Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Khaled Abu Toameh • December 15, 2025 at 5:00 am
Hezbollah used UNIFIL's peacekeepers as "shields" to deter any Israeli military activity and prevent compliance in case a peacekeeper might be hit. Israel was forced to just sit and watch while Hezbollah put countless tunnels and weapons in place. The disastrous model of UNIFIL is about to be copied to the Gaza Strip. Hamas will undoubtedly exploit a similar, weak UNIFIL-style "nanny" force to rearm and operate with impunity, exactly as Hezbollah did in Lebanon. Hamas leaders have repeatedly stressed their opposition to laying down their weapons. They have also emphasized that the role of any international force in the Gaza Strip should be limited to being present on the borders to prevent clashes -- meaning firing on Israel should it try to prevent them from rearming -- merely to "keep" peace, not impose it. [Senior Hamas leader Khaled] Mashaal, living comfortably far from Gaza, pointed out that Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey -- all three longtime supporters and enablers of Hamas -- share its position regarding the role of the proposed international force. According to Israeli officials, Qatar and Turkey are working to dissuade Hamas from disarming.... Behind both proposals lies the aim of preserving Hamas's influence in the Gaza Strip, as well as the ability to launch another "October 7" massacre at a convenient date. The Arabs and Islamic countries clearly do not want to be part of any force that could be drawn into confrontation with Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.... These leaders are afraid of being labeled traitors working on Israel's behalf to disarm the Palestinian armed groups. The Gaza Strip does not need "peacekeepers" or "monitors." Instead, it needs an extremely strong security force whose members would engage the terrorists, confiscate their weapons, dismantle their military capabilities, and eradicate the terror infrastructure. It is deranged to assume that any UN-authorized force would forcibly disarm terrorists, destroy tunnels, stop rocket fire, or perform counterterrorism operations. As Trump himself repeats, "peace through strength" is the only way to achieve stability and peace in the Gaza Strip and prevent countless more deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Gaza Strip does not need "peacekeepers" or "monitors." Instead, it needs an extremely strong security force whose members would engage the terrorists, confiscate their weapons, dismantle their military capabilities, and eradicate the terror infrastructure. It is deranged to assume that any UN-authorized force would forcibly disarm terrorists, destroy tunnels, stop rocket fire, or perform counterterrorism operations. Pictured: Hamas terrorists in Jabalia refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, on December 1, 2025. (Photo by Omar Al-Qataa/AFP via Getty Images)
As part of US President Donald J. Trump's plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war, international troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month, US officials told Reuters on December 12. According to the unnamed officials, the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that sparked the war by invading Israel on October 7, 2023 and murdering more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and wounding thousands more. In mid-November, the United Nations Security Council endorsed Trump's 20-point "Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict," welcomed its establishment of a "Board of Peace" and authorized the Board Member States working with it to establish a temporary ISF in the Gaza Strip. The resolution gives the ISF "a wide mandate, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory." According to the text of the resolution:
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by Andrew Ash • December 15, 2025 at 5:00 am
[M]y father did not move to England in the expectation that its denizens were fluent in Muslim culture or that there would be a mosque on every street. He did not feel that his human rights, by not being specifically catered to, were being violated. It was quite enough to find accommodation and work, rather than inventing grievances. The thought of complaining, or being a victim, would have seemed incongruous to him -- presuming there had been anyone to complain to -- because, he said, at last he felt free. Playing a "victim card" would have been deemed not only impolite and unappreciative, but woefully narcissistic. In many of the Arab countries from which the friends of our family had migrated -- from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Tunisia -- being deeply religious was a job. It was for scholars. He was not in the slightest bit offended by the predominantly Christian culture around him. Certainly, if people wish to discuss the impact of the out-of-control immigration system that has led us to this point, the authorities do not seem to be even slightly interested. Instead, they are told that they are not entitled to play the victim card, so freely utilised by the minority groups. Their "white privilege" supposedly precludes them from sympathy. Strange, then, that this huge swathe of allegedly "privileged" people continues to become increasingly disadvantaged -- deprivileged -- as the ever-expanding Muslim communities of Britain prosper.
