Mitt Romney’s view of the ideal relationship between the United States and Israel is, at the very least. quite odd, and, potentially, dangerous.

Rick Santorum has some bizarre views when it comes to the dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Newt Gingrich’s comments about Palestinian nationhood came up during last night’s debate.

Once again, Newt Gingrich speaks without thinking.

Karim Sadjapour writes about a wargaming scenario he recently participated in with a group of former U.S. officials and experts on Israel and Iran to try to play out how an Israeli strike on Iran might go. Sadjapour was on the Iranian team and, as he relates, it didn’t turn out well for anyone: Iran’s [...]

The Secretary of Defense has some words of warning for those advocating military action against Iran.

Obama to Sarkozy on Netanyahu: “You’re sick of him — but I have to deal with him every day!”

An attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons research facility won’t be an easy thing.

It’s time for another round of speculation about Iran and its nuclear program.

An Israeli solider that has held by Hamas for five years has been released after negotiations that also resulted in the freeing of thousands of Palestinian prisoners: JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier held for more than five years by the militant Palestinian group Hamaswas traded on Tuesday for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails [...]

We may have entered a new and dangerous phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Obama explained his position on the Palestinian statehood resolution today, but one wonders if anyone listened.

Rick Perry’s speech criticizing the President’s policies in the Middle East raised more questions than it answered.

What started out as a protest in Tahrir Square against the military government morphed by the end of the day into a riot that ended in Egyptians breaking into the Israeli Embassy: A demonstration that brought tens of thousands to the city’s central Tahrir Square to reiterate the demands of the Egyptian revolution turned violent [...]

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey have been going downhill for more than a year now, ever since Israeli forces boarded a flotilla headed for Gaza that had originated in Turkey, killing fifteen people. Now, that dispute has led to a significant chilling in diplomatic relations: The anticipated publication Friday of a U.N. report on [...]

The Supreme Court is being asked to decided if Congress can overrule a foreign policy position the U.S. has held since 1948.

His name, was George W. Bush: Found via Twitter

President Obama doubled down in his speech before this year’s AIPAC conference. Why he did so only he understands.

Apparently, Michele Bachmann bases  her foreign policy views on obscure quotes from a book written 5,000 years ago: At a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Los Angeles last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a candid view of her positions on Israel: Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls [...]

It’s been barely four hours since the President’s Middle East policy speech at the State Department and already the fake controversy has developed: Buried in his blithering, blathering, self-congratulatory, hectoring speech on the Middle East today, Barack Hussein Obama dropped this diplomatic nuclear bomb: So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, [...]

Once again, an American President thinks he can bring peace to the Middle East.

One wonders if it’s their success at getting the U.N. to intervene in Libya that is causing the Arab League to make this request: CAIRO, April 10 (Reuters) – The Arab League called on the United Nations on Sunday to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza and lift an Israeli siege of the territory after [...]

Omar Suleiman, formerly the head of Egypt’s Intelligence Services, recently appointed as Mubarak’s Vice President, and touted by some as a worthy head of a transition government in Egypt, has apparently been looked on favorably as a replacement for Mubarak both by the United States and Israel for some time according to secret U. S. [...]

The Stuxnet virus that has set back the Iranian nuclear weapons program by several years at least appears to have originated as a joint project between the United States and Israel.

Sarah Palin waded into the foreign policy pool today with a piece about Iran, and it was about as empty as most of the other ideas on Iran that we’ve heard over the last six years or so from everyone else.

Israelis and Palestinians don’t agree on much these days, but they do agree that Barack Obama hasn’t helped the peace process at all since coming to office.

Once again, an American President is stepping into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and, once again, he has no idea how to accomplish the goals he’s established.

According to John Bolton, Israel has a deadline of August 21st to attack Iran’s nuclear program. This is the fourth deadline he’s set in the last three years.

Bill Kristol and friends are trying to make it politically toxic to criticize Israel.

Every new report out of Iran seems to bring us closer to the moment when Israel has decided it’s heard enough. What happens if that day actually happens ?

A few days ago I noted tensions between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman. The BBC has an update:  Israeli PM admits ‘mistake’ over Turkey talks ‘insult’.

Israel and Turkey held secret, informal talks recently. This is interesting, given the recent flotilla incident. What is more interesting is that the Israeli Foreign Minister learned of the event via the press.

