Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

By Daniel Gordis It would have been hard to imagine that Islamic State’s brutal execution of American freelance photojournalist James Foley would worsen the Israeli public's assessment of the U.S.'s role in the Gaza conflict. But listen to the chatter in cafes and on the checkout line in the market, and it seems that it may have done just that. When the war died down and the cease-fires began, the reservists started to return home. One of them, a student of ours at Shalem College in Jerusalem, had been in the thick of it. When he finally got out for good and came back to campus, I found him in the student lounge, shook his hand and asked, “How are you?” He looked at me for a moment, exhausted, and replied, “Tell me, what happened to America?” The question of “What happened to America?” is very much on the minds of Israelis these days. Taxi drivers, commonly cited barometers of public opinion in these parts, have a simple explanation: “Obama hates Bibi.” It’s not only the driv...

From the Bloombergviews In Iraq, the U.S. is fighting in a de facto alliance with one group on its list of terrorist organizations -- the Kurdistan Workers Party, also known as the PKK -- against another, Islamic State. This odd situation reveals an emerging truth about the Kurdish group: Its terrorist status is falling out of date. At this point it has to be recognized for the constructive role it can play in Iraq and the wider region. On the front lines in northern Iraq, even before U.S. airstrikes began, the PKK proved itself to be the most effective fighting force against Islamic State (formerly Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Some of its battle units came from Iraq's Qandil mountains, long a base for PKK attacks into Turkey. Still more came from the Democratic Union Party, the group's affiliate organization in Syria, where they have fought Islamic State to a standstill in Kurdish areas. Of course, sharing a common foe with our side doesn't suddenly turn a ter...

From the Bloombergviews (1:15 pm.: Updated second paragraph to include reference to NATO reports of Russian military involvement.) The convoy of about 300 whitewashed Russian military trucks on the Ukrainian border, the first of which entered eastern Ukraine today, is an apt metaphor for this depressing conflict. Russia says they're carrying humanitarian aid. Ukraine says Russia has invaded. It may not be an invasion, but Ukrainian officials have the better of this argument. Many of these trucks are almost empty , and they are traveling without the Red Cross escort Russia agreed to. Now NATO  reports that Russia has brought artillery across the border. Still, Ukrainian officials must be careful in how they respond, because there remains plenty of room for escalation. Their campaign against pro-Russian rebels in their city strongholds has been making gains. But the closer victory comes, the higher the risk that Russian President Vladimir Putin -- cornered by the nationalist fervo...