In the United Kingdom, if people wish to discuss the impact of the out-of-control immigration system that has led us to this point, the authorities do not seem to be even slightly interested. Instead, they are told that they are not entitled to play the victim card, so freely utilised by the minority groups. Their "white privilege" supposedly precludes them from sympathy. Pictured: Migrants who were picked up at sea while crossing the English Channel from France disembark from Border Force vessel Typhoon at the Marina in Dover, England, on February 9, 2025. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
There is a curious sense of minority entitlement which seems to have grown exponentially in recent years. It was absent when my father migrated from Egypt to England in the last century and met my mother. Although he considered himself a Muslim, he had a somewhat lackadaisical approach to his inherited faith – as did many Westernised Muslims of the time. He was proud of his faith, but he did not place being a Muslim at the forefront of his identity. Like many of his fellow émigrés, he wanted to escape the more oppressive religious aspects of his home country.
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by Con Coughlin • December 14, 2025 at 5:00 am
US President Donald Trump may believe that selling F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey will help the country forge closer ties with the US at the expense of Russia. The reality, though, is that by providing such sophisticated fighter jets to a country that supports Hamas terrorists -- and whose president recently said that "Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey" -- Trump is merely stoking the flames of a future war aimed at destroying Israel. [Trump] is under the impression that Turkey played a key role in helping to persuade Hamas to agree to Washington's 20-point peace plan for ending the war in Gaza, and possibly his hope that Turkey might join his Abraham Accords. Ambassador [Tom] Barrack, however, has been called out for "misrepresent[ing] President Erdogan's hostile and war-threatening statements against Israel." The prospect of Turkey, together with other Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, being equipped with the F-35 stealth aircraft has prompted grave concerns in Israel that the jets -- which have also been deployed to great effect by the Israel Air Force -- could be used against the Jewish state in a future conflict once Trump's term in office has ended. The Israelis are particularly concerned about Turkey receiving the warplanes so long as Erdogan remains in power. Israeli security officials are warning that Turkey is quietly working on a plan to encircle Israel, extending its influence in countries such as Syria, in anticipation of a future conflict. Acquiring F-35 stealth fighters would significantly increase its war-fighting capabilities in the event of Ankara becoming involved in direct hostilities with Israel after Trump leaves office. There are also reports that Turkey and Qatar, which is also one of Hamas's staunchest supporters, are now attempting to thwart attempts to force the terrorist organisation to surrender its weapons -- one of the key requirements stipulated by Trump's peace plan. The United Arab Emirates, which has strong ties with the Trump administration, has expressed "concern" over Turkey's and Qatar's disruptive policies in Gaza in support of Hamas. The UAE recently decided not to participate in the proposed International Stabilization Force for the Gaza Strip. In such circumstances, it would be extreme folly for the Trump administration to press ahead with its plan to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, a country that actively supports Hamas terrorists. To do so would place Israel in the very real danger of becoming involved in yet another war with a country that is supposed to be a U.S. ally.
US President Donald Trump may believe that selling F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey will help the country forge closer ties with the US at the expense of Russia. The reality, though, is that by providing such sophisticated fighter jets to a country that supports Hamas terrorists, Trump is merely stoking the flames of a future war aimed at destroying Israel. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said "It is time for Israel to turn to dust," and "Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey. This is the only way for it to live. Otherwise, in the second quarter of the 21st century, there will be no Israel." Pictured: Erdogan speaks at a campaign rally on March 29, 2024 in Istanbul. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump may believe that selling F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey will help the country forge closer ties with the US at the expense of Russia. The reality, though, is that by providing such sophisticated fighter jets to a country that supports Hamas terrorists -- and whose president recently said that "Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey" -- Trump is merely stoking the flames of a future war aimed at destroying Israel. Trump's problematic relationship with Ankara dates back to his first term in the White House, when he removed Turkey from participation in the multinational F-35 programme after it purchased Russia's supposed state-of-the-art S-400 air-defence system, which was designed with the express purpose of shooting down F-35 warplanes.
