Ideas
After Years of NATO-Bashing, Trump Asks Allies for Help with Iran
But Britain, Germany, and France believe that everyone's interests are best served by the nuclear deal Trump hates.
Threats
US, Iran Back Away From Conflict—For Now
The crisis appears to be cooling, at least for now, as U.S. lawmakers — and presumably the president — return their focus to the looming impeachment trial in the Senate.
Threats
Offering No Evidence, Esper Says Soleimani Attack On US Was ‘Days’ Away
Meanwhile, confusion continues over draft letter citing plans to move U.S. forces in Iraq.
Ideas
Trump’s Fixation on the Hostage Crisis Is Driving His Iran Policy
The president’s approach to the Islamic Republic appears stuck in 1979.
Ideas
US-Iranian Diplomacy Almost Worked. Let’s Try It Again
Direct talks may be too much to ask for at this stage, but tension-reduction measures promoted by third parties are still very plausible.
Policy
Soleimani Strike Splits 2020 Democrats
It also opens up a key weakness for frontrunner Joe Biden.
Ideas
The Blueprint Iran Could Follow After Soleimani’s Death
Here’s what to expect after the U.S. killing of Iran’s most powerful military commander.
Ideas
The Soleimani Strike Defied the US Constitution
If Congress fails to respond effectively, the president will be left with the unmitigated power to take the country to war on his own—anywhere, anytime, for any reason.
Ideas
The Soleimani Assassination Is America’s Most Consequential Strike This Century
The U.S. attack against the top Iranian general will have far greater repercussions than the killings of al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders.
Ideas
The US Recently Made a Smart Move Toward Iran. Killing Soleimani Wasn’t It
The decision to focus on Tehran’s proxies in the wake of the embassy attack was the right course.
Threats
Iran’s Soleimani Killed in Trump-Ordered Airstrike
The stunning killing of the Quds Force leader follows Iranian-backed militia attacks on U.S. embassy in Iraq, and months of Tehran testing Washington’s stomach for violence.
Ideas
A Bigger Foreign-Policy Mess Than Anyone Predicted
In the 2010s, global affairs turned out far worse than the most pessimistic scenario foretold by U.S. intelligence experts.
Ideas
In Iraq, the US Gets Hit Where It Hurts
The storming of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad demonstrated that America doesn’t have a monopoly on pressure.
Ideas
Most-Read of 2020 (So Far)
We're three months into the next year already, if you go by the fiscal calendar. Here's the most-clicked posts on our site since Oct. 1.
Ideas
Progress, Peril, Hope: The Nuclear Decade in Review
U.S. policies that restrained and shrank atomic arsenals have been abandoned. Yet there are hopeful trends as well.
Policy
Why Trump and Biden Can’t Cut Troops in Afghanistan Much More
Even ‘bare minimum’ counterterrorism forces require critical intelligence only U.S. personnel can provide, officials warn.
Ideas
Inside the Collapse of Trump’s Korea Policy
When it comes to America’s last-ditch effort to prevent North Korea from becoming a nuclear power, timing has been everything. Now time’s running out.
Ideas
Put US Post-INF Missiles into Production
The U.S. has waited too long to mimic Chinese intermediate-range weapons.
Policy