Ideas

Is It Time to Reassess Our Long-Term Alliances in the Middle East?

Should conversations between Washington and Tehran be focused on nuclear weapons when there are other economic and geopolitical factors in play? By Fariborz Ghadar

Ideas

Crocker: Send More U.S. Counterterrorism Troops to Iraq

Ryan Crocker, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, knows what it takes to save Iraq: political will and military muscle that President Obama has been unwilling to use. By James Kitfield

Ideas

Overcoming the Gulf in the Gulf

America’s Gulf partners should reconsider their forceful protests of U.S. Middle East policy. By Colin H. Kahl and Jacob Stokes

Ideas

Give and Take: Time to Get Real In U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks

Iran and the U.S. have the best shot in years at a nuclear deal, if each is willing to give up some of what it wants to get what it really needs. By Greg Thielmann

Policy

Vietnam Signs Nuclear Deal With the U.S.

The deal includes an agreement by Vietnam to not reprocess spent nuclear fuel and enrich uranium. By Global Security Newswire

Policy

It's Time to Revamp the U.N.

A sclerotic Security Council, and an inability to get major initiatives passed. Maybe it's time that the multilateral body is revamped for the 21st century. By Jim Arkedis

Policy

U.N. Releases Report on Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack, But Doesn't Assign Blame

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calls the attack a "war crime" but doesn't name the perpetrators. By Philip Bump

Policy

Kerry and Lavrov Agree on a Deal to Solve Syria's Chemical Weapons Problem

The 6 point plan would aim to have Syria turn over information on its stockpile, sign the Chemical Weapons Convention, and have it destroyed by the first half of 2014. By Connor Simpson

Policy

Obama’s ‘Nixon to China’ Moment

Obama has a chance to alter the global chessboard with Putin in a way not seen since Nixon worked with Mao. By James Kitfield

Ideas

The Return of Coercive Diplomacy

It is said "the power to hurt is bargaining power." But can the lesson of Obama and Syria be felt in North Korea and Iran? By Sam Brannen

Policy

Putin Has the Upper Hand on Syria

Russia's president has the trump card in this geopolitical game, and the situation could not be any riskier for Obama. By Major Garrett

Policy

A Tough Case for Strikes on Syria

Obama has several options to justify a military strike against Assad, but developing the legal reasoning will be difficult. By Jonathan Masters

Policy

Qatar's New Leader is Quietly Supporting U.S. Strikes in Syria

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has been working--albeit quietly--towards mitigating the threat posed by regional power, Iran. By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Jonathan Schanzer.

Ideas

Only a ‘Painful’ Strike Will Stop Syria from Using Chemical Weapons Again

The father of the U.N.-backed Responsibility to Protect doctrine says military action against Syria is justified under the principles it lays out. By Kedar Pavgi

Ideas

Drones, Spying, Iraq and the Case Against Military Action in Syria

When it comes to building a case for a strike against Syria, America’s credibility on drones, spying and the invasion of Iraq may get in the way. By Michael Hirsh

Ideas

The Many Challenges of Building an International Military Coalition

Coordinating several militaries with different budgets, capabilities and goals to carry out a strike against Syria isn’t easy. By Kathleen J. McInnis

Ideas

Prospect of War in Syria Rattles Emerging Markets

With Wall Street on edge over the looming military strike against Syria, investors in emerging markets like Turkey and India are rushing for gold and U.S. currencies. By Matt Phillips

Policy

U.S. No Longer Seeking U.N., NATO Permission to Strike Syria

Bypassing the United Nations and NATO, the United States is 'ready to strike' Syria with British, French and Arab support. By Kevin Baron

Policy

Drones Are Controversial But Legal

Just because drones are more technologically advanced than other weapons doesn't mean they violate international law. By James Jay Carafano

Ideas

How Badly Did Manning Hurt the United States?

Manning said he was sorry for leaking troves of classified information from Iraq and Afghanistan. But just how much damage did he do? By Stephanie Gaskell