Why Obama Couldn’t Do Anything on Iran While Ross Was There

by Jim Lobe Following up on Paul Pillar’s excellent takedown of Dennis Ross’s remarkably crude display of Islamophobia (whereby Saudi Arabia is considered a “non-Islamist state,” while Syria’s Baathist regime is “Islamist”), it seems we can add Iranophobia to the… Continue Reading

Fighting ISIS and the Morning After

by Emile Nakhleh As the wobbly anti-ISIS coalition is being formed with American prodding, the Obama administration should take a strategic look at the future of the Arab world beyond the threat posed by the self-declared Islamic State. Otherwise, the… Continue Reading

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

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

Intervention in Libya, and It Wasn’t American

by Paul Pillar Last week the United Arab Emirates, aided by Egypt, conducted airstrikes against Islamist militias in Libya. The targeted forces are among the contestants in the surging turmoil and civil warfare in Libya. The airstrikes do not appear… Continue Reading