Ideas
Maliki Isn’t The Problem. Oil Is.
Oil states are almost always autocracies and rarely politically inclusive, and it’s easy to understand why. By Nora Bensahel
Science & Tech
The Military Now Has X-Ray Guns
Want a handheld blaster to look through walls? Enjoy. By Patrick Tucker
Ideas
Intimidation, Cronyism, Repression: The Unfortunate Legacy of Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki
Maliki’s personal history shaped his winner-take-all view of Iraqi politics. Years of bloody civil war followed immediately by the Arab Spring have only made matters worse. By Mohamad Bazzi
Ideas
The Difficult and Probably Only Answer to Iraq and Syria's Problems
Former State and Defense Department official Leslie Gelb sees a way to counter the ISIL wedge that's prying Iraq and the region apart at its seams. It's not easy, but it just might be the most realistic way forward. Interview by Bernard Gwertzman
Ideas
The New Map of the Middle East
Seven years ago, I wrote it was time to redraw the post-World War I borders of the Middle East. ISIS is right, that map that has no future. By Jeffrey Goldberg
Ideas
What the U.S. Could Do to Keep Putin Out of Ukraine
Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski's shares his recent take on the best U.S. and NATO options amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis. By Janine Davidson
Ideas
What Bosnia Can Tell Us About Iraq
Like in the Balkans, the U.S. should get Iraq’s warring sides to the table at all costs. By Nick Dowling
Ideas
Why the Persian Gulf Isn’t Ready for Joint Security
Stop pretending, U.S. partners in the Persian Gulf don’t trust each other or agree on Iran. By Bilal Y. Saab
Ideas
The Moral Argument for American Restraint in Iraq -- and Beyond
A new book by MIT professor Barry Posen calls for a radical rethinking of U.S. foreign policy. By Noah Berlatsky
Science & Tech
The Pros and Cons of U.S. Drone Strikes in Iraq
The easiest option against ISIS politically might also be the least effective. By Patrick Tucker
Threats
Gen. Allen: Obama Should Strike Iraq Insurgents With ‘A Hard Blow’
In an exclusive interview, Gen. John Allen, a former top U.S. military commander in Iraq, urges President Obama to strike ISIS with ‘a hard blow.’ By Stephanie Gaskell
Ideas
Don’t Be Sucked Into War With Iraq, Again
We should not be bullied back to Baghdad by politics, ideology or short-term thinking that this wrong war never should have ended. By Joe Cirincione
Ideas
Turning the Asia Pivot Into a Real ‘Obama Doctrine’
Why the pivot to Asia is the wrong model for an 'Obama doctrine' and how the president can get it right. By Lawrence J. Korb
Ideas
It’s Time for Obama To Re-Engage with Iraq
Just because the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in 2011 doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a vested interest in the worsening violence there. By Aki Peritz
Ideas
What the Army's New COIN Manual Is Missing
The latest incarnation of the military’s counterinsurgency manual underestimates the real challenges of relationships with host nations. By Walter Ladwig III
Ideas
Rebuilding Bipartisan Consensus on National Security
The rough consensus that once guided American foreign policy has shattered. It’s time to put it back together. By Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine
Ideas
Bergdahl and the Impossible Choices Hostages Face
A former Taliban captive explains how to stop the spread of an increasingly successful militant tactic. By David Rohde
Ideas
They Will Never March Down the Champs-Élysées
Seventy years after Normandy, today’s enemies remain far from Paris. By Kevin Baron
Ideas
My Father Was a D-Day Fighter Pilot
Active before, on and after D-Day, my father has as story. And so does my mother. By John Tierney
Ideas