In a sign that the tensions between Turkey and Israel over the flotilla incidence continue, it would appear that Israeli “Military flight bans are now being considered on a case-by-case basis, Turkish officials said.” So reports the BBC:  Turkey bars Israel military flight after Gaza raid.

The Islamic Republic has decided to cancel it’s aid mission to Gaza propaganda stunt: Iran will not send a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as it had planned to do on Thursday, according to a report from the official news agency of Iran. The Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Hossein Sheikholeslam, secretary-general of the [...]

What could possibly go wrong ? TEHRAN, June 14 (Reuters) – Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said on Monday — a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist rulers, Hamas. One ship left port on Sunday and another will depart [...]

In a classic demonstration of the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Saudi Arabia is reportedly cooperating to make it easier for Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear [...]

That’s the question raised by yesterday’s announcement that Israel would now allow snack food and drinks to be imported in to the Gaza Strip: Israel is easing its Gaza embargo to allow snack food and drinks into the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian officials said Wednesday, following an international outcry over Israel’s raid on an aid flotilla. [...]

Iran enters the fray over Gaza: Iran has warned that it could send Revolutionary Guard naval units to escort humanitarian aid convoys seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza – a move that would certainly be challenged by Israel. Any such Iranian involvement, raised today by an aide to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali [...]

Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas found herself in the middle of an Internet controversy late yesterday when video surfaced of her making comments that can only be described as incredibly offensive: White House press corps dean Helen Thomas — on the day that the White House hosted a Jewish Heritage Celebration, no less — [...]

The Israeli Navy stopped and boarded a second boat delivering aid to Gaza, fortunately without the outcome that occurred the last time: IDF navy forces boarded and took control of the MV Rachel Corrie Saturday afternoon. The troops did not meet any resistance from activists attempting to break the Gaza blockade, and the operation was [...]

A rather odd choice of words today from the Turkish Ambassador to the United States: In an unfortunate turn of phrase, the Turkish ambassador to Washington twice said Friday that the terrorist group Hamas is a necessary and important part of the “final solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Final solution” was the phrase Adolf Hitler [...]

In my latest for The National Interest, “NATO & Israel,” I argue that the flotilla crisis may force us to choose between Israel and our transatlantic Allies. Turkey, a founding member of the NATO alliance and heretofore Israel’s only friend in the region, is apoplectic. [...] All the major European powers have criticized Israel’s actions, [...]

Since the announcement of the interdiction of the flotilla of aid headed for Gaza from Turkey and the attendant loss of life, I have wondered whether the widespread declamations that the Israelis’ actions were clear violations of international law and, consequently, those on the boats were fully justified in defending themselves were right or not. [...]

It looks like yesterday’s incident was only the beginning of what clearly seems to be an effort to provoke the Israelis into action that will embarrass them: Activists vowed on Tuesday to try to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza with another ship, and an Israeli officer pledged to halt it, setting the stage for [...]

Andrew Exum: for the sake of argument, and putting ourselves in the shoes of an Israeli naval commander, let’s assume the most malevolent of motivations for the people participating in the peace flotilla. If I am in charge of doing that for the Israeli Navy, I am going to assume these people are smart and [...]

Via the BBC:  Q&A: Israeli raid on aid flotilla.

Like most everyone, I suspect, I am still in the process of fully processing the events (basics described here in the NYT: Deadly Israeli Raid Draws Condemnation and Raid Complicates U.S. Ties and Push for Peace).  Given that this is a breaking story, there are good reasons to be cautious in making overly strident statements [...]

What some are describing as an “aid flotilla” made the mistake of trying to run the Israeli naval blockage of Gaza, and things did not end well: JERUSALEM — The Israeli Navy raided a flotilla carrying thousands of tons of supplies for Gaza in international waters on Monday morning, killing at least 10 people, according [...]

It seems that National Security Advisor Jim Jones has gotten himself into trouble for retelling a very old joke at a think tank speech the other night: I’d like to begin with a story that I think is true, a Taliban militant gets lost and is wandering around the desert looking for water. He finally [...]

The headline “New U.S. Airport Security Measures To Use ‘Real-Time’ Intelligence” caused a chuckle when I saw it on the RFE/RL Twitter feed.  Not to overly disparage the TSA’s screeners, intelligence agents they ain’t.  But a description of the program makes it sound like a step in the right direction. The U.S. Department of Homeland [...]