Syria and Iran are entwined tighter than an intricately woven Persian carpet. Unless Syrian President Bashar Assad has a change of heart and decides to expel Iranian forces, his most treasured foreign guests are staying.
The Mumbai attacks sent shock waves around the world. But in New York, where our own 9/11 experience had already traumatised us in much the same way that the Mumbai attacks did now, the events of 26/11—as the day became known—were terrible reminders of our own vulnerabilities.
The Abu Dhabi conference was surely a significant indicator of an increasingly positive view on engagement with Jewry on the part of religious and political authorities in the region.