washingtonpost.com - David Ignatius -- Washington Post Columnist (washingtonpost.com)David Ignatius writes about international affairs and U.S. foreign policy for The Washington Post op-ed page.Why Not A Debate In Dubai- June 29, 2008 Here's a crazy idea that's being discussed by the rulers of the Persian Gulf city-state of Dubai: What if they were to invite Barack Obama and John McCain to come to the desert oasis for a presidential debatehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062702769.html?nav=r... A Surprise Negotiation- June 25, 2008 What's going on between Syria and Israel Are the indirect peace negotiations through Turkish mediators that were announced last month for real I've been talking with sources on all sides, and they present an upbeat view of a peace process that has taken many people (including top Bush administration officials) by surprise.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401214.html?nav=r... Failing Airlines, Failing Government- June 22, 2008 Surveying the decline of the airline industry, retired American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall said something this month that both presidential candidates should take to heart: "The United States used to be good at solving problems. These days, we don't seem up to the job."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/20/AR2008062002277.html?nav=r... The Right Iraq Footprint- June 19, 2008 "Don't be afraid of Iraqi sovereignty," Gen. John Abizaid used to say when he was Centcom commander. And that's good advice now as Iraqis and Americans think about the new "status of forces" agreement that will shape the country next year when the Bush administration is gone.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/18/AR2008061802635.html?nav=r... A Fix-It List for The Spies- June 15, 2008 VERGENNES, Vermont -- If the U.S. intelligence community were a business, it would be obvious that there's something wrong: It's in the middle of a misguided reorganization that makes the AOL-Time Warner merger look good; its most famous brand name, "CIA," has been badly tarnished; and it has lost the confidence of its three shareholders -- the executive branch, Congress and the American public. This bear market in intelligence is not helpful for a nation that is fighting two major wars.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/13/AR2008061302638.html?nav=r... Obama's Economic Challenge- June 12, 2008 It was a telling sign that one of the first things Barack Obama did after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination was to hire a new economic policy director, someone who can help him move from the anti-NAFTA left of the party toward the pro-market center that traces its lineage to Clinton administration Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/11/AR2008061103172.html?nav=r... At the Tip of Iran's Spear- June 8, 2008 Let's try for a moment to put ourselves in the mind of Brig. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. For it is the soft-spoken Soleimani, not Iran's bombastic president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who plays a decisive role in his nation's confrontation with the United States.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/06/AR2008060603152.html?nav=r... Reining In the Kings of Tort- June 5, 2008 In the novels of John Grisham and the real-life exploits of consumer advocates such as Ralph Nader, the plaintiff's lawyers are the good guys -- populist heroes who battle the avarice of corporate America. But that folkloric image has been battered by two recent cases that show how the plaintiffs' bar itself has been vulnerable to the greed and lawlessness it seeks to combat.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/04/AR2008060403051.html?nav=r... Going Their Own Way in The Mideast- June 1, 2008 What happens when a superpower becomes preoccupied by a costly war and loses some of its ability to coerce friends and enemies toward the outcomes it favors We're seeing a demonstration of that change now in the Middle East, as Arabs and even Israel reckon with the limits of American power -- and begin to cut their own deals.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/30/AR2008053002517.html?nav=r... |