AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

An ironic appointment

15 Oct 2020

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a Muslim, an immigrant and a proud Moroccan with Belgian and US citizenship has been chosen to head Donald Trump’s fast-track effort to develop and distribute...

Trump brings hardship to many distressed families

11 Oct 2020

“Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” is a version of an ancient saying which appears to apply to Donald Trump. His decision to end bipartisan negotiations over...

A short-lived stint

08 Oct 2020

Mustapha Adib is an honest man ihn a land where honest men are not in politics. Shortly after being confirmed as prime minister by 90 of Lebanon’s current 120...

An ‘October surprise’ may hit a beleaguered Kadhimi

04 Oct 2020

Ever since the US installed a pro-Iran Shia fundamentalist-dominated regime in Iraq in 2003, Baghdad has struggled to balance ties with Washington and regional rival Tehran while striving for independence...

A conservative choice

01 Oct 2020

Donald Trump has, as expected, nominated arch-conservative Amy Coney Barrett to replace assertive liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court. Trump’s intention is to hold hearings on...

Trump could strong-arm rivals over poll results

27 Sep 2020

Following the death of celebrated, liberal Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the already heated US general election campaign has become frenetic. Instead of observing a decent pause to respect...

The race to win

24 Sep 2020

The death of iconic, liberal US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has heightened tensions in an already tense presidential and Congressional election campaign. Fighting pancreatic cancer Ginsburg, 87,...

Economic ruin forces thousands of Lebanese to flee

20 Sep 2020

Lebanese seeking safety and jobs have joined the thousands risking their lives by setting sail in flimsy rafts and small boats with the aim of reaching peaceful and employment-rich shores....

Raging revelations

17 Sep 2020

Bob Woodward’s half century in journalism has been bracketed by dramatic investigations into wrong doing by two US presidents seeking re-election. The first probe produced a series of articles...

US war on terror: Too great a human cost

13 Sep 2020

Ahead of the 19th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s September 11th 2001 attacks on the US, the Costs of War Project at Brown University issued its latest report. This 30-page survey revealed...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.