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by Amir Taheri • December 14, 2025 at 4:00 am
The NSS paper reflects Trump's view that the aim of foreign and security policy should be greater prosperity for the US and its allies and partners. In that vein, US ambassadors are instructed to focus on economic issues and act as promoters of US business abroad. Obviously one should read the NSS paper. But it would be a mistake to regard it as a gospel to Trump's future behavior. The best advice to all those concerned is: read and listen to what Trump and his team say and write, but wait and see what Trump himself does. Trump cannot be bound by any manifesto.
The 2025 National Security Strategy paper reflects President Donald Trump's view that the aim of foreign and security policy should be greater prosperity for the US and its allies and partners. Pictured: US President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, at a cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington, DC on December 2, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
How does the US see its role in global politics, at least for the remainder of President Donald Trump's tenure at the White House? That is the question that, following a procedure adopted by all presidents since the 1970s, the just published National Security Strategy wishes to address. The new paper is the second such document bearing Trump's name. Issued during Trump's first term as president, the initial one was in fact produced by the foreign policy and military establishment of the time, inherited from previous administrations, and didn't reflect Trump's unorthodox views. It was three times longer, laden with clichés, politically correct in tone and designed to dance around difficult issues. The new NSS pretends to reflect Trump's deeper convictions.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • December 13, 2025 at 5:00 am
Venezuela functions both as a forward operating base and as an insurance policy for the regime, safeguarding its operatives and extending its reach. Allowing Iran to entrench itself in the Western Hemisphere would only create a hostile foothold from which it could coordinate operations, support proxy groups, and control regional dynamics with near impunity. President Donald J. Trump's policy on Venezuela is not only strategically sound but necessary to finally put a stop to Iran's explicit plans for the U.S.
The partnership between Iran and Venezuela is not symbolic — it is deeply functional, encompassing military cooperation, intelligence sharing, support for proxy groups, and opportunities for illicit trade, all of which bolster Iran's global reach while challenging U.S. interests. Pictured: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro meets with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 22, 2016, in Tehran. (Image source: khamenei.ir)
Iran has recently come out publicly, voicing strong support for Venezuela against the United States. Its statement reflects a deep strategic and military relationship that serves multiple interests for Tehran. The Iranian regime openly views its partnership with Venezuela as a rare foothold in the Western Hemisphere, a staging ground for influence, and a safe haven for key figures and networks. The relationship encompasses military cooperation, intelligence sharing, support for proxy groups, and opportunities for illicit trade, all of which bolster Iran's global reach while challenging U.S. interests. Venezuela can, in effect, be viewed as a prized extension of Iranian power — a "second home" where Iran can operate relatively freely, project influence close to the United States, and maintain strategic depth far beyond its borders.
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by Drieu Godefridi • December 12, 2025 at 5:00 am
The real issue appears to be the government's desire to control, regulate, police and monitor European citizens down to their smallest gesture. Are you texting your child or perhaps your bank? Your message is scanned. Sending a prompt to ChatGPT? Scanned. Communications between lawyers and their clients will be scanned, as will WhatsApp messages with your doctor about erectile dysfunction problems or suspected cancer. By definition, nothing escapes its doting supervision. Everything is suspect. You are suspect. Nextcloud, a privacy and encryption advocacy organization, warns that the proposed regulation poses "a fatal threat to our democracies". It creates an infrastructure capable of spying on private conversations on a massive scale, making them accessible with a single click to even the most inconsequential civil servant. This is yet another example of regulatory imperialism characteristic of the incompetent people who run the EU today.
