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Articles by Ben Fishman
North Africa
Report Jul 30, 2024 After anti-migration efforts shrank its influence, Rome needs a new Libya policy By Karim Mezran, Aldo Liga It has been more than thirteen years since the outbreak of the 2011 Libyan revolution and the moment when Italy reluctantly supported the NATO-led intervention that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya purportedly to protect the population from Muammar Gaddafi’s retaliation.
Opinion: I attended Columbia University — I don’t recognize it today - NewsBreak
Columbia University is unrecognizable these days. On the early morning of April 30, protesters against the Gaza War took over Hamilton Hall, an iconic classroom building in the heart of the undergraduate campus. This occurred after a months-long tent encampment accompanied by radical hooligans shouting ignorant antisemitic slogans outside the university’s gates targeted Jewish students.
I attended Columbia University - I don’t recognize it today
Columbia University is unrecognizable these days. On the early morning of April 30, protesters against the Gaza War took over Hamilton Hall, an iconic classroom building in the heart of the undergraduate campus. This occurred after a months-long tent encampment accompanied by radical hooligans shouting ignorant antisemitic slogans outside the university’s gates targeted Jewish students.
The Retirement Road, Three Years Later
(Photo source: Lesly Juarez on Unsplash) -------------------------------------------------------------- After 40 years, 35 of them overseas, I decided my time in schools was up. I walked out the door on my final workday and, as I had done each June since 1986, I hopped on a plane. Airport arrivals and departures provide familiar markers in the overseas careers of my wife and me. I vividly remember our 2:00 AM arrival in New Delhi, our first international school job.
The importance of letting children play
Home » Feature » Education The importance of letting children play By Ben Fishman | 00:31 UTC+8 November 29, 2022 | Print Edition As a school counselor, I often contemplate the appropriate balance between play, extracurricular activities and academics for our students. All these forms of enrichment build self-confidence and provide our children with the essential skills and pleasure that they need to be happy and to create a balanced child.
Ten Years After Benghazi: Getting Past Groundhog Day
Abstract Ten years after the attacks in Benghazi that killed US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, Libya is again on the brink of a civil war. The attacks sapped the United States’ willingness to engage on Libya, leaving room for external actors to pursue their own agendas in the country.
December Elections in Libya Risk a Return to Civil War
Just over ten years after the demise of Muammar Gaddafi, his once “reform-minded” son turned internationally-wanted war criminal announced he will run for president of Libya in elections scheduled for December 24. Seif al-Islam’s political aspirations demonstrate just one of many problems with holding elections next month. If he is allowed to run, Libyans who fought against Ghaddafi may boycott or turn to violence.
Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook: M.Gemi Partners with Small Italian Shoe Workshops - Where We Buy #88
Where We Buy is a show about the things we buy and the places we buy them. Listen in as we tour top retail places and talk to fascinating people. James Cook researches retail and real estate for JLL. Want to contact us about a show topic or to subscribe to JLL Retail content? Click here: https://jll.postclickmarketing.com/retailresources
What Biden Can Do for Libya
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s March 21 call with newly appointed Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba signaled the reemergence of the Unites States in efforts to resolve Libya’s prolonged and often violent transition – a welcome departure from the Trump years.
Who Lost Libya?
A CLOSE CALL It is tempting to view the chaos in Libya today as yet one more demonstration of the futility of U.S.-led military interventions. That is precisely the case that Alan Kuperman makes in his article (“Obama’s Libya Debacle,” March/April 2015), which asserts that NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya was “an abject failure” that set free Libya’s vast conventional weapons stockpiles, gave rise to extremist groups, and even exacerbated the conflict in Syria.
Jordan Must Be Included in Future Israeli-Arab Normalization Deals
Jared Kushner took the first direct flight from Israel to Morocco on December 22 to celebrate the Trump administration’s efforts to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab world. He should have flown back to Jordan. It may seem odd that a country with a twenty-six-year-old peace treaty with Israel and unofficial ties dating back decades is now being left out in the cold. But the Trump administration has taken one of America’s most reliable allies in the tumultuous Middle East for granted.
As civil war rages, diplomacy fails with Libya's Haftar
April 4 marked the one-year anniversary of Libya’s third civil war since 2011. Last year, Khalifa Haftar, the head of the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), sought to invade Tripoli after another aborted attempt to mediate his conflict with the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli. The war has left over 2,000 dead, 10,000 wounded, 150,000 internally displaced, and a humanitarian crisis in an oil-rich country.
Cease-Fire or Escalation in Libya?
Ben Fishman Washington Institute January 16, 2020 After the fall of Sirte, Erdogan and Putin’s desired ceasefire can only be achieved with Washington’s support. Read Full Article »
The U.S. Must Blunt Russia’s Adventurism in Libya
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Until recently, very little had changed in Libya since April, when General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the self-styled “Libya National Army,” attacked Tripoli. Now, two ...
The U.S. Must Blunt Russia’s Adventurism in Libya
LISTEN TO ARTICLE 5:11 They’re about to be outgunned.
The US needs international partners to control Iran's aggression
The opening of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the U.S. president’s attendance there typically is an opportunity to lay out a global agenda with a major speech and meetings that highlight the administration’s priorities. After Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush used his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly to implore the international community to take seriously the threat of terrorism. (That year’s opening was delayed until November because of 9/11).
