Latest Articles

US and Iran See Nuclear Deal Differently

December 6, 2013  •  CNN.com

The nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran last month has been widely hailed as a successful interim measure to stave off an unwanted conflict over Tehran's illicit nuclear program. But after initially celebrating a diplomatic success, Iran is now reportedly lashing out at the United States for releasing a modified version of the agreement to the American people that does not reflect its interpretation.

Just how far apart are Washington and Tehran on the deal they only so recently inked?

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Is Turkey Abetting Iran?

November 1, 2013  •  The National Interest

David Ignatius of the Washington Post dropped a bomb last month, citing unnamed sources claiming Turkey "disclosed to Iranian intelligence the identities of up to ten Iranians who had been meeting inside Turkey with their Mossad case officers."

U.S. officials reportedly regarded the exposure as an "unfortunate intelligence loss." This is an understatement. "Years of Israeli espionage have been undone," said John Schindler, a former officer at the National Security Agency, noting the impact could be "devastating."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

One-Man Show

October 29, 2013  •  National Post

Perhaps the greatest casualty in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's campaign against political challengers has been former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. "Fayyadism" was once hailed in Washington's corridors of power — and by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman — as a refreshing alternative to the governing philosophy of other Middle Eastern regimes. As Friedman wrote in 2009, "Fayyadism is based on the simple but all-too-rare notion that an Arab leader's legitimacy should be based not on slogans or rejectionism or personality cults or security services, but on delivering transparent, accountable administration and services."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

The Bizarro Doctrine

October 24, 2013  •  Commentary

American foreign policy in the Middle East has now entered Bizarro World–a place made humorously famous by comedian Jerry Seinfeld, describing a parallel universe where "up is down, down is up," and where the opposite of what one expects occurs. Seinfeld was riffing off the comic book character Bizarro, the parallel character to Superman, who lived on a strange planet called Htrae (Earth spelled backwards).

Well, welcome to the Elddim Tsae. It's a place where long-standing state sponsors of terrorism Iran, Syria, and Sudan are basking in the warmth of America's evolving Middle East policies, while long-standing American allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others are increasingly sidelined.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

For Palestinians, the other enemy is their own leadership

October 23, 2013  •  Globe and Mail

After few quiet meetings in 2011 with Palestinians in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, I noticed a common theme. While Palestinians are universally and often justifiably frustrated with Israel's policies, they are also frustrated by their own poor leadership.

Intrigued, I began to write articles about the Palestinian leadership deficit, as well as the chronic abuses of power and mismanagement that are all too common across the Arab world. I soon realized that the story of failed Palestinian governance and persistent mismanagement is one that a great many observers of the region implicitly accept as truth, but few have ever documented.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Books by Jonathan Schanzer