"In the past month, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched three major terror attacks: the downing of a Russian airplane over Sinai, two suicide bombings in Beirut and coordinated suicide attacks against civilians in Paris. The wave of violence had five targets: Russia, Egypt, Hezbollah, Lebanon and France. The ambitiousness of these actions appears to mark a shift in ISIL’s strategy that will likely trigger heightened military attacks against its facilities, supply lines and leaders. After the Paris attacks, French President François Hollande promised a “merciless” response against ISIL."

"The devastating terror bombs Thursday in a south Beirut high-density residential and commercial area, following the apparent bomb that brought down a Russian civilian airliner last month in Sinai, indicate heightened will and ability by the “Islamic State” (ISIS) to widen its terror war against foes near and far. At least four important dimensions of these latest developments are worth pondering."

"The dangerous and destructive situation on the ground in Israel-Palestine is painful for both parties, though Palestinians are being killed at a rate seven times faster than Israelis. So the situation is not a symmetrical one that should elicit simplistic calls for all sides to restrain themselves and stop killing each other. Restraining oneself and stopping the killings are useful acts which we should aim for, but they would be almost meaningless if Israel’s existing occupation/colonization/annexation/siege and Apartheid-like policies remain unchanged. Because in that case the outbursts of violence by both sides would certainly resume some months down the road — as they have since 1967, in fact regularly since 1947-48. If the underlying problem is not resolved, we will continue in perpetuity to experience the symptoms of the violence and loss of life on both sides."

"Palestinians have been denied their state since the creation of Israel in 1948 took over 78% of historical Palestine. The 1.5 million Palestinians of 1948 now number an estimated nine million; the 750,000 Palestinians who were expelled by Zionists or became refugees by fleeing war in 1947-48 now number around 4.5 million. They achieved a symbolic milestone recently by becoming a “non-member observer state” at the United Nations. Sovereign statehood remains a distant dream, goal, and right."

"The debate about whether “Islamic State” (ISIS), Taliban, or Al-Qaeda are expanding or being contained in Arab lands and Afghanistan is important news in many countries, and deserves a closer look to try to discern the real issues we should be following. This is certainly a topic of constant discussion among foreign policy practitioners and analysts in the United States, where I am spending a few months."

"Maybe there is something in the water in Vienna that makes people act like adults. Whatever it is, the meetings this week in Vienna on Thursday and Friday suggest that several significant and positive changes are taking place across several conflict zones and stress points in the Middle East. The Vienna gatherings are so interesting because they touch on half a dozen different ideological or military conflicts that take place at several different levels. They all converge in the Middle East, and their epicenter is Syria, which is burning out of control and scorching everyone around it."

"It is useful to recognize that there is not a single United States in action in the Middle East, but several different versions of this powerful country. I have come to recognize this fact a bit more clearly during an extended stay this month at the University of Denver, with its impressive roster of scholars and practitioners-turned-scholars, along with discussions with Middle East experts in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Boston"

"In an important op-ed article published earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Henry Kissinger provided a fascinating window into the foreign policy mindset of American officialdom that he has so consistently mirrored for nearly half a century now. His important article, entitled “A Path out of the Middle East Collapse,” captures concisely two things that the world should grasp about American foreign policy — especially in the Middle East, where it has been actively engaged in warfare for over a quarter of a century, as its relations and interests frayed."

"If you want to understand events in Israel and Palestine among these two peoples who are locked in a century-long battle, you have to understand the importance of generations. Ancient Israelites understood their generational struggles against their enemies, especially Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites. So do Palestinians today against Zionism and Israel, but Israelis refuse to see themselves and their history in the eyes of young Palestinians who also battle for their existence and dignity."

"I am astounded by how many people in the United States and abroad look at Russia’s direct military involvement in Syria and mainly reflect on the erratic and wavering U.S. policy in the region. I do not see how the United States should be singled out for a largely failed policy that has caused so much death and destruction in Syria, when many others in the Mideast and abroad were much more directly responsible for the torment of Syria. This is certainly an important moment, but what it portends will only become clearer months down the road. For now, we can really only make a few observations and ask some questions about Russian militarism in Syria."