[Amos N. Guiora] Israel’s Gaza sea blockade is an act of self-defense

Self-defense against threats to national security and individual citizens is a core right and duty of all nation-states. No one seriously disagrees. And yet this week, the Mediterranean Sea will once again be the site of a dangerous attack on this basic right.Activists from around the world, seeking to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, plan to launch a flotilla of shi

July 7, 2011

[Lawrence J. Korb] U.S. military’s abortion policy is out of date

More than 255,000 women have served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Twenty-one percent of the 2011 graduating class of sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis were women; of the Marines, 17 percent. The Air Force Academy and West Point graduated similar percentages: nearly 20 percent and more than 16 percent, respectively. All told, women account for nearly 15 percent of activ

July 7, 2011

[Jeffrey Goldberg] Ex-Mossad chief’s Iran warnings may backfire

In a country of hard men, Meir Dagan, the recently retired head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, is one of the hardest. He is the Siberian-born son of Holocaust survivors, an ex-commando who has arranged the assassinations of many of Israel’s enemies. He is devoted to the defense of his country, and, like most of Israel’s samurai class, sees Iran, and its Jew-hating, missile-o

July 6, 2011

[Simon Johnson] Could Italy be next European domino to fall?

In recent days, Greece’s parliament adopted new austerity measures and Europe’s finance ministers approved another round of Greek loans. So the European debt crisis is under control, right? Probably not. One obvious reason is Standard & Poor’s July 4 threat to declare a default if banks roll over Greek government bonds coming due over the next year. That could force everyone back to the drawing bo

July 6, 2011

[Albert R. Hunt] Politicians lag U.S. voters on same-sex marriage

Almost 30 years ago, I flew around New York State with its new governor, Mario Cuomo. He told me that at a gay and lesbian advocacy dinner that week he and Bella Abzug, a firebrand left-wing former congresswoman, were the only straight people in attendance. I offhandedly remarked that the issue made me a little uncomfortable. Cuomo pounced. Every time you think about that, he said, assume that you

July 6, 2011

[Doyle McManus] A real-world consequence of debt-limit delay

In 2008, as financial crisis threatened the U.S. banking system, President George W. Bush asked Congress to approve an emergency bailout. Leaders of both parties blessed the idea; both presidential candidates ― Barack Obama and John McCain ― endorsed it. But conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats rebelled, the House defeated the bill ― and the stock market plummeted in real time during the

July 5, 2011

[Pankaj Mishra] Rising Turkey is no resurrection of Ottoman threat to Western world

Like many of Asia’s antique cities, Istanbul is a palimpsest, continuously inscribed by new movements of people and ideas, even as older writings on its parchment remain faintly visible. Few Istanbul neighborhoods manifest a multilayered identity as much as Kuzguncuk, which lies on the Asian shore of the Bosporus. Legend has it that Jews expelled from Spain in the late 15th century first settled h

July 5, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] Consequences of Republicans’ stance on debt

At a time when America’s economy is hurting, Republican presidential hopefuls call for “restoring American greatness.”So why are Republicans in Congress bent on policies that would hasten U.S. decline?America’s strengths ― which made it the unchallenged global leader ― were based on democratic institutions and economic successes. Other nations sought to copy our economic and political systems beca

July 4, 2011

[Andrew J. Bacevich] U.S. foreign policy: War fever subsides

At periodic intervals, the American body politic has shown a marked susceptibility to messianic fevers. Whenever an especially acute attack occurs, a sort of delirium ensues, manifesting itself in delusions of grandeur and demented behavior.By the time the condition passes and a semblance of health is restored, recollection of what occurred during the interval of illness tends to be hazy. What hap

July 4, 2011

The housing clearance sale and market’s role

Bank of America on Wednesday announced an $8.5 billion settlement for investors who bought its toxic mortgage bonds before the housing crash.For the homeowners who took out those toxic mortgages, the settlement delivers … nothing.It’s only natural for Americans to feel disgusted in the aftermath of the real-estate bust. People want more sanctions against those who profited during the boom, more re

July 3, 2011