Clifford D. May

CLIFFORD MAY: David Cameron questions Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology

Among Western leaders these days, truth-telling is hardly habitual. So I feel compelled to give credit where credit is due: to British Prime Minister David Cameron for speaking frankly about the Muslim Brotherhood.

December 29, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: The early returns on Obama’s Iran deal

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opened a hearing last week with these candid, if not immortal, words: "I think the agreement is off to a really terrible start."

December 22, 2015

CLIFFORD D. MAY: Perfect submission possible

Michel Houellebecq is a sardonic and iconoclastic French novelist, winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt, and subject of considerable controversy in Europe these days. He deserves to be controversial here in the United States as well.

December 15, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Americans disagree over threats

"Divide and conquer" describes an age-old military concept: If your enemies are fighting among themselves, they can't effectively battle you. Phillip II of Macedon, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were among those who employed this tactic to defeat more powerful forces. Would-be conquerors of the 21st century are lucky: Their enemies can't agree about anything -- not even which barbarians are at the gate.

December 8, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Water in Israel

Thirty years ago, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, an Egyptian politician and diplomat who would go on to become United Nations secretary-general in 1992, warned of Middle Eastern wars to come. His prediction was correct, but he was wrong about the cause. What should have worried him was the rise of extremist movements within the Islamic world. What worried him instead was water.

December 1, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: National security memo to presidential campaign advisers

This memorandum is addressed to the brave souls advising presidential candidates. As you know, the recent terrorist attacks in France -- and in Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel -- have altered the political landscape. With less than a year to go before the 2016 election, the landscape may stay altered even if there are no more attacks -- and that seems unlikely.

November 24, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Lessons learned from Paris

For almost two generations, since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, self-proclaimed jihadis have been fighting to re-establish Islamic supremacy and domination in the world. Leaders of the nations they have been targeting have regarded them as a problem -- but mostly not as dangerous enemies who must be decisively defeated.

November 17, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Islamic State should read about their origin

After a long week of slitting throats, smashing antiquities and raping infidel slave girls, how do the Islamic State's barbarians unwind? Some, apparently, discuss the finer points of history.

November 10, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: An unhappy United Nations birthday

Did it escape your attention that last month was the 70th birthday of the United Nations? Did you miss the opportunity to celebrate by following Elyx on an "exciting 70-day (virtual) trip around the world to shine light on the U.N.'s work"?

November 3, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Jobless and desperate Palestinians

A few years ago, Daniel Birnbaum, an Israeli businessman, had an odd idea: "I decided I wanted to employ Palestinians."

October 27, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Palestinian attacks in the Holy Land

JERUSALEM -- Over the years, Israelis have had to defend themselves from foreign armies, suicide bombers and missiles. Over recent weeks, they've been confronting a new threat: young Palestinians wielding butcher knives.

October 20, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Why Turkey is now a target and a tinderbox

"We will manage the wave of change in the Middle East. Just as we have an ideal in our minds about Turkey, we have an ideal of a new Middle East."

October 13, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Alberto Nisman Argentine murder mystery

When heads of state gather, as they did for the United Nations General Assembly last week, you have a choice: Tune out or prepare to be bathed in blather, boilerplate and blatant lies.

October 6, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Vladimir Putin’s progress

Not long after the implosion of the Soviet Union, I attended a conference in Moscow. The topic: how Russia would evolve in the post-communist era about to begin. Most participants were confident and optimistic. A few of us Americans -- not so much.

September 29, 2015

CLIFFORD MAY: Why Republican presidential candidates support Israel

So last week during the Republican debate, hundreds of thousands of people read your tweets lambasting four of the candidates -- Gov. Chris Christie, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz -- for expressing their strong support for Israel.

September 22, 2015