Are you texting your child or perhaps your bank? Your message is scanned. Sending a prompt to ChatGPT? Scanned. Send a photo of your baby to a relative, and the algorithm may report you to the authorities as what it believes you are — a pedophile. A letter from the police is ready to be dispatched, summoning you to explain the "child pornography" you are allegedly circulating. (AI image generated by OpenAI)
In Europe, the controversy surrounding what is popularly known as the "Chat Control" project — proposed EU regulation officially aimed at combating child sexual abuse material — has, for months, been crystallizing massive opposition on both technical and civic fronts. The core principles of the legislation are clear: "Detection software would be embedded in the messaging app or the operating system to scan chat content and automatically forward any material flagged as prohibited to law enforcement agencies."
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by Guy Millière • December 11, 2025 at 5:00 am
Two decades ago, Islamism was virtually absent from the US political landscape. Islamic antisemitism has gained ground in recent years, not just in the US but also in Europe. It appears fueled not only by adversaries of the US such as Iran, but also by domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that appear to hide the identities of foreign donors. Many anti-Israel protesters claim to support the Palestinian cause, but oddly none of them ever calls for the Palestinians' rights from their own leaders for freedom of speech, women's and children's rights, or even for a stop to entrenched corruption, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial executions, and other crimes against them. The problem was not, as some have tried to claim, simply that [Tucker] Carlson invited [the neo-Nazi Nick] Fuentes, so much as Carlson's disinclination to question what he said. The veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow invited US Senator Joseph R. McCarthy for an interview but probed his statements. Carlson failed to indicate any disapproval of, or question, Fuentes's antisemitic remarks... What Carlson did was simply to give Fuentes a platform to expand his influence, unchallenged. The interview has been viewed online more than 20 million times. This new hostility to Western civilization has also acted as a destabilizing force in major US foreign policy alliances. Israel, like it or not, is the United States' principal and most reliable ally in the Middle East.... As Israel is a world leader in technology, American investments there yield far more than they cost. Islamists and other enemies of the United States doubtless hope that if the US abandons Israel, this would lead to both a substantial weakening of America and other democracies, and a strengthening of tyrannies -- notably Islamist tyrannies.
The transformation of many American universities into centers of anti-Western brainwashing has been underway for decades, and since Hamas's October 7, 2023, massacres, has led to many demonstrations in support of the Islamist terrorist group, campus occupations, and the harassment and assault of Jewish students and faculty. These brainwashed alumni who now flood academia and the mainstream media simply keep advancing the harmful ideas instilled in them during their years of study. Pictured: An anti-Israel protester shouts slogans on the campus of City College of New York on April 25, 2024. (Photo by Kena Betankur/AFP via Getty Images)
November 19. New York City. Park East Synagogue. A mob of Muslims and "leftists" block the entrance and terrorize Jews with shouts of "Globalize the intifada" and "Take another settler out." The protest took place two weeks after a self-declared socialist, Zohran Mamdani, won the New York mayoral election. His spokesperson said that he "discouraged the language" used by the protesters, but, she added, incorrectly, "sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law". She was referring to an event at the synagogue hosted by Nefesh b'Nefesh (Soul to Soul), a Jewish group that facilitates immigration to Israel. The mayor-elect seems to think that Jews confronted with hostility and violence should not be helped to seek refuge in their homeland. He also seems to think that helping them violates some unnamable, non-existent "international law".
