Permanent Warfare as Normality

by Paul R. Pillar The newest issue of Foreign Affairs features the theme of “America’s Forgotten Wars,” with a cover illustration that juxtaposes a carefree scene of Americans enjoying a picnic with that of American soldiers fighting and incurring casualties… Continue Reading →

Neocons Still Demanding Regime Change in Iran

by Jim Lobe The Israeli political leadership, with some notable exceptions, appears to have reduced its all-out efforts to derail the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the P5+1 and Iran in hopes of cadging a new 10-year, $50-billion… Continue Reading →

Elliott Abrams’ Shell Game on Settlements

by Mitchell Plitnick The shell game is a tried-and-true method of persuading people to give their money to the person running the game. In political terms, it’s also a reliable method of persuading people to buy into the political stance… Continue Reading →

On Iran, Ross Still Knows Best

by Jim Lobe Exactly three weeks ago, a confident Dennis Ross, President Barack Obama’s top Iran policy-maker for most of his first term, made the following assessments and predictions in an op-ed entitled, ironically, “Don’t Discount the Iranian Election:”

Should Iran’s Election Really be Discounted?

by Farideh Farhi I read with great interest the writing of Washington’s new Iran expert, Dennis Ross. With a title like “Don’t Discount the Iranian Election”, I thought, wow! Iran’s contested and improvised politics are finally being taken seriously. What… Continue Reading →