notorious and wanted terrorists in U.S. history, was recently killed in a car bombing in a posh neighborhood of Damascus ...
Read More in The Providence Journal

New Iran IAEA Report: Be Cautious

One should not expect much benefit to come out of the impending IAEA report discussing Iranian nuclear activity ...
Read More in the Belfer Center

Legacy of Failure

As Ehud Barak takes over as minister of defense, and another intervention in Gaza appears looming on the horizon, discussions of the failures of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continue almost unabated ...
Read More in the Ynetnews

Trafficking and the Role of the Sinai Bedouin

On the evening of October 7, 2004, three trucks laden with explosives were driven to resorts in the northern Sinai where they were detonated, killing more than 30 people and wounding hundreds more ...
Read More in The Jamestown Foundation

Lebanese 'Defensive Shield' -- No Problem

In the Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli it's Arabs killing Arabs - so nobody cries 'massacre' ...
Read More in The Jerusalem Post

A Disproportionate Response? The Case of Israel and Hizballah

On July 12, 2006, Hizballah chose to launch one of its boldest offensives yet against the State of Israel ...
Read More in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Connecting the Dots: Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda?s Involvement in Terrorism Prior to 9/11

On the night of November 5, 1990, El Sayid Nosair walked into the Marriot East Side Hotel, pulled out a .357 chrome-plated magnum pistol and shot one bullet into the neck of Rabbi Meir Kahane ...
Read More in Praeger Security International

National Security Implications of Al‐Takfir Wal‐Hijr

The radical Islamist movement Al‐Takfir Wal‐Hijra originated in Egypt in the 1960s as a radical offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood ...
Read More in Al Nakhlah