Michael Rubin
Washington Examiner
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Michael:
Biden is being played by Azerbaijan
On Sept. 27, 2020, on the 100th anniversary of the Ottoman Turkish attack on the newly independent Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan attacked the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. While initially unsuccessful, the local Armenian defense forces collapsed after Turkish Special Forces and F-16s… → Read More
Qatar should stop its smear campaigns
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt severed relations with Qatar over allegations that the small Persian Gulf state financed extremism. Those nations complained that Qatari largesse supported Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups, including some engaged in terrorism. The subsequent blockade and diplomatic cold war lasted five years. → Read More
Don’t derail UN investigation of Tigray genocide in name of peace
Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Reporter Breanne Deppisch joins Jim Antle to discuss the allegation by a journalist that the United States was behind the Nord Stream pipeline explosions last year. → Read More
China set the precedent for Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to digest Ukraine in two weeks. He did not succeed, but he shows no sign of relenting. → Read More
China’s exclusion of Taiwan imperils health and now counterterrorism
When SARS swept across Asia in 2003, it knew no borders. Taiwan sought to attend a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting charting a strategy to combat the disease, but Beijing vetoed its participation. China likewise impeded WHO-Taiwan cooperation against the backdrop of the 2004 bird flu… → Read More
Wagner’s next targets in Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast
The Wagner Group, the mercenary army run by Vladimir Putin's ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, is instrumental to Russia's war on Ukraine. But Wagner has also been on the offensive across Africa. → Read More
Don’t give India the Saudi treatment
President Joe Biden's national security team is increasingly uneasy with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two have little in common. Biden and his top aides are overwhelmingly irreligious. Modi, though, is a devout Hindu. Biden considers himself an orator; Modi is one. And, while Biden sees… → Read More
Voice of America needs a reboot
The United States spends almost a quarter of a billion dollars annually on Voice of America (VOA). On paper, it looks like a good deal. It broadcasts in 48 languages around the globe. Resourcing does not matter, however, if leadership fails to deliver. The war in Ukraine shows how, in times of crisis, resourcing matters less than how management spends it. → Read More
Code Pink’s denial of the Uyghur genocide makes it a hate group
For two decades, Code Pink has been a pillar of protests and among the most vocal critics of U.S. foreign policy. It declares its mission, in part, "to challenge militarism globally." Like so many social justice groups, it has allowed anti-American animosity to trump any principles for which it supposedly stands. → Read More
Why do Iranians hate the Mujahedin-e-Khalq so much?
I once asked a senior American official about why he accepted honoraria from the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or the MKO, given the group’s cultlike nature and its lack of popularity inside Iran. His response: Even if the group lied about its support, they said the right things about democracy and regime… → Read More
Taking Money from Mujahedin-e-Khalq should be a presidential disqualifier
The Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) is a cult. Indeed, its top foreign affairs representative has been unable or unwilling to name a single subject of internal dissent over the past three decades, a strange inability given his claims that the group is democratic. → Read More
BP has a growing Azerbaijan problem
Just last year, British Petroleum, or BP, the world’s eighth-largest oil and gas company by revenue, proudly celebrated 30 years of partnership with Azerbaijan. It remains that country’s largest foreign investor. → Read More
Biden is half right on Eastern Mediterranean arms sales
The Biden administration reportedly will ask Congress to approve a $20 billion sale of F-16s to Turkey, coupled with a separate sale of F-35 fighters to Greece. The White House is half right: Greece should receive the next generation joint strike fighter, but Turkey still does not deserve new F-16s. → Read More
Mujahedin-e-Khalq isn’t a cult? Prove it
Ali Safavi, a foreign affairs spokesman for the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), is upset that I called the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) a "cult." His response is deflection, full of hot air and personal attacks. But he avoids the factual points of my article. So, why not a quick test?… → Read More
From Cold War to frozen conflicts
A mere decade ago, President Barack Obama ridiculed his Republican opponent Mitt Romney for suggesting Russia posed a threat to world peace. “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” Obama quipped to laughter. → Read More
It’s Time to Get Serious About Eritrea
Almost every U.S. administration pays lip service to Africa, but few sustain attention. → Read More
State Department's LGBT virtue signaling is unhelpful
Just over a decade ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton observed that "some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct, but in fact they are one and the same." While a bit of a strawman argument, Clinton's intention was less to debate than to redirect the State Department from traditional diplomacy in pursuit of American interests to activism on social issues. → Read More
Biden must stop greenlighting starvation as statecraft
Stepanakert is starkly beautiful. It is a city of wide boulevards, parks, cafes, and churches nestled in a valley surrounded by high mountains. If it were not for a monthlong siege by Azerbaijani paramilitaries, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital might look like something out of Switzerland. As it is,… → Read More
The State Department should name and shame political cults
Every few months, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, an Iranian exile organization that fancies itself the foundation of a government-in-exile, marches in front of the White House. Its members wave portraits of Maryam Rajavi, the group’s leader, and banners singing her praises. The marchers… → Read More
Prepare for insurgency in Iran when the Ayatollahs fall
On May 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman confirmed Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender. "We join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity," he declared. "Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band." → Read More