"Western powers constantly mention partition and redrawing borders because European officials applied this idea when the modern Middle East was created around 1915-1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This is the easiest way, in their minds, to resolve nagging wars such as those in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, whose export of refugees, terrorism and human despair threatens the peace and security of the Middle East and the rest of the world as well. War in Iraq? Break it up. War in Syria? Redraw the borders, and so it goes, century after century..."

"The unusual state of national leaderships in parts of the Arab world was captured in the Saudi Arabian decision this week to withdraw the $4 billion in aid it had promised Lebanon, and instead promise $5 billion in aid to Sudan. This meant that Riyadh had withdrawn support for a government that had no president, due to the inability of Lebanon’s feuding politicians to agree on one, and instead was supporting a president in Sudan who is wanted by the International Criminal Court..."

"One of the fascinating dimensions of political life across the Middle East region in recent generations has been the repeated Arab concern that some non-Arab power has hegemonic plans to dominate the entire region and rob the Arabs of their identity and rights. This applies mainly to the three principal non-Arab powers in the region — Israel, Turkey, and Iran. It is useful therefore to consider the past and current condition of these three, in order to determine if indeed they have the desire or capability of achieving hegemonic control over Arab societies..."

"How the unfolding events in northern Syria play out may well set the tone for things to follow in this region for years to come, given the many wars now taking place there among global, regional and local powers. Amidst this unprecedented situation of often desperate warring actors, I believe it is appropriate to remember this week the life and work of the late Anthony Shadid, who reported for the New York Times when he died in northern Syria exactly four years ago this week..."

"Syria is the place that still captures the complexities of statehood and society challenges in the Middle East, which tend to elicit perplexities in the policies of most foreign powers. This is partly a function of political geography that goes back millennia, and is not peculiar to our time. Many regional and world armies in the past five millennia — Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Persia, Crusaders, Egypt, Parthia, Ottomans, France, Great Britain, and Islamic dynasties — have repeatedly occupied this land, fought over it, or sought to control it through local proxies."

"Aleppo today is frightening almost beyond description and comprehension. One of the world’s ancient centers of civilization is bombed, sieged, tortured, and starved to death, and hundreds of thousands of fleeing refugees do not know if they will find shelter or live another week. Even then, Aleppo is not the most frightening thing we have to understand these days in this realm of modern urban warfare."

"This week was full of omens that Syria in its already fractured and suffering condition should look forward to more misery, due to the actions of Syrians as well as foreign powers, amidst slow-moving negotiations for ceasefires and a future political transition. The most intriguing sign of things to come was the official announcement that Saudi Arabia is willing to provide ground forces to fight “Islamic State” (ISIS) in Syria, if the anti-ISIS countries that will meet in Brussels this month agree on a coordinated ground-and-air strategy."

"It was a more than fascinating coincidence that last week both the French government and the UN secretary general called for serious and urgent international action to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a negotiated agreement that leads to the creation of a Palestinian state living in peace adjacent to Israel. Both gestures were dramatic, and deserve our full attention, because they affirm the pivotal link between the unresolved status of Palestine and the continued deterioration of conditions across the Middle East..."

"The role of foreign policy issues in the American presidential campaign is both serious and frivolous, and appears to be a cause for concern, given the many contentious and negative issues involved. Yet things may not be as they appear, and we probably should not be very worried about what we are hearing these days."

"January 25 is probably the most meaningful moment to recall the Arab uprisings of 2011, because it captures the dynamics within Egypt that ultimately shape sentiments and events across much of the Arab world. Egypt remains at once both iconic and foundational to the Arab world, in so many realms — politics, economy, culture, sports, religion, secularism, civil society, the role of the military, and, most importantly, citizen rights and the exercise of power in the public sphere..."