A conversation with Bernard Schwartz and William A. Galston on
options for financing U.S. infrastructure renewal.

An apron can tell a great story, if you know how to tie one on.

Jerzy Kosinski’s Being There is too biting to be funny anymore.

The Palestinian denial of Jewish historical roots in Jerusalem is a denial of their own history, as well.

Let England Shake By P.J. Harvey As you look back over the past decade of popular music, the thing that stands out is how introspective and self-obsessed much of it has been. Given the significance of the events that transpired in the 2000s—from the attacks of 9/11, to an unprecedented two simultaneous foreign wars waged […]

OK, now things are finally starting to get interesting in the Middle East. Tunisia was noteworthy, but not critical. Egypt has been very dramatic, though wildly misinterpreted by most observers in the United States. Jordan is still more or less stable, but is in fact more portentous a stake in some ways than Egypt. But […]

The difference between Egypt and Bahrain is that Egypt has a national army, and Bahrain does not. The Egyptian officer corps is drawn from the nation’s elite while conscripts from ordinary families fill the enlisted ranks. But every Egyptian speaks Egyptian Arabic (little more than regional accents survive from the old dialects) and the population […]

The shock waves of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation have just started to roll across the Middle East, but in Egypt the upheaval has barely begun. The country now embarks on what the protesters in Tahrir square hope will be a transition to a true, civilian-led democracy. In the meantime, Egypt is headed for a period of […]

As the Tunisian government fell, Egypt erupted, Jordan’s cabinet was ousted, Algeria and Yemen protested, and Syria braced for a wave of demonstrations—what was happening in Iraq? Nothing much. Mainly business as usual: The country resumed oil exports from the Kurdistan region for the first time since 2009 in the wake of a breakthrough agreement […]

February 1, 2010—One week ago, Egypt was a stable authoritarian regime, prospects of change were minimal, and every expert in Washington would have bet on the endurance of its regime. Today, Egypt is in a state of chaos. The regime, even after using its mightiest sword, hasn’t been able to control the country, and the […]