World News Insights: Opinion Articles

Have the Super Tuesday results presented us with any new insights? In terms of the detailed results that commentators and analysts enjoy noting, most of them did not defy expectations... But they are worth mentioning nonetheless. However, that is not the case for a deep reading of a battle…

First it was France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, who angered his NATO allies by suggesting that soon the West could be forced to send troops to Ukraine, portending a direct confrontation with Russian forces that the rest of the alliance has long rejected. Then Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany…

Reading the extensive interview (published in three episodes by this newspaper) that my colleague Ghassan Charbel conducted with Yasser Abed Rabbo, the former Secretary-General of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), is the sort of exercise that could make a…

Benjamin Netanyahu has taken his place in history. He is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, outlasting “founding father” David Ben-Gurion. He has killed more Palestinians than all generals of his army combined. It has been quite rare for an oppressor to kill such a massive number of children…

Joe Biden is one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. In Gallup polling, his approval ratings are lower than those of any president embarking on a re-election campaign, from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump. Yet an air of mystery hangs around his lousy polling numbers. As…

The process of bringing aid into Gaza took the form of a Hollywood movie, and seemed to be derived from scenes of films produced about World War II. Spectators in the cinema halls used to watch what was described militarily as landing operations, which saw thousands of soldiers dropping from…

It might be too early to assess how Americans see the State of the Union address that President Biden delivered last Thursday evening. However, many had the first question after his speech was over: "Did he just give a speech on the State of the Union, or was it a campaign speech he hopes can help…

The Iranian electorate’s refusal to obey the authorities has undercut the regime’s legitimacy. By abstaining in such large numbers, the electorate has deprived the authorities of the popular legitimacy they desperately need. Regardless of whether we accept the official turnout rates or the…

In the recent summit in Paris of European Union leaders on Ukraine, there was an elephant in the room: The US Republican Party and its current mahout Donald J. Trump. According to those who were able to peep into the session much of the discussion was about what the US will or won’t do in case the…

Contrary to the expectations that some had voiced, the war in Gaza has obviously not been easy. It is a dynamic and vicious conflict whose impact goes beyond Palestine and Israel. It has stretched as far as the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, with alliances flaring and different projects…

President Biden’s advisers are eager for the coming general-election fight and counting on voters to start paying more attention to Donald J. Trump, with the president himself even proposing and dashing off videos to ridicule the things his Republican rival says. Trump is relishing the chance to…

The Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) may have been the first to defend the notion of legitimate opposition, albeit somewhat reservedly. He argued that the opposition should have a limited negative role in overseeing the government's work, but he warned against taking discord and splits…