What are the U.S. options on Iran?

Originally published at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Transmission blog, June 25, 2009.

On June 24, the Brookings Institution held an interesting event, “Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran.”

A monograph of the same name will soon be released by the think tank, enumerating the choices U.S. policymakers have over Iran. These are the options that emerged from the briefing:

Out In the Cold: A Look at Obama’s Foreign Policy

Originally published May 29, 2009.

The foreign policy strategy of the Obama Administration, at least in its first four months, could be described as a terrifying mix of obsequiousness, blind optimism, and naivete. From incessant apologies to timidity in the face of the nation’s enemies, the Obama Doctrine seems to have the permanent weakening of America as its primary goal. A breakdown by region follows.

 

Who Speaks For Islam? Not John Esposito

Originally published in FrontPage Magazine and Campus Watch, May 27, 2009. Also highlighted in the Campus Watch Blog.

Georgetown University Professor John Esposito is the media’s favorite go-to man for questions about Islam. As the founding director of the Saudi-financed Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown, he is also notorious for downplaying radical Islam. Stanford University hosted his latest round of apologetics on May 13.

Esposito, who spoke at Stanford last year, was on campus to promote the film version of his recent book (co-authored with Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies), Who Speaks For Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. He was joined by the film’s executive producer, Muslim convert Michael Wolfe. The 55-minute film claims to present the results of the “largest, most comprehensive study” of Muslim opinion ever done. The crowd’s political leaning were evident in the audible hisses that greeted the cinematic image of former President George W. Bush.

Touring Stanford—With a ’60s Radical Twist

Originally published May 15, 2009. This article won the Review’s “Best Features Article” award for volume XLII.

“RESEARCH LIFE NOT DEATH”
“LENNY FOR DEAN”
“OFF ROTC”

Thus read the pins on the shirt of one Lenny Siegel, erstwhile leader of the “April 3rd Movement” (A3M), the group of students that nearly tore Stanford apart in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. Siegel, a member of Stanford’s class of 1970 who was expelled for his radical activities before graduating, was on campus the weekend of May 1 leading A3M’s 40-year reunion. The final part of the reunion program was a “historical walking tour of campus,” which this writer participated in and observed.

India: Bearing the Brunt of Terror

Originally published March 13, 2009:

Terrorist attacks continue to be a regular occurrence throughout India, and even seem to be increasing in incidence. This past year saw an astounding 10 major terrorist attacks, a figure equal to the number of attacks in 2005, 2006, and 2007 combined. The last calendar year without a terrorist attack in India was the year 2000.

Since 9/11, there have been at least 30 attacks within Indian territory, in addition to the deadly bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul last summer. In total, more than 1,200 people have been killed, nearly all of them civilians. The most remarkable fact about this situation is that, with the exception of the incredibly lethal and complex attack against Mumbai in November of last year, none of these attacks have attracted the attention of the Western media for more than a day or two. The fact that these attacks have become commonplace does not diminish their significance.

Rick Santorum Speaks on Islam, Iran, and the War on Terror

Originally published March 13, 2009 (front page):

“The problem with Islam is the way the text has been interpreted for the past 900 years,” he asserted. Unlike Jesus, for example, Muhammad was a ruler of a state and is believed to be the ideal human being. These two factors make reform and reinterpretation much more difficult in Islam than in Christianity. Many Muslims also believe, according to Sen. Santorum, that they “need to get back to the 700s,” since that is when they were winning wars, conquering territory, and expanding rapidly. These Muslims believe that the reason for their failure is that they have strayed from Islam. The senator went on to explain that since the Islamic Caliphate’s defeat at the gates of Vienna in 1683—which marked the end of Muslim incursions into Europe—Muslims have been “fuming,” with little ability to exact revenge. The vast inflows of oil money into the region changed all that, however, and made defeating the West not a dream but a very real possibility.

New York Times Reporter Sees ‘08 Election As Transformative

Originally published February 27, 2009:

Egan went on to describe the Republican Party as the “Party of Yesterday.” Obama managed to capture both the youth vote—the future of the country—and the Latino vote, the fastest-growing segment of the population. Without these two key constituencies, Egan claims, the Republican Party is doomed to irrelevance. However, Egan did concede that national trends can change swiftly and unexpectedly, and thus what may seem like a certainty now might not actually come to pass.

Shattered Peace: The Road to World War II

Originally published February 13, 2009:

The Hoover Institution has recently unveiled its newest exhibition, entitled “Shattered Peace: The Road to World War II.” The exhibition is a fascinating collection of letters, photographs, propaganda posters, and other memorabilia from events around the globe in the mid to late 1930s. According to the promotional material, the exhibition “illustrates the diplomatic failures and the military actions that paved the way to World War II, highlighting the plight of civilians and the personal stories of witnesses.” All of the items on display are from the Hoover Institution Library and Archives, revealing the incredible depth and immeasurable value of that collection.

Demonstrators, Counter-Demonstrators Bring Gaza Conflict to Stanford

Originally published January 23, 2009.

The interminable Israeli-Palestinian conflict has entered its latest round, and with it have come the now-familiar demonstrations around the world generally condemning—but occasionally supporting—Israel’s decision to go to war in Gaza. Earlier this month, Stanford saw a combination of the two, first with a vigil the night of January 8 and then a protest the afternoon of January 9, both organized by Students Confronting Apartheid by Israel (SCAI). Emotions ran high at times, but as a whole, both events ran relatively smoothly.

Pervez Musharraf speaks at Stanford

From the Students for an Open Society blog, January 16, 2009:

Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan, spoke at Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium today, thanks to the ASSU Speakers’ Bureau and Stanford in Government.

The very first utterance Musharraf made, even before “Thank you for the introduction,” was “Bismillahi al-rahmani al-rahimi.” That is, “In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.” This is the first sentence of every chapter of the Qur’an (except Chapter 9) and is the first line of the constitutions of many Islamic countries. By beginning with this line, Musharraf wanted everyone present to know that he was not only making his statements as a Muslim, but as a pious Muslim. I have never personally heard any speaker begin with this phrase, and I have heard many Muslims speak at Stanford, including a past president of the Shariah Scholars’ Association of North America.