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by Uzay Bulut • December 10, 2025 at 5:00 am
Christianity -- Maronite, Orthodox, Catholic, as well as other denominations -- was the dominant religion in the entire Levant before the Islamic military invasions and conquests in the seventh century. Constantinople (renamed Istanbul in 1930) was the capital of the great Christian Byzantine Empire. After defeating the Byzantine Empire in 636... the Islamic Arab Caliphate conquered Lebanon.... Today, Lebanon, like formerly Christian Turkey and Egypt, is majority-Muslim. Shia Muslims in southern Lebanon have been moving to Christian areas, increasingly displacing the Christians there. Increasingly, Shia Hezbollah families, with financial backing from Iran, have been purchasing properties in Christian areas, threatening Christians with weapons, and gaining wider control while many Christians flee the country. "Christians also have lower birth rates than Muslims. Muslims can marry more than one wife and create many more children than in monogamous marriages." — Habib C. Malik, Lebanese retired associate professor of history and cultural studies at the Lebanese American University, to Gatestone, November 2025. "The new Lebanese government and President have pledged to 'disarm' Hezbollah and concentrate all weapons in the hands of the state-run Lebanese armed forces, but so far very little of this has actually happened; the pro-Iran group has been openly defiant in handing over its arms." — Habib C. Malik, to Gatestone, November 2025. "Hezbollah remains an armed force capable of paralyzing the Lebanese state and defying its policy of concentrating all weapons in the hands of the Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah, which still has several MPs in the Lebanese parliament and at least two ministers in the Lebanese cabinet, act as a state-within-a-state inside Lebanon and are the main obstacle thus far preventing a Lebanese-Israeli peace treaty from materializing." — Habib C. Malik, to Gatestone, November 2025. "Whatever the preferred political outcome, it would help if the West could shepherd any such process to protect the Christians and their freedom." — Habib C. Malik, to Gatestone, November 2025.
Today, Lebanon, like formerly Christian Turkey and Egypt, is majority-Muslim. The once-thriving Christian community has plummeted to roughly one-third of the population. Increasingly, Shia Hezbollah families, with financial backing from Iran, have been purchasing properties in Christian areas, threatening Christians with weapons, and gaining wider control while many Christians flee the country. Pictured: A view of St. Paul Cathedral on August 11, 2024 in Beirut. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Although Lebanon is in the news today largely due to the actions of the terror group Hezbollah and the economic hardships in the country, Lebanon in the mid-20th century was one of the wealthiest, most prosperous and stable countries in the Middle East. It was also, until a few decades ago, the only majority-Christian country in the Middle East. Thanks to its being a center of commerce and a thriving mixture of Muslims, Christians and Jews, Lebanon was known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East" and its capital, Beirut, as the "Paris of the Middle East." Lebanon, historically, was a Christian-majority land. The religion was introduced to the area in the first century by St. Peter and St. Paul, and the faith spread early throughout the region.
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by Lawrence Kadish • December 10, 2025 at 4:00 am
Pictured: A boat pushes a barge carrying recycling waste on the Upper Bay between Staten Island and Manhattan on December 29, 2023. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
In the years leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America sold millions of tons of its scrap metal to a nation that would return that metal as bombs and bullets targeting American GIs. So it is important to ask the question: where and why is America now either burying in landfills or sending overseas its valuable electronic waste, when every smartphone, laptop, EV battery, and flat screen contains valuable elements that would help our nation free itself from its dependence on Chinese exports of crucial rare earth elements? Globally, experts say electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams, yet they acknowledge only about 17% is currently being recycled. Washington is apparently aware of the issue, but there has yet to be a bipartisan consensus on how to address the problem. Individual states are proposing mandated guidelines for e-waste disposal, but to truly meet this challenge requires a comprehensive national policy.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • December 9, 2025 at 5:00 am
One of the keynote speakers at the conference [hosted by Turkey] was Khaled Mashaal, a senior Hamas leader based in Qatar. Mashaal declared that the time has come for the Muslim nation to "commit to the liberation of Jerusalem." He defined this act as the symbol and strategic key to "liberating all of Palestine" -- meaning the destruction of Israel and replacing it with an Islamist state. As the conference was underway, Israeli authorities revealed documents that show that Hamas is operating a system of Gazan moneychangers who live in Turkey and exploit the country's financial infrastructure to secretly finance terrorism. The closing statement of the conference asserted the necessity of waging Jihad (war in the service of Islam).... Turkey in addition, is the main sponsor behind the new president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly an al-Qaeda leader known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, leader of the jihadist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham militia. Is Turkey possibly trying to position itself on either side of Israel to attack it after Trump leaves office? Is Trump's selling arms to Qatar and Turkey in fact unwittingly preparing them to launch such an attack? The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is evidently concerned about Qatar and Turkey playing a central role in the Gaza Strip. Allowing Turkey or Qatar to play any role in the Gaza Strip means empowering Hamas to reassert its control of the coastal area and rearm and regroup. Turkey and Qatar are not going to participate in any effort to disarm Hamas or destroy terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. On the contrary, as they openly state, they will ensure that Hamas continues to rule the Gaza Strip and pursue its Jihad to destroy Israel.
