Fences and walls can be effective and even soothing, at least for those who build them. – Richard Engel
The U.S. presence and American missteps made ethnic violence in Iraq far worse than it would have been otherwise after Saddam Saddam Hussein’s fall. – Richard Engel
When students and liberals initially occupied Tahrir Square, it looked like it might be a passing thing. – Richard Engel
Bin Laden is dead, and most of his friends are dead. But did it need to cost a trillion dollars and two land wars, including one that didn’t have to do with Al Qaeda? Probably not. – Richard Engel
Iraq was home of the Abbasid Caliphate, a golden age when the Muslim world was at the forefront of math, science and medicine. – Richard Engel
An Egyptian newspaper once publicly identified me as the C.I.A. station chief in Cairo. It seemed so stupid at the time. I was only 24, a little young to be a station chief, and, of course, I was never with the C.I.A. – Richard Engel
Faced with the crippling sanctions, Iran could simply decide it is paying too high a cost to pursue its nuclear program and could opt for negotiations and reconciliation with the United States and other members of the international community. This is clearly the preferred option of American leaders. – Richard Engel
Kidnapping is always a threat in this life of reporting on men hurting one another because of religion and politics. – Richard Engel
The U.S. spent billions of dollars to build a secular, professional national Iraqi army but failed because, despite all the U.S.-supplied guns, tanks and planes, the Iraqi military fell apart when challenged by a band of terrorists. – Richard Engel
ISIS controls a territory roughly the size of Maryland where 8 million people live. If it’s attacked and toppled, who will fill the void? – Richard Engel
Hamas has long been Israel’s enemy, but in the wake of the Arab Spring, the group is empowered like never before. – Richard Engel
There are clearly many Egyptian free-thinkers and intellectuals – lots of wonderful Egyptian artists and architects and scientists. – Richard Engel
What is the Obama Doctrine? It seems to be one of disengagement, to try to ignore the hot, religious, dry, poor countries from Algeria to Pakistan. – Richard Engel
The Muslim Prophet Mohammed was a big believer in charity and firmly established helping those in need as a basis of the religion. – Richard Engel
You gotta love the names. They’re so eager, earnest, and hopeful: Camp Prosperity, Camp Liberty, and Camp Victory are the names of just a few of the U.S. military bases in Baghdad. – Richard Engel
Afghanistan and Iraq were lumped together in what was called a ‘global war on terrorism.’ – Richard Engel
Some Iraqi troops aren’t willing to fight for their government. But many Shiites appear willing to fight for their religious leaders. – Richard Engel
‘Shabiha’ is a difficult word to translate into English. It comes from the word Syrians used to describe the luxury Mercedes favored by the Assad family’s operatives that the enforcers of the regime used to move money, smuggle weapons and intimidate opponents. – Richard Engel
Assad’s regime helped ISIS grow by attacking other opposition forces and rarely targeting ISIS. – Richard Engel
On one level, bombing ISIS is easy. The U.S. knows where the group operates. There’s no need for a ten-year hunt like the one for Osama bin Laden. The terror group has two capital cities: Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. Al-Qaeda never had such an obvious home address. – Richard Engel
Israel is becoming a fortress. Fences along the borders with Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. – Richard Engel
Egypt has a presidential system. The president runs the state. Who the president is matters profoundly. – Richard Engel