US
Charles Krauthammer is disappointed with President Obama’s lack of presence in the Charlie Hebdo affair, a lack of presence which he sees as emblematic of his attitude toward the war on terror:
As for President Obama, he never was Charlie, not even for those 48 hours. From the day of the massacre, he has been practically invisible. At the interstices of various political rallies, he issued bits of muted, mealy-mouthed boilerplate. These were followed by the now-famous absence of any U.S. representative of any stature at the Paris rally, an abdication of moral and political leadership for which the White House has already admitted error.
Michael Peck discusses the US army’s plans against enemy drones:
Drones were great for a while, as long as it was only the U.S. military that used them. Now the Pentagon is waking up to the possibility that potential enemies like China, Iran and North Korea might use them against America.
But it's not just drones that are the threat. It's swarms of drones, perhaps tens or dozens or hundreds, spying or striking at U.S. troops. A poor man's form of asymmetric warfare capitalizing on the simple fact that you can strap a camera or a bomb to a $300 flying robot that a 10-year-old can operate.
Israel
Baruch Leshem points out that the upcoming elections are not a Netanyahu-Herzog popularity contest:
Herzog's battle is not against Netanyahu. Not one single Likud voter will switch sides for him. The number of Facebook likes that each gets will not determine the election outcome. It could be that this time, the election will be decided by the personality, not because of the person.
According to Semih Idiz, The Israel-Turkey relationship has never been worse:
None of this suggests a Turkish-Israeli rapprochement is on the horizon, despite progress by diplomats after Netanyahu’s apology over the Mavi Marmara raid. The situation is further aggravated by remarks from various quarters in Turkey that are fueling anti-Israeli sentiments.
Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek, for example, claimed that the Mossad was behind the Paris attacks because Israel is disturbed by the French parliament’s support for Palestinian statehood. “Israel definitely does not want this to develop in Europe. That is why the Mossad is definitely behind these attacks,” Gokcek told a convention of AKP youth in Ankara.
Middle East
The Atlantic’s Thanassis Cambanis examines the prospects of another revolution in Egypt:
In the worst of times under Mubarak, and before him Sadat and Nasser, mass arrests, executions, and the banning of political life kept the country quiet. But as Egypt heads toward the fourth anniversary of the January 25th uprisings, things are anything but quiet, despite the best efforts of Sisi’s state. Dissidents are smuggling letters out of jail. Muslim Brothers protest weekly for the restoration of civilian rule. Secular activists are working on detailed plans so that next time around, they’ll be able to present an alternative to the status-quo power. No one believes that this means another revolution is imminent, but the percolating dissatisfaction, and the ongoing work of political resistance, suggest that it won’t wait 30 years either.
Matthew Levitt offers his view on the ISIS-al Qaeda relations:
Many questions persist about the attacks in Paris last week, not least the relationship of the attackers with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group (ISIL). In truth, both organizations encourage jihadi attacks; on that issue, their commonality is more important than their differences.
Jewish World
Yossi Shein discusses the big dilemma facing France’s Jews:
The French prime minister's statement that “if the Jews leave, France will lose its identity” is definitely authentic. But even the liberal Jews admit that the fear of sending their children to governmental schools is taking over their lives. It's possible that the liberal French Jewry has reached the twilight stage.
British Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner rejects ‘fortress Judaism’ and the idea that Britain’s Jews are in peril in any way:
The murders at Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarkets sent tremors of tragedy across the Diaspora — they forced Jews to reflect on their place in society, everywhere. The best response to those events is not turning inward. It is not accepting Netanyahu’s narrative: “Come home to Israel from terrible European anti-Semitism.” The danger of discrimination does not necessitate desertion, but devotion. It demands we work even harder to ensure Britain remains a safe place for Jews, and does not import division and discrimination from elsewhere. This is not the 1930s — although when it was, Jews took up their pots, pans and pebbles before declaring their time was up.
