By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– More than any other national leader, Barack Obama has a global constituency. The world does not vote in American elections, but his capacity to fulfill his obligations depends on the cooperation of other national leaders, and the opinions of publics that have at least a minimum of influence on them. Balancing [...]
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The issue of the New York City mosque near ground zero has awakened discussion of that big gorilla in the American living room. Despite all the platitudes slung back and forth about religious freedom and the separation of church and state, and the assertion that the problem of terror is not Islam, [...]
-Reprinted from Summer 2010 issue of inFocus Quarterly- On May 27, inFOCUS editor Matthew RJ Brodsky interviewed Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from 2005-2009. As secretary he developed and implemented border security policy, homeland security regulations, and a national cyber security strategy. He also served periodically on the National Security [...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution (H. Res. 1538) introduced by Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) condemning the World Cup bombings in Kampala, Uganda and recognizing San Diego activist Nate “Oteka” Henn who died in the terrorist attacks. Henn was a volunteer with Invisible Children Inc., a non-profit organization based [...]
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — One recalls July 4, 1976—the great Bicentennial—with much nostalgia and affection. America was exactly 200 years old, had survived the Watergate scandals and a presidential resignation without bloodshed or constitutional tremors. The dreadful Vietnam War was over after some fifteen years of entanglement, though we struggled (and [...]
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan is not as seismic as some are contending, but it is significant. The comparison with Truman and MacArthur is not appropriate. MacArthur acted against presidential policy, and helped create the military and political disaster of Chinese entry into the Korean War. McChrystal and his [...]
WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release)–Following is a speech that Daniel Benjamin, coordinator of the counter-terrorism office in the U.S. State Department, gave on Friday to members of the Washington Institute: Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to be back at the Washington Institute and see so many familiar faces in the room. Thanks to Matt [...]
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C.–Laura Rozen of Politico named names: “Rahm Emanuel has met twice with a group of rabbis, the NSC’s Dennis Ross has gone up to the Hill to talk to House Democrats and Senate Dems in recent weeks, the NSC’s Dan Shapiro and Ross both spoke at the ADL conference last week, Hillary [...]
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C–Following the dismantling of Saddam’s army, the U.S.-led coalition began training and equipping a new army and police force while we began building a new government. Even under Saddam, Iraq was a fairly modern country with a mid-20th century infrastructure including a governmental infrastructure, a relatively educated population including women, and [...]
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Here we go again. Maybe. The stage is set for the beginning of indirect talks between Israel and the abbreviated Palestine National Authority (West Bank without Gaza). The Arab League has provided its endorsement. Palestinian leaders carried that decision on the basis of “assurances” received from the Americans. They are warning [...]
