- January 24, 2025
Articles
Palestine Papers: The Palestinians’ ‘Generous Offer’
By Ramzy Baroud As Palestinians are becoming increasingly confident about the authenticity of the Palestine Papers – 1,600 leaked documents that Al Jazeera began publishing on January 23 – they can also find little to be proud of in their contents. According to Palestinian political commentator Mazin Qumsiyeh, the PA’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat “comes […]
Tunisia: How We Got Here and the Task Ahead
By Ramzy Baroud Hunger strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people’s uprising on January 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime’s wide-ranging human rights violations. Over […]
The Palestine Papers: Offering Palestine, Selling Out Its Refugees
By Ramzy Baroud The Palestine Papers had damaged whatever little credibility the Ramallah-based authority still enjoyed among Palestinians The Palestine Papers, the 1,300 leaked documents that Aljazeera began publishing starting January 23, are the Palestinian response to the Israeli ‘generous offer’, an Israeli diplomatic ruse that was aimed at discrediting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following […]
Generalizing Tunisia: Context Overrides Story
By Ramzy Baroud When faced with problems, most authoritarian regimes maintain a policy of rigidity when the appropriate response would be flexibility, political wisdom and concessions. This policy gives authoritarian leaders their ability to control their populations to serve the interests of a few individuals and political and military elites. It can also, however, usher […]
Failure of Academia: A Book Not Meant to Be Published
By Ramzy Baroud Deepak Tripathi’s most recent book, Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism (Potomac Books) raises several issues, both within and outside of its content. It is based on research for his doctoral dissertation, the qualification for which he never received. Tripathi, a former BBC producer, is immensely proud of his […]
Declaring Palestine: Revisiting Hope and Failure
By Ramzy Baroud When late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat read the Declaration of the Palestinian Independence just over 22 years ago, Palestinians everywhere were enthralled. They held onto his every word during the Palestinian National Council (PNC) session in Algeria on November 15, 1988. The council members incessantly applauded and chanted in the name of […]
Hope in 2011: Peoples, Civil Society Stand Tall
By Ramzy Baroud When the Iraqi army fell before invading US and British troops in 2003, the latter’s mission seemed to be accomplished. But nearly eight years after the start of a war intended to shock and awe a whole population into submission, the Iraqi people continue to stand tall. They have confronted and rejected […]
Whitewashing Defeat: Obama’s Indecisiveness Defines His Presidency
By Ramzy Baroud He may still possess the poise of a confident leader and an eloquent intellectual, but the presidency of Barack Obama is now suffering its most difficult phase to date. Certainly, Obama cannot solely be blamed for all the factors that have stifled his country’s chances of recovery from the failures of the […]
Insisting on Their Humanity: ‘The Plight of the Palestinians’
By Ramzy Baroud When a copy of William A. Cook’s latest book, The Plight of the Palestinians arrived in my mailbox, I initially felt a little worried. The volume, featuring the work of over 30 accomplished writers, is the most articulate treatise on the collective victimization of Palestinians to date. From Cook’s own introduction, ‘The […]
WikiLeaks Indicts, Vindicates U.S. Diplomats
By Ramzy Baroud The WikiLeaks vs. the US government saga started in July, when 77,000 secret US documents directly relating to Afghanistan were made available to major media organizations. Many of us shook our heads with a mixture of disgust and vindication. We had long been aware of the brutality of the war, and the […]
Lebanon at Stake: Turkey Must Reveal Its Cards
By Ramzy Baroud The timing of the Turkish Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Lebanon could not be more judicious. Lebanon’s enemies have been banging the drums of war louder than ever before. All the malevolent plans hatched following the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri are about to converge for one formidable goal: […]
More Than a Bribe: Obama Surrenders Palestinian Rights
By Ramzy Baroud The Middle East policies of US President Barack Obama may well prove the most detrimental in history so far, surpassing even the rightwing policies of President George W. Bush. Even those who warned against the overt optimism which accompanied Obama’s arrival to the White House must now be stunned to see how […]
A Follow Up on My Fifth Grade Essay: Education at Gunpoint
By Ramzy Baroud I recall the first sentence of my fifth grade essay on ‘Education and Youth’. Written with the occasional aid of my father, and dotted with clichés, it might have read something like this: “Youth is the backbone of any nation, and education is essential to arm the youth with the knowledge they […]
Iraqi Christians Are Already at Home
By Ramzy Baroud On Sunday, October 31, when a group of militants seized a church in Baghdad, killing and wounding scores of Iraqi Christians, it signaled yet another episode of unimaginable horror in the country since the US invasion of March 2003. Every group of Iraqis has faced terrible devastation as a result of this […]
The Middle East’s Stagnant ‘Change’
By Ramzy Baroud Democracy in the Middle East continues to be a hugely popular topic of discussion. Its virtues are tirelessly praised by rulers and oppositions alike, by intellectuals and ordinary people, by political prisoners and their prison guards. Yet, in actuality, it also remains an illusion, if not a front to ensure the demise […]
