Cruz Proposes War as Alternative to Sailors’ Negotiated Release

by Eli Clifton Last night’s Republican debate had many memorable and exciting moments as Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) duked it out. Donald Trump became the new “9/11 candidate,” after he parried Cruz’s attack that the real estate… Continue Reading

Republicans’ Self-Defeating Attack on Obama’s Iran Policy

by Eli Clifton Yesterday, Iran swiftly released U.S. navy sailors it had detained on Tuesday after their two patrol boats entered Iranian territorial waters near a major Iranian naval base. The U.S. media reported that the release signaled that relations… Continue Reading

ISIS and the Take-Out Myth

by Paul R. Pillar The perceptions and the politics in the United States regarding the use of military force against the so-called Islamic State or ISIS are now clear and well-established. The issue has become a classic case of those… Continue Reading

Playground Dares and the Labeling of Terrorism

by Paul R. Pillar One of the more inane memes in current rhetoric in the United States about terrorism is that President Obama supposedly isn’t recognizing terrorist threats for what they are because he does not utter a certain phrase… Continue Reading