Chuck Hagel’s Senate Voting Record

Not too long ago, John McCain considered Chuck Hagel to be one of  the leading voices on national security and foreign policy in the Senate. “I’d be honored to have Chuck with me in any capacity,” McCain said in 2006. Although… Continue Reading

New Sanctions on Iran and Neo-Big Stick Diplomacy

by Erich C. Ferrari and Samuel Cutler Contained in the Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2013, and signed into law by President Obama on January 2, are sweeping new sanctions targeting Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The new measures… Continue Reading

Saharan Mess: Tuaregs, Terrorism and Maghrebi Spillover

The crisis affecting Mali and southern Algeria is only the latest phase in a long pattern of conflict. The often nomadic Saharan Tuareg, with populations spreading far beyond northern Mali, have never had a stable relationship with the more settled… Continue Reading

Who is Responsible for Medicine Shortages in Iran?

In an interview with BBC Persian, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen says that his department’s assessment is that reports published regarding serious and extensive shortages of medicine in Iran are exaggerated. He thinks the government of… Continue Reading

Questioning Recent Iran Policy Prescriptions

Any reader of my last piece on this site will be unsurprised that I was disappointed by the Iran chapter of “US Non-Proliferation Strategy for the Middle East” — a policy paper produced by five self-proclaimed “non-partisan specialists”. (Jim Lobe has written about it here.)… Continue Reading