THE REVELATIONS OF WIKILEAKS: No. 7— Crimes Revealed at Guantánamo Bay
“Gitmo Files” lifted the Pentagon’s lid on the prison, describing a corrupt system of military detention resting on torture, coerced testimony and “intelligence” manipulated to justify abuses at the base, writes Patrick Lawrence. Today we continue our series The Revelations of…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Iranian General’s Intent
Given the gravity of last week’s drone assassination, the State and Defense Departments must prove their claims against Qassem Soleimani. AFAQ–TV, a satellite station broadcasting from Baghdad, ran a brief video clip last May of Ali Khamenei speaking to a small gathering….
PATRICK LAWRENCE: A Sudden-Seeming Power Shift in the Middle East
Despite the high-speed impression created by events in the past few weeks, the shifting trends of Russian and U.S. influence on the region have been underway for years. Rarely do world events move at the velocity they now assume in the…
Why Russia Is Emerging as the World’s Indispensable Diplomatic Power
Moscow, working in concert with others, has set courses toward the diplomatic resolution of several key conflicts. There was a remarkable succession of events in the skies over Syria earlier this month. I see lessons in what happened that none…
Bibi’s downfall: Is the most dangerous man in the Middle East done for?
Benjamin Netanyahu has set Israel, and the entire Middle East, on a path toward doomsday. Will his fall matter? The political future of Benjamin Netanyahu is at last in doubt. With the Israeli police report recommending criminal charges against the…
A Conversation With Richard Falk
The scholar, adviser to governments and civil-society groups, and advocate of Palestinian rights speaks on international law and world affairs. It is hard to place Richard Falk in any category that usefully describes the man. Princeton scholar, international lawyer, adviser…
Trump and Jerusalem: Will his “hard power” realism backfire bigly?
Like much of Trump’s foreign policy, the Jerusalem decision recognizes ugly facts about the U.S. role in the world Clarity is preferable to ambiguity even when the clear picture is grim. So I have found in many circumstances, and so…
Trump the Diplomat? Will He Charm or Harm US Relations?
Whoever put together President Trump’s first foreign tour has a good grasp of the grand gesture. When he departs Friday, his main stops are Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, making Trump the first U.S. leader to visit the seats…
Meet the Man Who Should Be the Next Secretary of State
Former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman is that rare thing, an honest and wise diplomat—which is why he’ll probably never be appointed. Late this past summer, when I mentioned to Andrew Bacevich that I had interviewed Chas Freeman and…
As US Clout in the Mideast Declines, Russia and Iran Muscle In
It has long been clear that the Obama administration will hand its successor a dangerous mess in the Middle East, centering on Syria and emanating outward. Is it now ceding so much initiative that it risks delivering the next president…
Recent Comments