[caption id="attachment_549" align="alignright" width="100"] Shoshana Bryen[/caption]
Shoshana Bryen is senior director of the Jewish Policy Center in Washington D.C.
Her books, available on Amazon, include:
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*Essays in Technology, Security and Strategy (with Stephen Bryen and Rebecca Abrams)
*Essays in Technology, Security and Stategy, Vol. 2 (with Stephen Bryen and Rebecca Abrams)
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By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saudi Arabia does not control the price of oil, but it is trying to manipulate the current, temporary, price decline for its own purposes — and it should be careful. The price of oil, like any commodity, is subject to immutable laws of supply and demand. The addition of
Saudis deploy oil weapon against Iran, Russia Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — They arrest you for having any opinion that isn’t theirs. They arrest you for demanding elections; the last thing they want is to know you want different leadership. They arrest you for having a Facebook page that is out of step, or you don’t have Facebook at all.
U.S., Europe ignore repression by Cuba, P.A. Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — A movement is afoot on Capitol Hill to “force” President Obama to submit any agreement between the United States and Iran to lawmakers, even if it isn’t a treaty that requires ratification. The administration, not surprisingly, says there is no reason to do so. It is also not terribly
Congress on the Case of President Obama Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the run up to November’s P5+1 talks, Iran has already won the battles that count; remember, this is the bazaar. After last year’s unsatisfactory interim agreement, this author wrote: A deal that is not a capitulation requires two conditions: the parties must equally value the process; and there
U.S. being bested by Iran in nuclear talks Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Two chemical weapons-related stories this week should be considered separate, not necessarily interchangeable, parts of a whole. The first was that ISIS had used chemical weapons against Kurdish forces in Kobani, raising the question of where ISIS would have acquired such weapons. The second, in the New York Times, detailed
ISIS chem weapons may be from Syria Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the moment and against the odds, Kobani stands. Kurdish men and women, abandoned by the United States and watched but not aided by Turkey, hold the line against the sweep of ISIS across Iraq and Syria; one little point of heroism that may be gone by the time
U.S. abandons Kobani Kurds, lavishes aid on Hamas Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Pentagon spokesman Adm. John Kirby told reporters he understood that U.S. air power wouldn’t save Kobani, but that there is a “larger strategy” in place. The primary goal of the campaign is not to save Syrian cities and towns, U.S. Central Command officials said, but to go after ISIS senior
Kobani another defeat for Obama’s ISIS policy Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thirteen years ago this October, we started bombing Muslims in the Middle East. We’re still bombing them. Does any sane person think that 13 years from now, we’re not going to still be bombing them?” Democratic operative James Carville answered his own question. “Of course we will. And… maybe
Wars must have clear goals Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of State Kerry is in the Middle East, looking for regional allies for President Obama’s proposal to deal with the threat of the Islamic State (IS). That is entirely appropriate — IS poses a more immediate and dire threat to regional players than it does to the United
Obama’s recipe for another Mideast failure Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Israeli public is in a notably bad mood. The Hamas rockets have, for the time being, stopped; the current cease-fire is holding. The tunnel threat, a strategic one most Israelis had not understood until several days into the war, has been alleviated; many Hamas rocket manufacturing facilities have been
For U.S., Israel: Wars not won, simply managed Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is a reason the American military asks of its civilian commanders, “Don’t tell us what to do, tell us what you want done.” Giving the military an executable military mission to accomplish is the most important responsibility of civilian command. A strategic plan helps the military respond
U.S. entered war against ISIS without a strategic plan Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen and Michael Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL), currently controls about one-third of Iraq. It is a combination of: • A non-al-Qaeda revival of the al-Qaeda-sponsored Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) organization that tried to take
An ISIS primer: who, what and when Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Google “president disengaged” and 1,290,000 entries pop up. Okay, fair enough. Google is not the best way to take the measure of President Obama’s active engagement in the workings of the world. So note that today, Friday, Aug. 15, is the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene,
Perhaps it’s better when Obama is not engaged Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — In two sets of remarks, President Obama shared his concerns about what happens between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. He worries about the people of Gaza: “Long term, there has to be a recognition that Gaza cannot sustain itself permanently closed off from the world and incapable
President Obama’s one- sided Gaza solution Read More »
Shoshana Bryen