ISIS and the Politics of Surprise

by Paul Pillar The recent burst of recriminations about what the U.S. intelligence community did or did not tell the president of the United States in advance about the rise of the extremist group sometimes called ISIS, and about associated… Continue Reading

Dick Cheney’s Laundry List of Threats Enthralls AEI

by Derek Davison Fear was the word of the day at the American Enterprise Institute on Wednesday, as former Vice President Dick Cheney talked about the nearly infinite number of grave threats he sees confronting the United States. Greeted by… Continue Reading

The Middle East’s Unfinished Wars

James A. Russell The predictions of doom in the Middle East that are dominating thinking in the foreign policy commentariat of Washington and other capitals over the spread of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could use a… Continue Reading

How the U.S. Created the Afghan War — and Then Lost It

The Unreported Story of How the Haqqani Network Became America’s Greatest Enemy* by Anand Gopal It was a typical Kabul morning. Malik Ashgar Square was already bumper-to-bumper with Corolla taxis, green police jeeps, honking minivans, and angry motorcyclists. There were boys… Continue Reading

The Terrorism Boogeyman

by James A. Russell The globe-trotting travails of the fugitive Edward Snowden have given us an unexpected opportunity to hear from our senior intelligence officials about the necessity of their far-reaching surveillance program designed to protect us from terrorism. But as… Continue Reading