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

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