Allowing Turkey or Qatar to play any role in the Gaza Strip means empowering Hamas to reassert its control of the coastal area and rearm and regroup. Turkey and Qatar are not going to participate in any effort to disarm Hamas or destroy terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. On the contrary, as they openly state, they will ensure that Hamas continues to rule the Gaza Strip and pursue its Jihad to destroy Israel. Pictured: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (then serving as prime minister) meets Khaled Mashaal (C), the Hamas chief in exile, and Hamas' then leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh (L), in Ankara on June 18, 2013. (Photo by Yasin Bulbul/Turkish Prime Minister's Press Office/AFP via Getty Images)
In early December, Turkey hosted a conference called "Pledge to Jerusalem," under the slogan "Towards Renewing the Will of the Ummah in Confronting Liquidation and Genocide." According to reports in the Arabic media, the conference was attended by "a number of Arab and Islamic organizations." The conference, according to a report by the Hamas-affiliated Quds Press media outlet: "The conference aims to 'unify the efforts of the Ummah to criminalize genocide and break the siege, stand against plans of forced displacement and annexation of the West Bank, and renew the covenant to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque from the dangers of Judaization...' At the conclusion of the second day, participants aim to issue the 'Covenant for Jerusalem Document,' described as a comprehensive charter affirming the constants of the Ummah and the choice of resistance, according to the conference vision obtained by Quds Press.
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by Ahmed Charai • December 9, 2025 at 4:00 am
An International Stabilization Force that enters Gaza while Hamas remains armed will merely stabilize Hamas itself. A stabilization force that cannot confront the terrorists who rule Gaza is not a peacekeeping mechanism; it is a political anesthetic. It buys time for Hamas to rest, reconstitute its battalions, rebuild its tunnels, and prepare for the next war. It allows the group to deepen its grip on the population and to rewrite the narrative so that its catastrophic decisions appear as heroic resistance. One cannot reconstruct a city by empowering the people who destroyed it. On December 6, 2025, in a speech delivered in Turkey, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal declared that Hamas will never disarm, never renounce its weapons, never accept external oversight of Gaza, never permit any force, international or otherwise, to constrain its military operations. The Muslim Brotherhood's narrative of "resistance" that thrives on perpetual conflict... They do not honor Islam; they distort it into a justification for violence. And the Iranian people — one of the most cultured and brilliant civilizations on earth — deserve better than rulers who export fires to Arab lands while extinguishing hope at home. Some governments.... speak of stability while pursuing a very different goal: preserving Hamas as a tool of influence. Trump did not indulge fantasies about Hamas. He built a plan based on the recognition that peace requires confronting those who reject peace. His work was a reminder that leadership matters. The time has come to speak with clarity: Gaza cannot be rebuilt while Hamas exists. Peace cannot be built while Hamas rules. And an International Stabilization Force that does not understand this is not stabilizing the region — it is stabilizing its nightmares.
