Has Trump Fixed the ‘Worst Deal Ever’? Kinda, Sorta
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump made a lot of promises: repealing Obamacare, tax cuts for all, and of course this big, beautiful pledge:...
Bill Clinton
Pyongyang’s Playbook
The crisis between the United States and North Korea shows no signs of abating. Indeed, Pyongyang escalated its provocations last week, firing a missile over Japan on August 29. Critics of the pr...
Op-eds
The proliferation problem from hell
On the surface, Iran and North Korea could hardly be...
Op-eds
Mahmoud Abbas and the Years of Terror
Mahmoud Abbas entered Yasser Arafat’s office in the Palestinian presidential complex, commonly referred to as the muqata‘a (compound), in the center of Rama...
Op-eds
Should Trump Meet With Kim Jong Un?
President Donald Trump on Monday said he would be “honored” to meet with Kim Jong Un under the right conditions. Trump is not the first president to consider meeting a North Korean le...
Op-eds
Trump’s pivot to North Korea
America can do anything but America can’t do everything, at least not within a four-year time frame. That suggests that the American president — any American president — needs t...
Op-eds
Israel, the Palestinians and the United Nations: Challenges for the New Administration
Download the full testimony here Chairm...
Congressional Testimonies
Kerry’s Address: More Posturing Than Policy
Secretary of State John Kerry, in a speech...
Policy Briefs
Throwing Israel to the U.N.’s wolves
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is, as its name suggests, an organization committed to jihad — against Isra...
Op-eds
The CIA, Post-Obama
When the new casts out the old, an incoming administration has the opportunity to review its predecessor’s approach to the Central Intelligence Agency. When this is done, the foc...
Op-eds
The president should not tie his successor’s hands
You’re probably familiar with the old story about the inebriated guy looking for his wallet at night under a streetlight — not because that’s where he dropped it but because wha...
Op-eds
We’re Losing the War and We’re Paying for It
When the No Deal Deal was made with Iran, I said it was easy to understand: the Iranians would promise to be good, and we would pay for it. In the event, I was only half right. ...
Op-eds
The problem with peace processes
When peace-loving people sit down together in a spirit of compromise they can find ways to resolve their conflicts. Does it follow that negotiations with those who don’t care a fig about pe...
Op-eds
President Obama’s last to-do list
Barack Obama is now in his final days as president but, as he made clear on his visit to Asia last week, there are goals he still hopes to achieve before leaving office. Closing the dete...
Op-eds
Why Hasn’t ISIS Blown Up Rome?
At lunch the other day, a smart man asked me how come there hadn’t been terrorism in Italy, even though Islamic State keeps promising to attack the Vatican. You’ve undoubtedl...
Op-eds
What does America owe Iran?
An unmarked cargo plane filled with $400 million in cash lands in Tehran. Four American hostages held by Iran’s rulers are set free. These revelations have sparked two controversi...
Op-eds
Curb your socialism
Groucho Marx famously said he wouldn’t join any club that would have him as a member. Bernie Sanders last week turned that on its head, saying he wouldn’t remain a member of...
Op-eds
Flying Above the Radar
Sanctions Evasion in the Iranian Aviation Sector
Monographs
The Chilcot Report
The Chilcot report on the Iraq war ought to elicit two emotions: sympathy and pity for former British prime minister Tony Blair. As was evident by late 2002, when Europeans saw the fri...
Op-eds
Brexit Is Not A British Revolution; It’s Part Of A Global Revolt
I’m not much of an expert on Great Britain; when I took my doctoral exams at the University of Wisconsin in Western European History, the Brits weren’t included. We...