Lawrence J. Haas

Stop nuzzling new autocrats in Turkey and Egypt; start pushing freedom and democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The next president must discard two longstanding but problematic pillars of U.S. policy in the Middle East and chart a new course that reflects both regional realities and the dynamic changes that are underway there.

Egypt’s Morsi thumbs his nose at U.S. as he accelerates down the Islamic expressway

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. foreign aid, which dates back to the early 1950s, is designed to support U.S. national security by helping our friends, pressuring our adversaries, and promoting a safer, more prosperous world.

Global sanctions on Iran are working; relaxing them now would be foolhardy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Calls to ease sanctions on Iran to spur global negotiations over its nuclear program will backfire, making a deal far less likely and greatly raising the risk of an Israeli military strike to cripple the program.

Bold action in Syria now will save U.S. tons of grief in the Mideast later

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad continues his slaughter, the issue is not whether more forceful U.S. action to stop him is risk-free.

Don’t go wobbly, Mr. Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States faces a cold reality: even stepped-up U.S. and Western sanctions of recent weeks have not convinced Iran’s radical regime, which is driving ever closer to nuclear weaponry, to shift course.

Radical Muslim power grabs in key Arab nations would be huge setback for U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At its best, U.S. policy toward the Middle East consists of a deft combination of short-term pragmatism and long-term idealism.

International sanctions have failed; military force must be considered

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Make no mistake: United Nations Security Council sanctions and additional U.S. and European pressures are hurting Iran. Tehran is having a harder time importing food and other key goods, its foreign investment is drying up, financial firms and shipping companies are turning down its business and its central bank is running short of hard currency.

Palestinians’ devious UN ploy would push Israel to the very edge

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Palestinian push for United Nations recognition of statehood comes amid signs that Palestinians are discarding the notion of living in peace with Israel, which will require the United States to veto any proposal that reaches the Security Council in order to protect its key Middle East ally.

Burying our heads in the sand will only encourage new, more lethal 9-11 attacks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood, Texas murders 13 of his service mates. A Pakistani immigrant tries to set off a car bomb in Times Square. An American convert to Islam murders a military recruiter in Arkansas.

Hezbollah’s seizure of power in Lebanon dooms peace talks and puts Israel at dire risk

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have not been rising. The central issues of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees seem no closer to resolution, and turmoil in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and elsewhere in the region further complicates efforts to reach long-term solutions to vexing challenges.

Far from promoting peace, U.S. recognition of Palestine would heighten tensions and spur violence

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state is one of those tempting silver bullets that upon close examination would produce the opposite of its promised result. Rather than promoting peace, it would likely ignite conflict both within Palestinian society and between Israel and the Palestinians.

The end of a secular society in Turkey bodes ill for the U.S. and other democracies

WASHINGTON, D.C. — No one should expect allies to always agree. The United States and Britain tangled over strategy during World War II, and the Soviet Union did not always see eye to eye with its Eastern European satellites.

Allowing Iran to have nuclear-fangs dooms new Mideast peace talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the very day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States would lead a renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace effort, Iran boasted that it had test-fired a surface-to-air missile.

Only Israel can make its fateful life or death decision

-- Lawrence J. Haas WASHINGTON, D.C. — Who said this? “I’ll never give a veto to any country over our security.” Was it Franklin Roosevelt? Or, perhaps, Ronald Reagan?