An International Stabilization Force (ISF) that enters Gaza while Hamas remains armed will merely stabilize Hamas itself. An ISF that cannot confront the terrorists who rule Gaza is not a peacekeeping mechanism; it is a political anesthetic. It buys time for Hamas to rest, reconstitute its battalions, rebuild its tunnels, and prepare for the next war. (AI image generated by Google Gemini)
It is time to confront one of the most dangerous illusions of our time: the belief that an International Stabilization Force for Gaza can bring order, reconstruction, or peace without dismantling Hamas. A force that enters Gaza while Hamas remains armed will merely stabilize Hamas itself. It will become, in practice, an International Stabilization Force for Hamas, a shield that protects the very organization that plunged Gaza into tragedy. No serious strategist can pretend that disarmament is optional. A stabilization force that cannot confront the terrorists who rule Gaza is not a peacekeeping mechanism; it is a political anesthetic. It buys time for Hamas to rest, reconstitute its battalions, rebuild its tunnels, and prepare for the next war. It allows the group to deepen its grip on the population and to rewrite the narrative so that its catastrophic decisions appear as heroic resistance.
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by Robert Williams • December 8, 2025 at 5:00 am
[T]wo leaders have reshaped the strategic map with a clarity rarely seen in this era: United States President Donald J. Trump and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). MBZ's long-term project is not ideological and not transactional. It is developmental. His vision of governance is anchored in four pillars: modernity, competence, coexistence, and scientific advancement. This is why the UAE has become a regional pioneer in space exploration, renewable energy, and peaceful nuclear development. It is why the country became the third in the world — after the United States and China — to invest at scale in artificial intelligence, signing multibillion-dollar agreements to accelerate the technological transformation of its economy. MBZ understood that a modern Middle East cannot be built by capitulating to militancy. His reforms stand in stark contrast to the ideological rigidity of groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, whose governance models have produced paralysis, institutional weakness, and repeated humanitarian disasters. Where they promote confrontation, MBZ promotes capacity-building. Where they elevate dogma, he elevates human development. The Nobel Peace Prize has often been awarded to symbolic acts or aspirational visions. But the Middle East today demands something different: recognition of leaders whose decisions produced tangible pathways to peace, stability, and human survival. Trump and MBZ did not simply speak about peace; they engineered it. The Nobel Peace Prize should acknowledge both. History surely will.
Two leaders have reshaped the strategic map with a clarity rarely seen in this era: United States President Donald J. Trump and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). Pictured: Trump meets with MBZ at the White House on May 15, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chris Kleponis/Pool/Getty Images)
At a time when diplomacy is paralyzed, institutions are overwhelmed, and war has returned to the Middle East with devastating force, two leaders have reshaped the strategic map with a clarity rarely seen in this era: United States President Donald J. Trump and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). Their approaches differ in style and origin, but converge on a single point: both pushed the region toward pragmatism at a moment when it was veering toward extremism and fragmentation. For this reason, both deserve to be considered among the most consequential peacemakers of the twenty-first century—and worthy of recognition at the highest international level, including the Nobel Peace Prize. A Vision of Peace That Broke with Old Orthodoxy
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by Lawrence Kadish • December 8, 2025 at 4:00 am
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has turned to America's defense industry and told them -- in no uncertain terms -- that they should consider production to be on a wartime footing. Pictured: US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at a Cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington, DC, on December 2, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth knows something the rest of us should embrace. For the last five years, Communist China's military spending has grown consistently. Published reports suggest annual budget increases of 6.8-7.2%, rising from approximately $209 billion in 2021 to $246 billion in 2025. And that is only what is reported. The real numbers are undoubtedly much higher. In response, Hegseth has turned to America's defense industry and told them -- in no uncertain terms -- that they should consider production to be on a wartime footing. It is recognition that our nation's ability to design and field new weapons systems usually takes years, sometimes decades. If deterrence is to play a role in keeping China's pistol in its holster, we do not have the luxury of time.