Obama as a Salesman
By Ramzy Baroud It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to claim that the resumption of peace talks between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have thus far yielded nothing of value, at least not as far as settling the decades-long struggle. For one, the media has paid the talks little attention, aside from the ceremonial […]
Teaching the Oppressed How to Fight Oppression
By Ramzy Baroud An American activist once gave me a book she wrote detailing her experiences in Palestine. The largely visual volume documented her journey of the occupied West Bank, rife with barbered wires, checkpoints, soldiers and tanks. It also highlighted how Palestinians resisted the occupation peacefully, in contrast to the prevalent media depictions linking […]
The Tide Has Changed: A Musical Essay and a Lesson in Humanity
By Ramzy Baroud If one tried to fit music compositions into an equivalent literary style, Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble’s latest release would come across as a most engaging political essay: persuasive, argumentative, rational, original, imaginative and always unfailingly accessible. But unlike the rigid politicking of politicians and increasingly Machiavellian style of today’s […]
‘Dying to Win’: Newt Gingrich’s ‘Terrorism’
By Ramzy Baroud On September 30, within the time frame of a few hours, an accused man reportedly confessed to terrorism charges in Germany, the terrorism threat level was raised in Sweden, and former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich lengthily discussed ‘suicidal jihadists’ in a speech he made in Denver. Although it was […]
Farewell to Arms: Jenny, Iraq and the Next War
By Ramzy Baroud Let’s call her Jenny. Jenny was alone, and clearly confused. Her face was dotted with acne, and her short, blond hair was stiff at the ends. As the Skyline train sped towards the next destination, she stood ‘at attention’ in her military fatigue and boots staring aimlessly into the vastness of the […]
Why Mitchell Said ‘No’: Hamas is Not Ready to be ‘Engaged’
By Ramzy Baroud One key difference between Hamas and its rival, the Fatah movement in the West Bank, is that Hamas is accountable to a much more complex set of priorities and expectations. While Fatah is effortlessly co-opted, Hamas remains confined by ideological standards and the stringiest political space. Although, on one hand this represents […]
Regarding US Muslims: A Misguided Debate
By Ramzy Baroud Laurie Goodstein’s article, ‘American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?’ was intended as a sympathetic reading of the concerns of US Muslim communities facing increasing levels of hostility and fear. While generally insightful and sensibly written, the article also highlights the very misconceptions that riddle the bizarre debate pitting American Muslims against […]
The Photo before the Storm: Peace Talks Already Failed
By Ramzy Baroud A picture is not always worth a thousand words. The recently released photographs of Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Washington during their first direct talks in many months certainly don’t say anything new. It was the status quo at its best, a mere procession of regional and US leaders before hungry cameramen. […]
Behind the Israeli Wall: A Lesson in Reality
By Ramzy Baroud Writers often romanticize their subjects. At times they even manipulate their readers. A book – or any piece of writing for that matter – is meant to provide a sense of completion. Sociological explanations are offered to offset the confusion caused by apparent inconsistency in human behavior. At times a reader is […]
Rebranding Iraq: Playing with Numbers and Human Lives
By Ramzy Baroud The soldiers of the US 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division hollered as they made their way into Kuwait. ‘We won,’ they claimed. ‘It’s over.’ But what exactly did they win? And is the war really over? It seems we are once again walking into the same trap, the same nonsensical assumptions […]
Trapped at Ground Zero
By Ramzy Baroud The controversy over the right of Muslim Americans to build community center and mosque a short distance from the site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is both strange and outright inappropriate. It should never be necessary for law-abiding Americans to justify exercising their right to freely practice their own religion. […]
Bourj el-Barajneh: Searching for Meaning in a Refugee Camp
By Ramzy Baroud – Beirut, Lebanon Two young girls stood, as if frozen, starting below them at an ever vibrant Beirut. Their balcony, like the rest of their house and most of their refugee camp was of an indistinct color. It was dirty, as were their clothes. They, on the other hand, looked beautiful and […]
Smoke on a Bridge: Lebanon Awaits a Verdict
By Ramzy Baroud – Beirut, Lebanon Jamal is a Lebanese driver in his late 50’s. He appeared unshaven and terribly exhausted as he drove his old passenger van from the airport in Beirut to the Bekaa Valley. Although it was not a particularly arduous trip, it was made more grueling by the way Jamal drove, […]
Why Muslims Should Rethink Palestine
By RAMZY BAROUD Thousands of faithful assiduously listened as I outlined the challenges facing Palestine and its people. Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God is Great – occasionally resounded from a corner of the giant South African mosque. Many whimpered as I described the tragedy that had befallen Gaza as a result of the Israeli […]
Redundant but Dangerous Language
By RAMZY BAROUD Each time Israel fails to keep its ‘side of the bargain’, the Palestinian Authority responds with the same redundant language. The cycle has become so utterly predictable that one wonders why the Palestinian Authority officials even bothers protesting Israeli action. They must be well aware that their cries, genuine or otherwise, will […]
