Ideas
A Bigger Foreign-Policy Mess Than Anyone Predicted
In the 2010s, global affairs turned out far worse than the most pessimistic scenario foretold by U.S. intelligence experts.
Ideas
In Iraq, the US Gets Hit Where It Hurts
The storming of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad demonstrated that America doesn’t have a monopoly on pressure.
Ideas
The Foreign-Policy Parallels Between Trump and the Ayatollahs Are Uncanny
Neither the U.S. president nor Iran's leaders are as willing to go toe-to-toe as they might seem.
Ideas
An End to Magical Thinking in the Middle East
It’s time to abandon the dogma that’s driven our foreign policy and led to so much disaster in the region.
Ideas
Is US Deterrence Against Iran Doomed to Fail?
A key ingredient may be missing. And we won’t know until Tehran launches another attack.
Threats
Russian Hackers Used Stolen Iranian Malware to Attack 35 Countries, NSA Says
U.S. and British authorities said the Turla group is piggy-backing off the work of Iranian rivals to advance its own agenda.
Ideas
10 Ways America’s Situation in the Middle East Will Get Worse
The Syrian pullout and the Iraqi instability are undermining U.S. national-security interests.
Ideas
What the US Can Learn From Iranian Warfare
Tehran's approach to proxy wars offers a surprising lesson.
Ideas
Donald Trump Looks More and More Like Oliver North
Iran-Contra was also about a foreign policy run from inside the White House and outside the law.
Ideas
To Fight Disinformation, Rethink Counterintelligence
For too long, the focus of U.S. counterintelligence has been safeguarding government secrets and corporate intellectual property.
Ideas
The US Is Trying to Restore Deterrence in the Gulf. That Won’t be Enough
Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a security dilemma. Here are some potential ways out.
Ideas
The US and Iran Are Still Worlds Apart on a Deal
At the UN, America and Iran talk at each other and refuse to meet.
Ideas
On Iran, Trump Needs UN Help. He May Even Know it.
Maximum pressure isn't working. Tehran isn't backing down. Can the president woo a body that laughed at him last year?
Ideas
The Most Dangerous Moment of the Trump Presidency
The U.S. president has never clarified what he wants from Iran. Now all of his real options are bad.
Ideas
For Saudi Arabia, What Now?
Riyadh has military options for retaliating against Iran. The Trump administration needs to persuade Saudi leaders not to use them.
Threats
Trump Approves ‘Defensive’ Deployment to Middle East
The U.S. will increase air and missile defenses from Iran at the request of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Pentagon leaders said.
Threats
Pentagon, Pompeo Diverge on Saudi-Oil Attacks
Defense officials say they won’t get ahead of Saudi Arabian investigators. The Secretary of State blames Iran.
Policy
How Trump is Remaking Republican Foreign Policy
Out: neoconservatism and noninterventionism. In: a reactionary style that may outlast his administration.
Ideas
The Saudi-Oil Attacks Aren’t Game-Changing. They Show How the Game Has Changed
International norms and laws on proxy warfare encourage bad behavior. It’s time to change that.
Ideas
Everyone Is Getting Sucked Into the Iran Morass
The U.S. threatened Iran after an attack on a Saudi oil field sent global energy prices soaring, showing how the tensions affect literally everyone.
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