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by Nils A. Haug • December 7, 2025 at 5:00 am
It may not be generally known that, immediately after WWII, as many as 48,000 volunteers, both Jews and non-Jews, from 59 nations arrived in Israel to fight for its independence. About 90% of Israel's fledging Air Force pilots were new arrivals – the often-overlooked heroes of their time. In many Western countries, the present cohort of military-age young people generally seems to display an ignorance of integrity, the indispensable value of freedom of speech, Judeo-Christian values, and patriotism. Instead, despite having the comfort of food, shelter, advanced technology, and no military obligations, they appear to be self-absorbed and resentful of how extremely hard they supposedly have it. Destructive rather than creative, many appear, at best, disinclined to contribute meaningfully to the common good of the societies that provide them with so much. Is it possible that we are infantilizing them -- depriving them of the most important education of all - by no longer requiring a military draft, a Peace Corps, or at least mandatory civilian national service to enable them to participate in "repairing" the world and seeing how most people actually live? "These young men and women, raised in the age of social media and short attention spans, are showing the world what true clarity and courage look like. They're not confused by decades of failed appeasement or the lies of global media narratives. They know why we are fighting. They have seen with their own eyes the evil we are fighting against.... They are... standing with a strength and moral clarity that cuts through the noise...." — Avi Abelow, JNS, October 19, 2025. Journalist Jonathan Tobin notes that these men and women (many of them reservists who in everyday life work at everyday jobs) went on to defeat their "Iranian, Hezbollah and Hamas foes, and did so while still preserving [Israel's] standards and humanity." They are a credit to their people and to the Judeo-Christian ethos underpinning Western civilization itself.
Almost every generation in history has a group of courageous men and women, of all ages, who deserve their place among the greatest and bravest of their time. The present cadre of Israeli warriors is no exception. Pictured: IDF soldiers in southern Israel are briefed as they prepare to go into battle against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, on December 13, 2023. (Photo by Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
When the Greatest Generation is mentioned, reference is invariably to those who went through the Great Depression and participated in the Second World War and who emerged victorious, at great personal cost, against various enemies bent on bringing America down. It may not be generally known that, immediately after WWII, as many as 48,000 volunteers, both Jews and non-Jews, from 59 nations arrived in Israel to fight for its independence. About 90% of Israel's fledging Air Force pilots were new arrivals – the often-overlooked heroes of their time. The influence and virtues of those generations are "fading into permanent silence," suggests political commentator Sean Patrick Calabria.
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by Amir Taheri • December 7, 2025 at 4:00 am
US President Donald Trump wasn't drafted and did none of the things that budding politically correct gurus counseled. Instead, he tried to make money, not always successfully, but he learned to distinguish the tangible from the intangible. By instinct he learned that getting money by making deals, or if you look for pseudo-academic cliché, securing economic advantages, could also be used to stop wars. Trump has invited protagonists to come along and "let us get rich or richer together!" What critics ignore is that getting the US involved economically could be a guarantee of durability for a peace deal. To them, making money from peace is worse than making it from war. What Trump offers is a method of persuading rival factions that they could make more money by sharing the resources rather than spending it on war, even if you need to give the US a cut as the go-between. In Gaza, money pumped in from outside enables groups like Hamas to devote all their resources to preparation for war and terrorism, while foreign donors cover the need for food, health, housing, education and even culture. In western Yemen, a good part of the cost of government and 60% of food needed are donated by "benefactors" thus enabling Houthis to act as a war machine while agriculture is devoted to growing qat to chew rather than food to eat. In Jafar Panahi's new film "A Simple Incident," the character Iqbal, a former Iranian "defender of the harem" in Syria, confesses that he volunteered to kill Syrians in exchange for money that enabled him to own a house and look after his family.
Pictured: US President Donald Trump hosts the signing ceremony of a peace deal with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (L) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump to host two African leaders! That was a footnote to world news last week still dominated by efforts to stop the Ukraine war. However, to those who follow African affairs, the triangular meeting at the White House looked like a miracle. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame seemed determined to end a decades-long war that, despite claiming at least as many victims as the current war in Ukraine or the recent war in Gaza, never hit global headlines. The draft prepared by the White House was labeled "Peace and Economic Agreement" thus injecting the invisible hand of money into a conflict clothed in flimsy conceptual garments such as "national honor" and "sovereignty". US President Donald Trump wasn't drafted and did none of the things that budding politically correct gurus counseled.
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