Brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement - for recent American presidents, it’s been the holy grail of foreign policy. Unfortunately for President Obama, a comprehensive accord is just not in the cards for his second term. It won’t be for lack of trying. But the inconvenient truth is that peace is impossible as long as Hamas retains its stranglehold over Gaza.…

Middle East tensions are rising as President Obama prepares to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. Clearly, Iran will be at the top of the agenda. On Thursday, Mr. Obama announced that Tehran was only about a year away from producing a nuclear bomb. “Obviously, we don’t want to cut it too close,” he noted. Another issue requiring urgent attention: forging a common…

Overshadowed in the media by the senseless violence in the Middle East and North Africa, you can’t help but wonder what new intelligence Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has that led to his demand for a tougher American stance on Iran this past weekend. Without giving details, last week Netanyahu told CNN’s State of the Union: “They’re [Iran] moving very…

While temperatures in the Persian Gulf hover mercilessly above 100 degrees this time of year, political and military tensions seem to be running a lot hotter. The shooting incident off the United Arab Emirates Monday involving a U.S. Navy ship and a civilian boat may be just one indication of how much warmer this summer might get in the Gulf. Unfortunately, little…

Last week’s media bombshell that we’d infiltrated the Iranian nuclear program with a super-secret computer virus made it undeniable: There’s been way too much aired about sensitive US operations over the last year or so. Someone ought to tell Team Obama. It started with the Osama bin Laden takedown last May, in which operational and intelligence details found…