The Lion's Den

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes' thoughts on the Biden-Ryan debate.

Shimon Shiffer reports in Yedioth Ahronoth that in secret talks in 2010 via U.S. government mediator Frederic C. Hof, Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed in principle to a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights to the June 4, 1967, lines in return for the "expectation" of Bashar al-Assad cutting ties with Iran, and that the nearly-completed negotiations ended because of the anti-Assad uprising that began in January 2011.

Obama got away with saying that he had characterized the attack on the Benghazi consulate as a terrorist incident because the moderator confirmed his point; in fact he misrepresented the facts when he said "The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that … this was an act of terror."

Barack Obama has a weak record in the Middle East, but one would not learn this from the debate, where Mitt Romney praised Obama's achievements ("It's wonderful that Libya seems to be making some progress"), agreed with Obama more than he disagreed, and rarely pointed out his failings. Presumably, Romney took this mild approach to establish his likability, competence, and suitability to serve as commander-in-chief.

The Nation of Islam's historic role as a bridge between American blacks and Islam ended in 1975 when W. Deen Mohammed followed his father, Elijah Muhammad, as leader of the Nation and immediately disavowed his father's folk religion, bringing his followers to normative Islam, the Islam of the Middle East. From then on, despite the theatrics of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation has been in a long downward trajectory. Now comes evidence, thanks to Tony Ortega in the Village Voice and Eliza Gray in The New Republic, of a jaw-dropping turn by Farrakhan, 79, to Scientology; as Gray's subtitle puts it, "America's two weirdest sects join forces."

It happens every four years, as U.S. presidential elections roll around: I feel like a stranger. That's because news reports blare out what's not of interest: trivial statistics (171,000 jobs added in October; jobless rate up 0.1 percent to 7.9 percent), biographical irrelevancies (claims that Romney outsourced jobs to other countries when at Bain Capital), and forgettable gaffes (Obama saying that "Voting is the best revenge"). This limited discussion misses the main points.

I vote Republican because I support the party's core message of individualism, patriotism, and respect for tradition, in contrast to the core Democratic message of dependence, self-criticism, and "progress." I am inspired by the original reading of the U.S. Constitution, by ideals of personal freedom and American exceptionalism. I vote for small government, for a return of power to the states, for a strong military, and an assertive pursuit of national interests.

If Hamas knows it cannot defeat the Israel Defense Forces and will get a bloody nose for its efforts, it obviously has motives other than victory in mind.

It will be a long, hard road to traverse, but there is no short cut and it can succeed.

The 25-minute show was the most hare-brained and loony of my 35 years going on television.

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes appeared on the 'Cross Talk' program to argue that the West should use its influence to oppose Islamism instead of supporting it.

Odd that CUFI is out there swinging and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is silent.

What a launch for Kerry, whose mental vapidity promises to make Hillary Clinton actually look good in retrospect.

The sort of reasoning going around in Turkey regarding the Israeli strike in Syria can quickly leave one with a sore head.

When will American politicians and military leaders eventually realize that training foreign soldiers does not allies make them?

The AWACS Israel is selling to Turkey will potentially be used against Israel in the Mediterranean Sea.

You expressed having had "genuine concerns" about Hagel prior to your White House meeting with him; now is the moment for you to follow the dictates of your conscience.

Both law enforcement, the media and elected officials are reluctant to give out information about the attackers' religion, much less their motives.

Assassination sends a specific signal to others not to follow in the victim's footsteps.

Extra thoughts that could not make the main text of "When AIPAC Went AWOL."

Before the "8 March Revolution," Syria had been exceptionally unstable. Then came the heavy hand of the Ba'athists.

Even the modestly dressed and Islamist friendly Catherine Ashton did not escape being photoshopped.

As ever, Muslims raise startling new issues and Islam drives the social and legal agenda in the West.

Publishing house Palgrave Macmillan apologized for appearing to endorse "the Palestinian struggle."

Erdoğan can be seen as the anti-Atatürk, the leader who seeks to undo substantial parts of his predecessor's legacy, especially Atatürk's rejection of Shari'a, or Islamic law.

Both Hamas and Fatah are playing the game of pretending to end violence.

Western powers enjoy overwhelming battlefield superiority but face great difficulty when trying to shape other countries.

Erdogan's government has mastered the art of provocation and is being rewarded for it.

Now that Israelis humiliated themselves and Erdogan is rampaging ahead, some are awakening to the fact that this apology only made matters worse.

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes advocates backing Assad in Syria to keep the civil war there going.