World News Insights: Opinion Articles

Two extensively developed distinctions often rise to the forefront of debates about peace as concept and practice. The first is the distinction between laying solid foundations for peace, on the one hand, and being content with converting the outcomes of the hostilities into political and legal…

When visiting the president’s office, it helps to come bearing warmth. A firm embrace, a grateful smile, a public thank you – all gestures of loyalty that set the tone. It’s best to arrive eager for wisdom and ready to express not only personal admiration but also that of your people. In these…

Attorney General Pam Bondi told tech companies that they could lawfully violate a statute barring American companies from supporting TikTok based on a sweeping claim that President Trump has the constitutional power to set aside laws, newly disclosed documents show. In letters to companies like…

True to form, the Lebanese are evading discussions of existential questions regarding their present and future. Instead of debate, we find vitriolic quarrels in which each side antagonizes the other, using grand causes to score petty points. In similarly typical fashion, their "opinions" reflect…

This question has echoed across the Arab world for over half a century. Yet, it remains taboo—unspoken, sometimes even forbidden. To raise it invites accusations of ideological betrayal, or worse, a form of "intellectual terrorism." In many circles, merely pondering it marks one as an outsider. I…

For decades, observers have said that, in the Middle East, change moves at a snail’s pace. That assumption no longer holds. Just look at the dramatic transformations unfolding across Lebanon, Syria, and Iran in recent weeks and months. One year ago, Lebanon was at war with Israel. Few could have…

The world is changing, the region is changing, and Lebanon is changing, but Nabih Berri refuses to change. He seems allergic to change, or even to the term itself. The 2019 Lebanese uprising against the corrupt ruling clique generated momentum for major political, social, cultural, and economic…

Despite US President Donald Trump’s claims that a ceasefire in Gaza is imminent, we have not seen anything that inspires hope for a breakthrough that ends suffering in Gaza. Israel is proceeding with its genocide as the entire world watches on. Relentless airstrikes, starvation, and the destruction…

On a crisp evening in December 2023, I received an urgent alert: a swarm of unidentified drones had been detected above Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, inside highly restricted airspace. As NASA administrator at the time, I was immediately concerned. Langley is one of the most sensitive sites…

There are fears that what happened in the Lebanese Parliament on Monday, June 30, could be the start of a process aimed at undercutting the constitutional right of every Lebanese citizen, both residents and expatriates, to equality. Blocking deliberation on a law that would have ensured non…

The apprehension of many, myself included, about the inflated stature that Netanyahu’s Israel will enjoy in the region following recent regional developments is well founded, especially since every country in the Levant has either collapsed or been shattered. Still, it would be misguided and…

The rise of Zohran Mamdani, who has won the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, the largest and most impressive city in the United States, has jolted the American public out of its slumber, which has seemed endless since Trump entered the White House. To avoid drawing hasty conclusions…