The Doctrine of Armed Exceptionalism

by William Hartung Through good times and bad, regardless of what’s actually happening in the world, one thing is certain: in the long run, the Pentagon budget won’t go down. It’s not that that budget has never been reduced. At… Continue Reading →

Battle for Mosul: A View from Baghdad

by Eldar Mamedov With the Iraqi army launching a long-expected offensive to liberate Mosul from the so-called Islamic State (ISIS or IS), Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was in Brussels for a session of the EU-Iraq Cooperation Council. He also… Continue Reading →

Mosul and America’s Quixotic Search for the “Decisive” Battle

by James A. Russell and Donald Abenheim The Super Bowl-like reporting about the assault on Mosul is regrettably but perhaps inevitably cloaked in America’s desperate search for a clear-cut, decisive battle that will allow the country to bask in the glow… Continue Reading →

The Middle East and the Next Administration

by Chas W. Freeman, Jr.  Osama bin Laden surely died happy. He devoted the last third of his life to creating animosity between the West and Islam and to driving a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the United States. Today, Saudi… Continue Reading →