https://pjmedia.com/barryrubin/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usSat, 14 Mar 2026 12:51:53 -0400<![CDATA[Barry Rubin passed away on February 3rd, but we honor his memory by leaving his insightful commentary available to our readers, including his last post, which follows below.  —His fellow PJM editors]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:33:42 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/21/10867-n134060<![CDATA[]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:23:50 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/21/imagine-all-the-people-living-in-islamist-hegemony-why-lennon-and-dylan-know-all-about-islamist-hegemony-n134058<![CDATA[Although this is an exceptional case, it tells a great deal more than one might believe.]]>Mon, 20 Jan 2014 10:50:03 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/20/the-case-that-told-everything-about-western-american-society-the-american-dream-of-suicide-n134054<![CDATA[“It went bad for us over there, but that was our job. That’s what we did. We didn’t complain about it.” &#8212; Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell]]>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 16:01:37 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/12/the-hopelessness-of-victory-n134052<![CDATA[For the last five years, I have waited for the other shoe to drop.]]>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:59:11 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/12/the-gates-of-hell-obama-and-clinton-are-cooked-n134051<![CDATA[&#8220;The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”  This prophetic remark was made by Foreign Secretary Edward Grey in 1914 on the eve of World War One. The First World War marked the end of an era.]]>Thu, 09 Jan 2014 16:31:47 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/09/the-lamps-are-going-out-all-over-europe-n134049<![CDATA[Around 2007, I gave a lecture at the Defense Department. One of the attendees presented a scenario suggesting that the “problem of Islam” was not political but a problem of verbiage.]]>Wed, 08 Jan 2014 17:57:46 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/08/you-still-dont-understand-islamism-do-you-n134047<![CDATA[“We are at the beginning of a very long and profound transformation,” says President Barack Obama. True &#8212; and nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East.]]>Sun, 05 Jan 2014 13:36:30 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/05/the-middle-east-at-the-beginning-of-2014-n134045<![CDATA[“The fire-breathing Rebels arrive at the party early,]]>Sat, 04 Jan 2014 16:55:58 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/04/ideology-a-specter-haunting-the-world-n134043<![CDATA[The following is an extract from Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East (Yale University Press, forthcoming February 2014).]]>Fri, 03 Jan 2014 15:43:24 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/03/why-is-there-really-no-palestinian-state-the-1-state-solution-n134042<![CDATA[The presentation of the Palestinian Authority&#8217;s arguments is pitiful. Take, for example, the December 25, 2013 New York Times op-ed by Ali Jarbawi:]]>Thu, 02 Jan 2014 16:41:42 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2014/01/02/whos-to-blame-palestinians-seek-to-avoid-responsibility-for-their-situation-n134039<![CDATA[It makes sense that the Israel-Palestinian agreement is being made with Obama and Kerry in charge. The deal offers a kind of neo-mandate, with an American presence entrenched in the Jordan Valley for the next 10 years.  That’s no joke.]]>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 10:15:59 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/31/why-the-israeli-palestinian-agreement-is-absurd-n134037<![CDATA[Incidentally, Syria’s Ba’th dictatorship is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The best Syrian analyst I can think of, a very honest guy, is Ammar Abdulhamid. I recently read an article he wrote and was struck by how sad the situation in Syria is. He wrote:]]>Tue, 24 Dec 2013 16:21:31 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/24/syrias-dictatorship-anniversary-sympathy-for-the-two-devils-n134035<![CDATA[How do we know that the Obama administration Iran deal cannot work? Let me count the ways.]]>Tue, 24 Dec 2013 13:27:27 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/24/obama-administration-iran-deal-cannot-work-n134034<![CDATA[“Remember the war against Franco?]]>Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:24:58 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/19/when-the-immovable-force-meets-jello-the-syrian-civil-war-n134032<![CDATA[In the Spring of 2000, I was friendly with a nice man, the father of my son’s friend. He was generally apolitical, but his father had been a very high official in the Zionist-Marxist party (MAPAM), and he had regularly voted for MAPAM or the Communist Party. By coincidence, we once ended up sitting next to each other on a flight.]]>Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:43:04 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/18/the-war-among-the-jews-n134030<![CDATA[About 10 to 20 slanders (at least) are issued against Israel each day. They are frequently complete fabrications, and come from academia, media, politics, or elsewhere. The lying is either simply reported irresponsibly, or reported to intentionally participate in the “big lie.” Institutions and personal careers are benefitted by such moves.]]>Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:28:03 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/17/10747-n134028<![CDATA[This column is an attempt to provide a running narrative of the Middle East. It will tell the news behind the news, including what the mainstream media has missed, especially because of its lack of knowledge of history.]]>Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:34:07 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/17/how-to-read-a-newspaper-or-watch-television-about-the-real-middle-east-n134026<![CDATA[On December 15, an Israeli jeep was driving along the Israel-Lebanese border near the coast, in a quiet area which hadn&#8217;t seen war for decades. Suddenly, a shot &#8212; and a warrant officer fell dead.]]>Mon, 16 Dec 2013 14:25:41 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/16/meanwhile-on-israels-lebanese-border-n134025<![CDATA[The reasons for Translator Gate in South Africa seem pretty clear. I am referring to the scandal regarding this shocking, funny sign language translator at the Mandela funeral. I suggest that the Translator Gate is going to be quieted as to the reasons it happened. The Secret Service’s preferred security arrangements were overruled, because the White House did not want to hurt South Africa’s feelings, treating it like third-world Africa. I can’t think of any other way that happened. Therefore, out of concerns of accusations of “racism,” the life of the U.S. president was placed in danger. If I am wrong, I’ll admit it.]]>Sun, 15 Dec 2013 14:20:39 -0500<![CDATA[Barry Rubin]]>https://pjmedia.com/barry-rubin/2013/12/15/the-reasons-behind-the-south-african-translator-gate-scandal-n134022