Obama’s Speech on ISIS: The Big Picture

by Robert E. Hunter “Those who in quarrels interpose, are apt to get a bloody nose.” —Lord Palmerston on keeping Britain from supporting the South in the American Civil War. This Wednesday night President Obama will lay out his strategy… Continue Reading

Iranian Nuclear Deadlock: In Search of the Magic Formula

by François Nicoullaud A shadow of doubt is spreading over the negotiation between Iran and world powers as the gap over the key issue of the acceptable size and scope of the Iranian enrichment program slowly reveals itself as unbridgeable. The inability… Continue Reading

Kissinger on Iran: Belts, Empires, and Getting it Wrong

by John Limbert Henry Kissinger may be the grand old man of US foreign policy, but when it comes to understanding Iran, his analytical skills have begun to fade. In his NPR discussion with Scott Simon, broadcast Sept. 6, Kissinger… Continue Reading

Criticize Israel At Your Own Risk

by Mitchell Plitnick I’d like to pose a question. Do you believe that someone who writes the following letter should be forced out of his position as chaplain at an Ivy League university?

Obama’s Burden and Rhetorical Asymmetry

by Paul Pillar President Obama has been having a rough summer, reflected in poll numbers that are as low as they have been during his presidency. Clearly a concatenation of developments overseas that appear to most Americans to be to some… Continue Reading