Another conference on Libya? Enforce the arms embargo instead
Five months into Libya’s latest civil war, the violence continues unabated. Since Khalifa Haftar launched his attack on Tripoli in April, the war has left more than 1,100 dead and over 100,000 displaced. The nature of the fighting has transitioned from a largely ground-based assault to one relying on air attacks from a combination of outdated Libyan aircraft and imported drones.
With interests in Libya under threat, US must adopt urgency
April was supposed to be a notable month in Libya’s post-Gadhafi transition. After organizing local dialogues across the country, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) scheduled a national dialogue conference in the historic city of Ghadames, away from the coastal centers where intense political jockeying has paralyzed Libya’s political system.
Pompeo’s Cairo speech more ‘back to the future’ than break with past
When the most senior American diplomat steps onto the world stage, as Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoGOP reasserts NATO support after report on Trump’s wavering Iran conducts failed satellite launch, despite US warning White House announces reduced delegation to travel to Davos amid shutdown MORE did last week in Egypt, a baseline expectation is that he will speak with credibility and the authority of the United States.
How France and Italy’s Rivalry Is Hurting Libya
Since the 2011 revolution against Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libyans have often blamed outside actors for their continuing woes. Too frequently, this grievance has been overstated and used as an excuse to minimize the hard compromises that Libyans themselves need to undertake to achieve a durable peace. Over the last year, however, both France and Italy have played a more intrusive role in Libyan politics, undermining rather than supporting the UN-led peace initiative.
Haftar’s Play For Libyan Oil
On June 21, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, reclaimed two of Libya’s largest terminals after the militia leader Ibrahim Jadhran had seized them earlier in the month. Haftar then upped the ante on June 25 by declaring that he would not return the facilities to Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) but instead to its eastern-based rival, which reports to the unrecognized eastern-based government.
Pompeo Has Been Undermining the State Department Since the Benghazi Investigation
Pompeo Has Been Undermining the State Department Since the Benghazi Investigation In October 2015, while former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endured 11 hours of public questioning before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, few imagined that the former secretary of state was facing off against one of her potential successors, then-Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo.
National View: John McCain and I have the same cancer. Here's what he can expect from now on.
By Ben Fishman Eight years ago when the last national battle around health care was raging, one senator paid tribute to another who had just passed away: "I think we may have made progress on this health-care issue if he had been there. He had this unique capability to sit people down at a table together ... and really negotiate, which means concessions."The senator was John McCain, and he was referring to Ted Kennedy.
Perspective | John McCain and I have the same cancer. Here’s what he can expect from now on.
Eight years ago when the last national battle around health care was raging, one senator paid tribute to another who had just passed away: “I think we may have made progress on this health-care issue if he had been there. He had this unique capability to sit people down at a table together … and really negotiate, which means concessions.” The senator was John McCain (R-Ariz.), and he was referring to Ted Kennedy.
Could Italy Get Trump to Care About Fixing Libya?
Foreign leaders are playing an important role in President Donald Trump’s foreign policy education. Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have clearly influenced Trump’s positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, North Korea, and the NATO alliance. They have all cautioned against radical shifts in policy, and Trump has evidently listened.
Don't Let the Russia Probe Become the New Benghazi
In January 2016, I was interviewed by the House Select Committee on Benghazi. It was the eighth investigation into the tragic events of September 11, 2012 when a diplomatic facility in Benghazi was overrun and four brave Americans were killed. The inquiry lasted over two years, reviewed 10,000 pages of documents, and interviewed over 100 witnesses, many of whom were recalled from assignments all over the world.
Don't Block Fayyad at the UN
Doing So Will Make Two Conflicts Harder to Resolve By Ben Fishman February 24, 2017 Ammar Awad / REUTERS With one act, the administration of Donald Trump has made two Middle East conflicts harder to resolve.
Empathy for The Hip’s Gord Downie | Toronto Star
Let me share what “the standard of care” is like for a patient with glioblastoma, in part because Downie has nobly chosen to let his music speak for him. (He was not present at the press conference and has not given any interviews since). Perry shared some important details and nuance that are lost in the headlines about a “fatal tumour.” He also highlighted in toned-down medical language just how challenging preparing for the tour must have been for Downie.
How We Can Still Fix Libya
Looking back today, five years after Libya’s improbable February 17 revolution, most pundits treat the U.S. intervention in that country synonymously with failure, as yet another American misadventure in the Middle East. This election season and especially the politicization of the Benghazi tragedy have only reinforced the accusation that members of the Obama administration—especially the president and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—should have known better.
Derek Chollet, Ben Fishman, Alan J. Kuperman
A CLOSE CALL It is tempting to view the chaos in Libya today as yet one more demonstration of the futility of U.S.-led military interventions. That is precisely the case that Alan Kuperman makes in his article (“Obama’s Libya Debacle,” March/April 2015), which asserts that NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya was “an abject failure” that set free Libya’s vast conventional weapons stockpiles, gave rise to extremist groups, and even exacerbated the conflict in Syria.
Could a U.N.-brokered pact save Libya?
Libya has spent the past months moving from one disappointment to the next. Rival militias pound each other fruitlessly at the expense of the population. An oil-rich country with a small population is beset by continual power outages, unending school closures and hospital shortages. Ports, oil terminals and even the country’s main airports have become collateral damage in the fight for Libya’s future.
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